[noirwest]

Hello, been lurking for a while, have a problem here that prompts me to post. We (wife and I) brought a rescue Belgian Teruven (sp) home about two months ago. He's roughly five years old, male, recently fixed. The rescue folks had him in a house with about a dozen other dogs and didn't know too much about him except that he'd been picked up as a stray, bonded quickly, and liked his crate.

We get him home and get him on a good diet with supplements for his rather bedraggled coat and heavily tartered teeth. A trip to the vet for blood work and a few ticks to be removed and he's given a clean bill of health. Now to say he, 'bonds easily' was the understatement of the year. He seems unable to function unless he's within touching distance of whomever is in a room. If you're in the kitchen he'll come in and eat, if you leave? So does he, in mid-bite. The one night he's been home alone we came home to find diarrhea all over our bed after he'd already demonstrated going for much longer between bathroom breaks with us at home. And now this. He's opened a patch of skin on his nose from either rubbing it on his paw or against his crate cushion that won't heal. He does the rubbing when we're here and have him in his crate (which, as it turns out he hates and refuses to enter without help) and when we're away. We can't leave him out as he chewed up a TV remote a while back when left home for about two hours - not to mention that whole poop on the bed thing. Yesterday he destroyed his crate cushion in about 30 minutes time alone.

I haven't done a very good job of chronicling behaviors but they've been escalating steadily in frequency and intensity instead of diminishing with time as we had hoped. I'm wondering if there's anything to be done for this or did we just bring home an extremely anxious 70+ pound dog?

[midnightbluemamma]

that poor baby, ya know they are just like children, maby he was never loved as much as you two love him and he is afraid that it will all go away, like babies when they are small if you turn the corner they think that you disappeared and will never come back try to think about it that way, when I am at home and my pup is in the crate I try to have the crate right next to me because she does the same thing, Or when I have to leave the house I leave her with something that smells just like me, you could also consider finding a friend to watch him when you have to leave, or a doggie sitting agency, if you have the $$. hope it all works out for yall, and congratulations on your new addition.

[alundy]

I would try working on slowly increasing crate time with lots of positive reinforcement. The dog needs to feel confident that when you leave, you are coming back!
This is my suggestion:
Start by re-introducing the crate. Never use it for punishment. Leave some random treats in there for him to find. Since he is so clingy, you might have to hang out right beside the crate for a while so that he will go in. When we got our rescue pup, I put her in the crate, shut the door, and layed on the floor beside the crate talking to her - encouraging. It worked well. If she ever starting whining or barking or carrying on, I just got up and left. The moment she became silent, I came back in.

Next step would be to crate him, and leave the house for 10 minutes. Listen for when he becomes quiet, then come back in and let him out. Gradually increase the time but only when he has mastered the small increments without going nutso.

Another tip - don't make a big deal out of arrivals and departures. Alot of people come home from work, let the dog out of the crate, and go "oh yayyyyyy I'm home, yayyyyy, I missed you, oh good yayyyy!!" and this just reinforces to the dog that having you leave him in the crate is awful, while getting out of the crate is wonderful - not what you want. Whatever his absolute favourite food is, give that to him ONLY in the crate. I think in this case something really special is warranted. Maybe some real liver or something. For the first while, give him a piece of whatever it is EVERY time he goes in the crate. He will start to make the association and hopefully look forward to it.

Good luck! I'm sure he'll come around. He's obviously had a rough start and he needs to build up confidence in the permanency of his home and family. The longer he's with you, as long as you encourage good habits and don't encourage the bad ones, the more laid back he will get. Our pup used to follow us in the same way - she would leave her food to follow us around the house. But she has grown out of it in the past 2 months.

[noirwest]

We have to physically put him into the crate most times now, at first he'd go into it with great reluctance. Now he just hunkers down and cowers like he's been beaten into submission. He doesn't bark when we leave, doesn't bark much, period. He does make a lot of growly noises but that appears to be his bark substitute. My wife exercises him until he's tired and lavishes him with attention pretty much nonstop when the two of them are together so there's no shortage there, either. He paces quite a bit and I shouldn't admit that I find this funny, but I do, all three of us will be on the couch and I'll get up and go to the kitchen and he'll get off the couch and waver between my wife and I while he tries to decide which one to stick close to.

[jessica6383]

Oh what a sweetheart! We fostered a pup with similar, but not as severe issues a year or so back. She did better simply by getting profuse exercize (the squirrels in our backyard did wonders for her demeanor!), but I don't know what else to tell you. How is your pup doing now?

[Dulce]

I would crate when you aren't home.

[DogAdvocat]

Originally Posted by noirwest

Hello, been lurking for a while, have a problem here that prompts me to post. We (wife and I) brought a rescue Belgian Teruven (sp) home about two months ago. He's roughly five years old, male, recently fixed. The rescue folks had him in a house with about a dozen other dogs and didn't know too much about him except that he'd been picked up as a stray, bonded quickly, and liked his crate.

We get him home and get him on a good diet with supplements for his rather bedraggled coat and heavily tartered teeth. A trip to the vet for blood work and a few ticks to be removed and he's given a clean bill of health. Now to say he, 'bonds easily' was the understatement of the year. He seems unable to function unless he's within touching distance of whomever is in a room. If you're in the kitchen he'll come in and eat, if you leave? So does he, in mid-bite. The one night he's been home alone we came home to find diarrhea all over our bed after he'd already demonstrated going for much longer between bathroom breaks with us at home. And now this. He's opened a patch of skin on his nose from either rubbing it on his paw or against his crate cushion that won't heal. He does the rubbing when we're here and have him in his crate (which, as it turns out he hates and refuses to enter without help) and when we're away. We can't leave him out as he chewed up a TV remote a while back when left home for about two hours - not to mention that whole poop on the bed thing. Yesterday he destroyed his crate cushion in about 30 minutes time alone.

I haven't done a very good job of chronicling behaviors but they've been escalating steadily in frequency and intensity instead of diminishing with time as we had hoped. I'm wondering if there's anything to be done for this or did we just bring home an extremely anxious 70+ pound dog?

To add to the good advice you've already gotten, if you aren't familiar with the breed you have, it might be an idea to read up on it, or consult experts in the breed. Belgian Tervuren are herding animals, and so it's likely to not be too unusual for him to be considering you as his herd. Not all dogs are as driven as others, but I remember a Collie I once had that wanted all family members to be on the same side of the room, and if we weren't, she would whine and pace. This might also explain why he stops eating when you leave the room.

Also, I didn't get a sense of how long you have had this dog. If there has been recent diet changes, especially if they weren't done slowly, that could be adding an upset stomach (the diarrhea) to his separation anxiety, which would heighten the anxiety.

Another thing to add to his anxiety is that in the rescue you got him from, he was never alone (other dogs), and so when you leave the house, it's exceeedingly lonely for him.

My suggestion is that you settle his stomach first, then along with the other tips you've gotten, enroll the two of you in an obedience class using positive reinforcement. This will facilitate the bonding process as well as teach him the right way to please you, and a good trainer should be able to help you understand his needs a little more.

Keep using the crate, but try as much as possible to use it for only good -- like feeding him in it, etc. Before you leave the house, exercise him as much as you can so he'll be more likely to want to take a nap. Then leave him with something he really enjoys like a treat filled kong. Make sure what you leave is safe. A sterilized shin bone where you can stuff peanut butter, cheese, or other treats, where he has to really work at licking it out, will help him to get past your initial departure, and when he's tired, he should just sleep.

Be sure not to leave him too long, which may mean having someone come in and let him out every couple of hours (if you work). Also try to rotate his toys so that he doesn't get bored with the same thing every day. It also may help him if you'll leave a talk radio station playing.