Dog who used to destroy house is happy to stay home alone (with food)

Does my previous service dog, Max, look happy in this photo?  You bet he does!  He’s happy because he is about to stay home alone.

This wasn’t always the case.  Max used to destroy our house when he was home alone.  He’d go into such a panic that he’s ruined floors, walls, doors, door handles, etc. 

Max was a service dog and he was with people ALL the time.   When we adopted him, he totally freaked out when we left him home alone.  We were totally unprepared but if your pet has this separation anxiety problem, there is hope.

Today, Max is smiling and tail-wagging when he sees that I’m about to leave him home.  One of the biggest contributors to the transition is food.  Yes, food plays a major part in management of this dog’s separation anxiety. 

Our dog Max rarely is fed when we are home with him.  If he is fed, Max is getting his food out of a toy that makes him work.  The bulk of Max’s food, and especially yummy food, is delivered to him as we are walking out the door.  He’s been conditioned to expect that food time comes when he’s home alone.  And it works!

So what’s that in the photo you ask?  Well, Max has gotten so good at manipulating his food that we’ve upped the challenge.  Earlier, as Max’s separation anxiety improved, I started freezing food in Kongs for him.  Now, I also freeze the Kong so Max has a block of ice to work with too.  This was especially handy in the summer as I knew he’d enjoy the ice. 

Time to run, Max will soon be nudging me to the door so he can stay home alone!

Plus, who ever heard of a Lab that leaves food unattended?  If you think this situation sounds strange, you’re right.  Unless Max’s magical treatment mix for severe separation anxiety is out of whack, this situation makes no sense.

Upon further investigation I noticed that we forgot to change Max’s DAP collar last month.  A few days later, and with the new collar firmly in place, Max is back to normal.  This oops really affirms that the phernomes in the DAP collar work to help control Max’s separation anxiety.

Now, I’m happy to report that once again, Max cannot wait for me to leave him home alone.  No, I don’t think it’s that he’s basking in the peace and quiet of ‘alone time’ as I would.  He’s just relaxed enough to enjoy his Kong full of food.  And when Max is relaxed, I feel better too.  We’ve come a long, long way.

Max has a new hobby, counter surfing.  Yup, when we leave him home alone, he surfs the kitchen counters.  You’d think we weren’t feeding the dog. 

Last week he pulled the entire fruit basket down to the floor.  Mind you, this fruit basket was tucked back into a corner and on top of some other stuff.  It was not easy for my four-legged friend to reach.  But he did reach the fruit basket.  Then he spread it’s contents throughout several rooms and devoured all of the apples.  The orange was not as popular; it only sustained a few bite marks.

Today when I left home, I made sure there was nothing resembling food out.  So instead, he took my daughters antibiotic.  It was a powder with mixing instructions.  He tore a hole in the instructions but could not open thechild proof, er, I mean, dog proof cap.  Luckily, the antibiotics are fine.

I’ll let you know how the dog behavioralist appointment goes. I’m thankful to have a great dog behavioralist verteriarin nearby in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

Oh, what a big mistake that was!  I didn’t think about all the sloppy slush that was melting off my cars.  The garage floor was quite messy.  Unfortunately my highly trained, service dog, decided to lay down in the slop and get busy with his food.  Did my intelligent dog lay on the bed I’d left for him?  Apparently not!  He was covered in dirt upon my return.  Unfortunately, I hadn’t really planned a dog bath in my day.  But, if I was to let Max into the house, a bath was mandatory. 

It was not pleasant but Max emerged a much cleaner dog.  And now, I’m going to watch what I wish for or I’ll be washing more mush off my mutt.

We are totally snowed in and Max doesn’t seem too happy.  He keeps looking at the door as if to say, “Isn’t it time you left already?” 

He wants a yummy treat but so far today he’s just had dog food.  And, of course, it’s in a squirrel dude dog toy.  No more free lunches for this retired service dog.  No, poor Max must work for every morsel. 

Ok, maybe not every morsel, but a majority of it.   My husband has starting feeding the dog scraps in the kitchen.  Of course, now superstar, retired service dog Max runs into the kitchen whenever John is there.  The dog is not stupid.  He knows a softy when he’s found one! 

Given the amount of snow outside, I don’t see us leaving home any time soon.  Max must suffer with us.  I cannot believe I can even say my severe separation anxiety dog wants us to leave.  His improvement with departures and being home alone is amazing.

Enjoy this crazy weather that is blanketing the nation. 

Has our dog finally gotten past the anxiety enough to overeat?  When he’s really stressed out he barely eats, so, if he is packing on the pounds, it’s a sign of improvement.  I guess I’ll have to take Max to the vet and get him weighed so we know the real answer. 

I also need to report that once Max got into a brand new DAP collar for a few days, he seemed much less stressed.  He’s practically pushing me out the door in the morning so he can get yummy food.  Good dog, Max!

Canine Separation anxiety dog, Max, is happy to see me leave

Today I was enjoying a true Michigan rarity, Indian summer in November.  Amidst our falling autumn foliage and the crinkling of leaves, I heard my neighbor’s dog barking.  It was a reminder that I am not in this canine separation anxiety alone.

Yes, if I were to diagnose, I’d say that my next-door neighbor dog, Carmine, has separation anxiety too.  I think Max and I set him off when we were outside enjoying the near-seventy degree day complete with full sunshine.  Carmine has a good howl and he made it clear that he was not happy about being home alone.

Max, on the other hand, could not wait to see me leave today.  I saw no signs of a dog anxiety attack.  He wanted me to head out the door and leave him with some yummy food.  I obliged with a stuffed Kong and stuffed Squirrel Dude. 

Upon my return, my dog was very excited to see me.  He seemed a bit anxious yet there were no signs of “bad dog behavior”.  Nothing was wrecked, no spilled garbage, no claw marks any where.  Phew!

2.     You can’t leave them home alone without worry. 

3.     They aren’t welcome in fancy restaurants.

4.     You can’t leave them in a car on a hot day. 

5.     They leave their toys all over the house and out in the yard.

6.     When you leave town, you have to leave a long list of instructions with the sitter.

7.     You have to pick up their prescriptions on a monthly basis. 

8.     You have to comparison shop drug stores to see which offers their meds at the best prices. 

9.     You have to plan their meals.

10.  You’re constantly cleaning up their dishes. 

·       Behavior modification

·       DAP collar

·       Medications

·       DAP infuser

·       Activity toys

·       Stopped feeding him with a dog dish

Without the behavior modification, understanding of separation anxiety and medication directed by Dr. Theresa DePorter, I don’t think Max would have been successful.  In fact, I’m sure there are a lot of misunderstood dogs that end up in shelters because of their misunderstood separation anxiety.

The goal was to have Max be excited about his family’s departure.  We wanted him to connect being home alone to having something really yummy to eat.  To make this work, table scraps, dinning a la dog dish, etc. cannot occur. 

Max is really excited to see me leave these days because he knows he’s getting food and likely it’s something more than dry dog food.  When he’s with his family, he gets nothing but dry dog food and not much of it.  If we’re planning a departure, some food is held back so he’s good and hungry when we are gone.

You might think he also gets crumbs off the floor but that’s another project.  Max, as a leader dog, was taught to ignore food on the floor.  With 3 kids, we’re really good at giving him plenty of opportunities to eat food off the floor but it hasn’t come easy to him.  Breaking old habits is tough.  But, that’s a service dog issue and maybe that’s not an issue for your dog. 

If you have a retired service dog, I’d love to hear about it.  Did you have to teach your dog to play fetch like we did?

Kong Dog activity toy, photo showing red Kong granade

What’s an activity toy?  Basically, it’s something that the dog has to work on.  When successful at “working” the toy, a treat comes out.  It’s a great concept; the dog works at the toy and gets rewarded with food for his or her hard work.  It’s a great way to engage the dog, reduce boredom or anxiety and keep the dog busy so they have less time to get into trouble.

You might think I’m evil, but Max never gets food in a dog dish.  He has to work to get all of his food out of something.  Ok, maybe “never” is too strong of a word.  When I’m out of town, I have no control over how Max is fed.  However, 98% of the time, he works for every meal. 

Have you seen a Kong like the one in the picture?  Imagine it stuffed with frozen food (I often use our leftovers mixed with dog food).  Max works very hard on the Kong to get his food out.  I also use Squirrel Dudes.  These toys are great for dispensing dry dog food.  You can also make activity toys.  A milk jug punctured with holes makes a great dispenser for small treats.  Since the jug is big, it’s best if the dog has a good amount of room in which to work. 

I’d love to hear more ideas on how to make feeding time play time.