Almost a month ago my parents adopted a Boston Terrier from a local rescue. She's about a year old & had been surrendered by her owner when he had to check in for an extended rehab stay. She's very well behaved and for the most part has adapted to living with my folks quite well. The only problem they're having with her is she's been having bouts of seperation anxiety.

They noticed right off that she was getting pretty attached to my dad & would get a little worried if he got out of her sight. If he went outside, she'd pace the floor or search the house for him and would completely ignore my mother. In an attempt to show her that the world won't end if my dad leaves the room, my mom has started feeding her & gives her the occasional treat. If my dad is in the room, the dog is perfectly content to sit in my mom's lap & snuggle but she still gets anxious when he leaves the room. They're hoping that in time she'll get more comfortable but she seems to be getting worse.

The last few times my dad has left the house for extended periods, she'll search the house for him then will sit at the front door & howl. Mom tries to soothe and/or distract her but it doesn't work. My dad was gone for a little over 3 hours today & she sat at the front door and howled off and on the entire time (and by off and on I mean howling every 3-5 minutes). Do any of you have any suggestions on how to deal with this?

Thanks!

Patricia McConnell suggests classical conditioning with separation anxiety. The gist of it would be to have the dog associate the leaving with something good.

Are they using a crate? They might want to use that to keep the dog in a safe place while your dad is gone. He could practice jiggling his keys or whatever other clue she picks up on to know he is leaving and try to get her to associate getting a treat or something good when she hears that signal. Off the top of my head, I would suggest he take short trips away from her and come back, frequently, so that she won't think he abandoned her. My rescue friends tell me that rescues tend to bond strongly with someone when they are taken out of a bad situation.

McConnell has written a couple of books that addess separation anxiety - The Cautious Canine: How to Help Your Dog Overcome His Fears and I'll be Home Soon - How to Prevent and Treat Separation Anxiety. I haven't read either one of them but you might want to check them out.

I would crate. My boxer wouldnt howl..but would eat the house. I have crate trained him to the point he sees the crate as his bedroom. I leave the TV on softly or turn on classical music and he sleeps until I come home.

See, the problem is - the dog is NOT alone! My mom is there with her the entire time lol. When Dad leaves, mom is right there to give her a treat, love on her or whatever; the dog just doesn't really care. She is totally focused on my dad being gone. If both of my parents are in the room, she's perfectly content to be snuggling my mom. She just freaks out if Dad leaves.

The stuff I've read so far & the vets suggestion were pretty much the same. They said that since my dad started out as the one feeding her & giving her treats, she was feeling 100% dependant on him which would be the reason for her to panic if he left, maybe she felt like she wouldn't get fed (she was very underweight when they got her). The vet suggested having my parents take turns feeding her & givng her treats so she will start seeing BOTH of them as providers but that hasn't seemed to help her get over her sadness if my dad leaves for a bit.

They DO have a crate & are thinking about trying to train her to it when they BOTH leave but so far since getting her there hasn't been a time when both of them had to leave at the same time & the few occassions they did leave, she was able to go with them. They don't really want to crate her when Dad leaves if Mom is sitting right there in the room with her.

Well, I'm no expert. The reason I would crate her when you dad left, even if mom was there, is to give her a safe place that is not associated with either of your parents. She sounds as if she has adopted a behavior and it is not so much about your mother being there as your dad not being there. For some dogs, a crate is calming and safe.

Well, I'm no expert. The reason I would crate her when you dad left, even if mom was there, is to give her a safe place that is not associated with either of your parents. She sounds as if she has adopted a behavior and it is not so much about your mother being there as your dad not being there. For some dogs, a crate is calming and safe.

Something I noticed was that when the dog's previous owner had to go into a rehab program he gave the dog to a rescue group. It is possible the dog had bonded with a male, and is now doing the same thing, an adopted behavior, When Dad leaves, dog feels alone and abandoned even if Mom is there. Slowly crate train the dog and do like one does when boarding a pet (bring something from home); place one of Dad's tee shirts preferably one he has worn, not freshly laundered, so that his scent is still on it, in the crate with her. Have done this with my own dogs, and it worked for them. Took a few weeks, but it worked.

My Boston used to do the same thing. I would almost be out the door for work and he would start to whine and mope around the house all depressed. It was sad. He's almost 7 and now he just crawls up on the couch and falls asleep before I even leave for work. He knows the drill. Lol. He's such a good dog and wouldn't trade him for the world!