TomWah Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Hi everybody. Myself and the missus recently (about 4 weeks ago) adopted a rescue Husky from the local dogs trust. He's about 2 years old (vets best guess), very skinny (about 16kg) and the only history we have is he was a stray in Ireland. He was suffering from some serious diarrhoea which even extended to passing blood, but this has now (almost!) completely cleared up after a course of antibiotics and a switch to Naturediet. He's an absolute beaut and has loads of great qualities (lovely nature/good with other dogs/good with people/good in the car/pretty quickly house trained after the diarrhoea! etc) but we are having serious issues leaving him alone. We did extensive research about the breed before hand and barring being left alone he has settled really well. The separation anxiety even extends to when we go to bed and he currently sleeps on the landing outside the bedroom with the bedroom door just slightly ajar as he seems be ok if he can see us. If we shut the door he is up and down the stairs all night and soils the kitchen (diarrhoea also returned once). When left in the day he whimpers/barks/howls constantly (which is a nightmare as we live in terraced housing!) and is always really wound up when we get back to him. When we are home he is as calm as calm can be and sleeps most of the time. We aren't exercising him as much as we would ideally like to be (currently about 50 min walk in morn, 15 mins at lunch and 50 mins in evening) but this is on advice from dogs trust/vets (who recommended 30 mins twice a day) until he gains some weight. We walk him on a 7m flexi lead which allows some running. When left alone we leave radio on, leave a kong, a bone, selection of chew toys and have given him some old clothing. Next step I think will be trying a thundervest/anxiety wrap which I have heard some good things about. We have taken him to a friends with another dog and he was much better being left alone but unfortunately we aren't in the position to have 2 dogs. Basically any advice out there would be more than gratefully received! Not the best photo but this is Eli! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Welcome to the forum he is gorgeous I don't have any advice about the S.A. but someone on here will be able to help you out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devildust76 Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Firstly and secondly Eli is a good looking guy. Sadly I don't have a lot of advice to offer on SA as our Kodiak is very relaxed while we are at work. I'm sure there will be people on here with experiance of it that can offer some sound advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Welcome to the forums! My boy, too, has SA. Unfortunately I don't have any advice...though I've also heard of the Thundershirt. It works by stimulating a 'hug', basically, so if your dog doesn't like hugs (like mine doesn't), than it might not work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazz Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Welcome to just about the best Husky forum on earth. Oh wait, it is the best. On the SA, it is sometimes a result of the dog fearing you may not return. On a weekend when you are around all day, leave him as you normally do when you go out for several hours. But this time, you only leave for five or ten minutes, then return. Do this several times during the day to see if eventually his barking and howling abates. Then try twenty minute departures. It may take several weekend sessions. Does not always work but may be worth a try. Once you establish that you always return and he understands that, hopefully the problem will be no more. Bear in mind that Huskies are strong-willed and consistency and repetitiveness are key. Good luck. And another point: kudos to you for rescuing and giving Eli another opportunity to a wonderful life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leyka&Diva Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 hi and welcome xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyGuerl Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 He is gorgeous!! Sent from my Huawei-U8652 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchie Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Welcome to husky owners! First of all, your boy is a beauty! Love his colouring, and well done for adopting I made a thread in the ''Product and toy review'' of the forum about the Thundershirt which I use on my girl who has very similar S.A, its really helped, so you might want to check it out Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osinn11 Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 We have used calmimg collars in the past. They seemed to help with Cj's SA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 welcome to the pack - he is adorable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomWah Posted May 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Ta for the replies. Had some success today with a massive bone we got from the butchers. Think it was a cows leg joint! Had tried some other old bones but this was pretty fresh, massive and he was completely occupied for just under an hour, no barks at all and the bin was left untouched (after we forgot to take it out!). Lets just hope it doesn't bring the diarrhoea back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydiamond Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 oh my goodness he looks a lot like,err... a husky on here... whose name I can't remember for some reasons x__x is it Darwin?? @Andy anyways, welcome to our big husky family two thumbs up for getting a rescue! I don't have first hand experience in dealing with Separation Anxiety, but I do hear that they take a long time to cure. If you've just had him a month you're probably on the right track already, it's just that he needs more time to learn good luck! Don't hesitate to post any questions whenever you feel unsure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingsolo Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Welcome, Eli is gorgeous. We don't have too much AS with solo but then he has Charlie for company. Similar background to solo he to was a stray in Ireland about 2 yrs old, we had him from dogs trust Shrewsbury in Dec, wouldn't be without him now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidnightPaws Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Welcome! He's gorgeous! Kay has SA but she's gotten a lot better from the time we got her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innocenti Posted May 11, 2013 Report Share Posted May 11, 2013 Welcome to the pack... sorry can`t help with the sa problem .. keep us informed how u get on ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiser Posted May 11, 2013 Report Share Posted May 11, 2013 unfortunately over here in ireland huskies are the "designer" dog at the minute, people are going out getting them for there kids cause there small and fluffy and cuddly when there pups but when they get a bit older they become bored and get destructive when there not kept stimulated and start losing hair people dont realize how high maintenance huskies are, so then there put up for sale cause the owners are "leaving the country" or there "moving to a smaller house" its a massive problem over here, but annnnnways welcome to the forum.. i dont have any advise but im sure someone here can help you out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomWah Posted May 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2013 We have used calmimg collars in the past. They seemed to help with Cj's SA. Dogs trust gave us one of these (adaptil I think) but seemed to have little effect. Different things for different dogs I suppose! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osinn11 Posted May 11, 2013 Report Share Posted May 11, 2013 ohhh so true! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 Welcome to the forum, he's a great looking lad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Welcome to the forum! Can i just ask why do you say "Now then" ?? My OH says it when he answers the phone to work colleagues or any business calls etc and i think it sounds really arrogant lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomWah Posted May 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 its just a northern way of selling hello i suppose... everyone at home says it all the time! back in husky world tried a thundershirt for the separation anxiety but no luck, seemed to have no affect at all. had neighbours round complaining about howling again. don't know what else to try, we are just hoping it improves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted May 15, 2013 Report Share Posted May 15, 2013 Maybe thats why i dont get it im from "down south" and moved up north my OH is a true northerner lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted May 15, 2013 Report Share Posted May 15, 2013 Welcome to the forum. Well done for rescuing Eli He's such a handsome chap. Something that might help with the SA. Do you have a secure back garden ?? could you fit a dog flap, so he can go in and out and not feel so trapped. ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CARRINGTON Posted May 15, 2013 Report Share Posted May 15, 2013 Hi and welcome!!!! Sorry I have no advice on SA although my husky does suffer from it, after a while he just settled into our routine and is doing great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cas Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 Hello and . Well done for rescuing Eli, he is gorgeous. I don't have any experience with S A but hope he settles soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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