[remysa@yahoo.com]

Hello,

I live in the Los Angeles area. I recently rescued a 16 pound female Chihuahua/lab mix approx. 7 months old.

I found her alone in a parking lot looking so scared. I tried to approach her and she took off running. She soon returned and would not leave my side.

I took her direct after work to The Vet for an exam, weighed her, took her temperature, gave her a shot for Rabies and gave her a flea bath. The Veterinarian told me she was not spayed and had a slight inguinal hernia located between her hind legs that protrudes slightly from her skin. The Vet said this can be tucked in during her spaying.

I brought her home to my girlfriend and I. She was a little scared at first but slowly began warming up and feeling comfortable.

She potty trained very easy. We had one accident where she went #2 in the bedroom. My girlfriend told her no and placed the #2 on the wee wee pads and since not another incident.

Yesterday we took her to the dog park for the first time which went better than expected. My girlfriend and I were not trying to give off any nervous energy and she had an amazing time running and exploring. She was still a little skittish around other dogs when they were playing.

Well when she is at home she barks at all passing neighbors, we tell her no and call her away from the door when she is doing this. When we are gone for a few hours we place her in the bathroom with her bed, food, water and toys. We come home to find that she has scratched and scratched at the door peeling the paint and wood away. It also seems that she does not feel totally comfortable to go potty outside. It is hit or miss when it comes to going potty outside. #1 seems to always be done on the wee wee pads while #2 s sometimes inside or out. She is very territorial when it comes to our home and the surrounding area when we take her for walks. We take her out for walks 4 times a day. We live by the beach and go their or the dog park once a day as well to play. Any suggestions anyone has would be fantastic.

I also have been looking into pet insurance. Looking for a 0% co-pay not really worried about the monthly premium just looking for a good company that will take care of our baby when she needs it to stay healthy.

Thank you.

~R

[Lunareclipse]

My first suggestion would be to crate train her. She is showing signs of seperation anxiety and crate training would save your door from further damage. When you leave, don't pay any heed to the dog. Act like it's the most normal thing in the world. No hugs, kisses, byes or anything. Leave for 5 minutes and come back. Do it again, and again and soon your dog will find that your leaving is a boring thing and nothing to ne concerned about.

[Pearl]

I don't know if this will help you, but about 3 months ago we adopted a german shepherd rescue dog about 1 y.o. He has/had separation anxiety and would scratch on our door, like your puppy does. What I did was take a piece of cardboard (like the back of a paper pad, cut it to size where I saw he was scratching, smeared vicks ointment on the cardboard and taped it to the door. He absolutely DID NOT LIKE the smell of the vicks and did not scratch the door.....I left it on for about one week, and renewed the smell if needed. Low and behold it worked!!!!!!!! has not scratched the door since. Worth a try.....good luck......Pearl

[LearnDogTraining]

The first thing to keep in mind is that the amount of time you'll need to devote to helping your puppy overcome separation anxiety, depends on the amount of stress your puppy experiences.

Make sure that you use crate training. If you find yourself needing to confine your puppy, this will make them comfortable inside their personal space. This way, if your puppy starts showing destructive behaviors due to separation anxiety, then putting them in a crate won't add to that stress and may somewhat reduce it. It's very important, however, that, if your puppy has not been properly crate-trained, then stuffing them into a box while you're away from home is going to make it worse. Also keep in mind that, even a puppy that's been properly crate trained cannot be left in a box for prolonged periods of time. A constantly-caged animal will have mental health problems with or without separation anxiety. Hopefully this could help you