Hello,

It is not surprising to hear that nothing you have tried so far has worked.

Treating with punishments like a barking collar or barking spray will not work in a case like this (or any case for that matter) as they train out of fear.

Your Bichon is carrying on like this because he has anxiety.

The corrections you have already tried, are only serving to increase his anxiety.

Many dogs have anxiety issues, and most revolve around separation anxiety. There certainly are things that you can do to combat this problem. There are behavioral changes that can be made to help with this, but many dogs do require some type of anti-anxiety medication. The most commonly used drugs are clomipramine HCl and fluoxetine. These can be prescribed by your veterinarian, and your dog would definitely need to have some bloodwork done first to make sure that he had no kidney or liver problems before starting a long-term medication.

Separation anxiety is an abnormal, excessive fear reaction to being left alone, during which time the dog exhibits one or more of the following: destruction (often directed toward exit points), excessive vocaliztion, housesoiling, anorexia, pacing, and hypersalivation. Behavior modification includes the following:

1) Systematically desensitize the dog to predeparture cues. In other words, try not to make a big deal while doing things that you normally do before leaving the house. For example, don't jingle your keys alot, don't talk to the dog alot while putting on your coat or gathering your bags, etc...

2) Minimize excitement associated with greetings and departures. You should ignore the dog for 10-20 minutes prior to departure and after arrival. When you are leaving, do not tell your dog you are going or say goodbye. You should also associate something good with your departure. I like to use a toy called a Kong. You can get one of these at any well-stocked pet store. Smear some peanut butter or place a cookie inside of the hole in it whenever you leave the house and give it to the dog. Then just walk out. This will keep the dog busy for several minutes after you leave, and he may actually start to look forward to your leaving so he can get his treat. When you return, ignore your dog if he is doing any type of anxious behavior (barking, jumping up, licking at you). Once he has calmed down, you can go over to him and say hello and offer him a treat. It is also important that several times during the day, when you find him laying peacefully, that you offer him a food reward and praise him. This will teach him that he will be rewarded for calm behavior.

3) When you are at home, try to have your dog sit/stay away from you. For example, put him in a sit/stay and give him a reward...then tell him to stay again and walk out of the room. Come back after about a minute and then give him another reward and tell him what a good boy he was (if he stayed nicely of course). Repeat this exercise, gradually lengthening the time that you are out of the room.

I am also attaching a client information handout that I use in my practice that discusses separation anxiety in more detail. I hope that you find it useful.

Click Here

Click Here 2

I hope that this information is of help to you, and I wish you the best of luck with your little Fonzie.

If you have further questions regarding this matter, please just let me know as I would be happy to address them for you.

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