Rescued Husky - Need Urgent Advice

[Gemmybeee]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum and am looking for some ideas and advice.

I have a sib husky myself called Oscar and he's 11months old - intelligent, playfull and a great companion.

5 days ago I rescued another sib husky called Max - 10months old. With the intentions of giving him to my Mam & 3 younger brothers and sister. His family shipped up and moved to Oz - for the past 2 weeks he was passed from post to pillar as people who took him realised there no ordinary pets and he was found tied up in a stable by a friend who was drawn to him by his howls. Needless to say he seemed really sad & afraid when we brought him home.

Before taken him to his new home (my Mams) we introduced him to Oscar who was really excited and playfull, but Max just wanted to get away from him.

So its been 4 days since arriving with my family and he is not really settling in great,

if hes left alone even for 5 mins he cries and howls the whole time!

At first he was hinding behind the sofa, under the curtains, afraid to walk up stairs, go out to the back garden etc but is coming around bit by bit, my mam has been given him treats when he's interacting to encourage him to play. He has kong toys , chews etc he gets walked twice daily and the children ardore him so he gets alot of attention and affection.

Today was the first time everyone left the house and my mam left him in teh back garden with toys, food, water etc and a voice recorder to listen to how he was while she was out for the morning and it was 3 hours of non stop howling, still howling when she returned

I know it will probaly take time for him to come around and Im sure he misses his old family but if theres any suggests anyone has as to what might help it be much appericated

P.S - This pic of him is the when that was sent to me before we found him

[Austinville]

Sounds like separation anxiety.......

Fortunately, I've not had any such problem, but there are others on the forum who have. Here's some info I looked up which should help you begin to deal with this........I'm sure others on here, who've dealt with this can provide much better help, however.

Presently, the most accepted method for treating separation anxiety involves planned departures. This method involves gradually adjusting the dog to being alone by exposure to many short departures. Because the stress response occurs very shortly after the owner's departure (within 30 minutes), the dog should only be left alone for very short intervals at first (seconds to minutes) to ensure the owner returns before the onset of anxiety. Before the departure period can be increased, the owner must be certain that the dog is not stressed. The owner must closely watch the dog for signs of anxiety and ensure that the dog does not engage in an extended greeting. After the short departures have reached the 30 minute mark, the length of time the dog is left can be increased by larger increments. Once the dog can be left alone for 1.5 hours, it can usually be left all day. Departure and return should be made as quiet and uneventful as possible to avoid overstimulating the dog. The dog should not be given attention prior to departures nor given attention and praise upon returns. Excessive attention prior to departure and upon return seem to increase the anxiety during separation and it does NOT make it easier on the dog as most people suspect. Safety cues may also be used to associate with the short departures (Voith and Borchelt 1985). The T.V. or radio can be left on or an acceptable chew toy may be provided for the dog. However, it is very important that the safety cue is not an item that the dog already associates with anxiety. These cues help the dog relate to a previous safe period of isolation.

[robke]

Hi and welcome....first of all kuddos for you rescuing him...with all the stress he has had I can well believe he is the way you are saying he is.. T L C might be the only answer for this young man. I know when Alpha came into our pack last August he was afraid of any human, with TLC and attention he is getting a lot better...Hope this helps you a little bit.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

well done on rescuing him its gonna take a while - maybe months to get him to settle in but it sounds like he has seperation anxiety aswell after being passed around alot in a short time i dont have any help with SA but sum1 will b able 2 help (like austinvilles post)

[Maralrez]

it will take him some time to adjust.. give him attention and maybe a bone big to keep him occupied.

[Taiya Blue and Miko too]

as everyone's said well done on rescuing him, he's a gorgeous looking dog

I imagine with him being passed around after having a stable home it's going to take him a while to trust that you're coming back each time. little and often breaks to start with building it up over time should help this.

Is he crated at all? this might help him have his own "pad" to go and feel secure in. Often the TV or radio helps a bit too.

I'd also recommend some of the DAP products - we use a diffuser but have heard great things about the collars too.

Luna's Mum , chloe has been through it all and i'm sure she'll be able to help no-end!

[Gemmybeee]

Hi all, just read up on some really interesting articles about separation anxiety and saftey cues.. Never that problem with Oscar myself but it sounds like thats excalty what the problem is with Max.

As a test I rang my little sis a moment ago and asked her to pick up the house keys and he reacted straight away. Im so happy we now know where to start Thank you guys, Im so glad I started this thread

[Taiya Blue and Miko too]

Hi all, just read up on some really interesting articles about separation anxiety and saftey cues.. Never that problem with Oscar myself but it sounds like thats excalty what the problem is with Max.

As a test I rang my little sis a moment ago and asked her to pick up the house keys and he reacted straight away. Im so happy we now know where to start Thank you guys, Im so glad I started this thread

we also found putting coats and bags in kitchen before we went out and then putting them to bed, shutting kitchen door and "doing stuff" for a few mins before escaping worked - also noticed us going out less if washing machine was making a racket in kitchen but i don't have enough to put a load on every time we want to nip out (and NO i don't want any more sending over!!)

[Gemmybeee]

I doubt he was crate trained previously. When he is left alone he would be in the back garden so would the dap plug in still be necessary ? Or would be good to use it while he's in company too? I have passed the advice onto my family and they will start leaving him for short periods outside or in a room alone and after 20 secs walk back in as normal and slowly increase the time, he'll soon learn they will always come back

[Taiya Blue and Miko too]

I doubt he was crate trained previously. When he is left alone he would be in the back garden so would the dap plug in still be necessary ? Or would be good to use it while he's in company too? I have passed the advice onto my family and they will start leaving him for short periods outside or in a room alone and after 20 secs walk back in as normal and slowly increase the time, he'll soon learn they will always come back

If he's outside then you could always use the collar instead of the diffuser and make sure he has loads and loads to do out there, the diffuser is for inside use so would help when he's in the house. they're recommended for loads of things from SA, fireworks, pack integration, etc