Separation anxiety of a Mini Australian Shephered

For my mini Aussie giving him a solid workday routine and lots of physical/mental stimulation is they key to working with his sepration anxiety.

Workday routine looks like

6-7am = wakeup/walk 30-60 mins (fetch)
715-830 =get ready/eat
830-1230= away from home/work
1230-1pm = dog walker/trusted friend or neighbor/myself will let the dog out at lunch ( I live 15 mins from work so it’s easy for me but if you don’t live near you’re work get a dog walker or friend/neighbor to take the dog out)
1-530=work
530-630= 30-60 min walk (fetch)
630-7 =cook dinner
7=I eat followed by my dog eats
7-830 house stuff
830-845 = quick walk/fetch
845-950 =house stuff
950-10= let the dog out quick before bed
10pm-6am= zzzzzz ( my dog does not sleep in crate)

My dog loves fetch so if I play fetch with him our walks are about 15 mins walking/15 mins playing fetch otherwise I run/walk 60 mins with him ( this is is physical stimulation) fetch also works as a little mental stimulation.

Mini aussies need lots of exercise compared to most dogs so she will need 2x long walks a everyday along another 2-3 Times out (5x total a day), if you skip walks expect destruction.

For Mental stimulation

-My dog always sits and waits for his food before I say ok or I make him do tricks for it
-leave Kong’s filled with treats and kibble toys to engage him when she alone (I only give him these toys when he’s alone or if it’s raining/snowing out and our walks are cut short)
-leave a radio on (talk/sports radio is what I leave on) and keep the rooms she’s in dark (I.e. quiet time for him)
-dog proof a room for her or or over nexts she can easily destory (pillows)
-I leave a shirt or something with my scent on it by his bed/crate for him
-never say goodbye to your dog just leave the house and when you come home ignore her until she is calm.

If you do leave her in crate for 7 hours just make sure someone lets her out half way between being alone (if you or no one else is around you can hire a dog walker Either either by finding someone that walks dogs or use the apps like rover or wag).

Plus side leaving her in the crate is she won’t destory the house but the downside is she will be more hyper(espically if she is not exercised)

On you’re free time have you or family members practice leave her alone for short times at first followed by longer as she gets better with it( I have a webcam to see walk my dog is doing).

Just remember to give her a solid routine and lots of physical/mental stimulation and she will thrive if she does not get this she will become destructive( when my friend watched my dog for 2 weeks while I was out fo the country, he never took him on walks,so with that excess energy/boredom he destroyed pillows and couches but I’ve almost never had this problem minus his first couple weeks because I keep him engaged when I’m around).

Hope this helps and sorry for the confusion on he/she (mines a he lol)

My dogs eat raw including large and small bones. I watch them. The reason to avoid marrow bones is the shafts of large mammal leg bones are harder than dog teeth. Knuckles, ribs and necks are softer bone.

Danger is there. Too much bone can cause concrete poop. Shards can perforate any part of the bowel. Dogs can choke when they try to swallow bone. Teeth can crack. My dogs have suffered from concrete poop when they have eaten too much bone. I feed calcium free meals before and after a planned big bone meal to minimize this. Shards have all passed right through, one dog swallowed a chicken neck whole, another passed a hambone, 3" shard of ceramic, whole cuponoodle styrofoam cups and so on. If they attempt to swallow before the bony bit is chomped enough then they bring it up and I tell them to chomp longer this time. Both these dogs did have slab fractures that needed no treatment late in life. No idea when or how the fractures happened.

ANY treat or toy can injure your dog. It's up to us to know our animals and act accordingly. If you want to try raw knuckles or neck bones then be sure they are larger than your dog's skull so they cannot be taken in the mouth and attempts made to swallow. Do a few rehearsals first so you know how your dog acts with raw bones. It would be good practice for leaving her crated anyway, you want to have her confined so she doesn't decide to have a great time chewing a raw bone on your sofa!