Anxiety in our 5 Year Old Pyr Question

[txshopgirl]

Our dogs have been through obedience training. Our Golden was truly a "golden boy"....NEVER had a problem with him..."canine good citizen", numerous obedience certificates. Our Pyr has not been through "training" at classes, but has been worked with here. He knows the "basic" commands of "come", "stay", "down", "sit" and "leave it". I can't have an over 115 pound dog not coming on command, or not "staying" if I need to put him in a "stay" positon. He is truly a wonderful dog, but he hates confinement. He has never liked a crate. He hates small spaces. I know of NO vet who can figure this out short of medication.

We got our Newfy puppy this past January. Winston seemed to do better if it thundered. He'd actually lay beside our Newf's kennel and sleep and thunder would be booming, but around the 4th, he just went bezerk! I think there was just too much firework activity in our neighborhood and it started BEFORE the 4th and continuted well after. Even last night, people were shooting fireworks off in the distance. I found bottle rocket debris, after the 4th, in our yard and we have over an acre of yard where we live in our subdivision. Our Pyr has free reign over the yard. He patrols the WHOLE permiter of it several times a day, so he has a job, he thinks! He sleeps right under our bedroom window every night and several times during the day. He guards us!

As for what you did to your kennel....I'd bet the farm that our Pyr would get out of that and in the process bloody himself all up. He stops at nothing. He doesn't open the doors to his kennels, or crates...he destroys the metal! He mauls it to pieces with his paws. I am familiar with "hog wire" ...we had it on our fence, at our former home to keep the wild hogs out and our Pyr in. And the pain that he is inflicting upon himself does not seem to stop him.

I came home one day to the blinds a mess (4 of them) and Winston tangled in one of them. He could not move and we don't know how long he had been there. I had been gone for at least 2 hours that day. He had never tried to get out through the blinds, so we don't know what happened. He hates squirrels and we have a couple that come to the feeders, out back ,but he has seen them several times. We don't know if the squirrel got his attention and he couldn't stand it, or something else. We have a privacy fence all around our yard. Our gates are locked, except for one side gate. We live in a nice subdivision with neighbors and we live in a cul-de-sac and are at the end of that cul=de-sac. We have never had any problems. Both of my neighbors are stay at home people with one set of retirees and the husband is in their computer almost all day...he sees EVERYTHING from his front window! We don't know???

I hope that you don't have any further problems with your Pyr, but if it is already destroying kennel doors, or getting out.....you might I'm thinking of contacting "Caesar Milan....The Dog Whisperer"!!! Of course he'd have to see Winston in action to know what to fix!!

Good luck with your Pyr and thanks for responding! I appreciate it!

[TexasKat]

You might consider talking to a behaviorist who is familiar with Pyrs. Their breed behavior is so different from Goldens (or Newfs) that just ANY behaviorist isn't likely to be successful. BTW, Milan's methods are VERY unsuccessful with Pyrs, so that's really not a great option. Mine refuse to be 'confined' either. They spend most of the day inside with us during these hot summer days (I'm home all day too) but anytime either of them wants to go outside, they ask and we open the door for them. We've never 'crated' or 'kenneled' ours, but rather gated off an area in our house (in our case the kitchen/family room) so that the 'smallest' area of 'confinement' was about 600 sq feet.

Our previous Pyr mix was terrified of fireworks (and thunderstorms) as well. The best solution was to bring him inside (where he could cuddle in his 'spot/den/safe' place) until it was over. Sometimes we had to sit on the floor next to him during an event. A good massage/petting session went a long way toward calming his anxiety.

I really think that you're beyond the internet advice stage. You need to have someone directly on-site that can observe his behavior.

For advice on contacting a Pyr-experienced behaviorist, you might get in touch with the (relatively) local Pyr rescue groups for their suggestions about acceptable behaviorists.

SPIN (Saving Pyrs in Need) is based in the Dallas area (Garland I think) at SPIN, Inc 214-473-4394. Email: savingpyrsinneed@yahoo.com. Website: http://www.spinrescue.org/

The Texas Great Pyrenees Rescue is located at: Texas Great Pyrenees Rescue , 13124 Ranchette Rd , Montgomery, TX 77356, Phone: (877) 746-9508 but I know they have an active chapter in the Dallas area. http://www.txpyrs.org/TGPRescue/jsp/Contacts.jsp

[Jewel]

One thing you might want to do is to install a camera in your house/yard to observe your pyr's behavior when he is left alone. When you see him in action, maybe you might figure out something to do to help him.

This year's storms have been worse than other years, particularly with the lightening. My male who has never had an issue with storms developed an issue this year. He now gets nervous and stressed when it thunders.

I think that there are certain anxiety conditions that can't be treated by behavior modification alone. Nancy's Holly had severe anxiety issues as a puppy and they did have to use medication to help Holly. I can understand your wanting to contact CM since nothing else seems to be working. I would imagine his solution would be to find ways to desensitize Winston and other ways to build his confidence. I know a good number of people in our general area that participate in dog sports and so I know of a number of trainers. But I haven't heard of people talking about a good behaviorist. I will ask around.

[txshopgirl]

Thanks, I will check into some of your recommendations within our area!

[txshopgirl]

And I was kidding about contacting Caeser Milan!!! Every dog is different. We have had a "neurotic" Newf in the past, a Golden Retriever that HATED the water and now we have Winston.

I think if we lived out in the "open" away from everything and we lived in an area that did not have HORRIFIC thunder storms, or "hail".....Winston would probably be just fine! Oh and a place that was not so hot! Texas is just hot, but it's home!

We'll figure out something. Winston is just different. He is VERY sensitive. He is very aware of his surroundings and he does an excellent job of keeping our yard patrolled and he LOVES kids so much. But he is sensitive in nature, from within himself. I can sense a sweetness about him, but I also sense a bit of "caution".

Thanks for posting

[txshopgirl]

And I do agree with your statement of people "humanizing" dogs. I have told my husband SOOO many times that he is making Winston, our Pyr, into something he was not meant to be! My husband wanted Winston to be his "inside, lay by my chair, best friend dog" and Winston would rather be outside in the elements....muddy, messy fur....doing what he was bred for....tending a farm! He came from a farm...."back off the beaten path" farm! To this day, he will go do his "doggy business" in the trees, or woods over just going in the yard anywhere. When we went to choose him, he was the puppy that would go running into the edge of the wood to do his "business"...he STILL does that. Except we don't have a wooded area in our yard! We do have a small clump of cedar trees that he has decided is "his" potty area!

But I agree with you. However, we have had him for over 5 years now. He is part of our family and we are going to have to figure out something to make his life easier. Thanks for posting!

[Tuxedodog]

My Border Collie has severe separation anxiety, it started when our Golden died. In 3 years he destroyed his wire crate, the garage, he ate through the overhead door multiple times, tore the door frames off, destroyed the walls... you get the picture. We went to a veterinarian who is a behaviorist. The BC was great for her, but when we asked him to do the exercises she showed us, he shut down like we were punishing him. The vet put him on Clomicalm and over the past few years we have increased to the maximum dose. We got our Pyr/GSD 3 years ago to keep him company and he is so much better that the two of them can be left in the house for the day and I don't worry that my windows and walls will be gone when I return.

I wouldn't doubt that all of the moves made your dog insecure, Pyrs are very territorial. Changing his territory multiple times probably contributed to his state of mind.

I wish you the very best in finding a solution that works for Winston, he sounds like a wonderful dog.

[TexasKat]

It seems that Winston has more than one issue -- rather than generalized anxiety.

There is:

1) the "can't be confined" issue
2) the "thunder/fireworks" issue
3) the "hypervigilance" issue (he seems to over-react in his effort to protect).

A few questions if I can ask:

#1: He can't tolerate being confined.

• When you were having to move so frequently and living in an apartment, did you have to crate him very often then?
  
• You mentioned that you take him to Petsmart for boarding if he needs to be boarded. How is his reaction at and after Petsmart (they only have small spaces and as far as I know, no large (by large I mean 10ft x 40x ft inside-outside runs). Their 'largest' room may still be small to him. Is he more anxious after having been boarded there?
  
• On edit: Have you walked with him to his Petsmart kennel? Is it at the end of a longish corridor?
  
• Do you take Winston for walks around the neighborhood?

#2: The thunder/fireworks issue:

• Is he skittish around other unexpected loud noises like a pan dropping on the floor?
  
• Is he skittish around vacuum cleaners, leaf blowers or other continuous mechanical noises?
  
• Does he have a place inside the house where he feels safe to go when he's anxious? (Behind a chair, a special room, under a table, glued to your side?
  
• What is his reaction during thunderstorms or fireworks? You have described how anxious he is, but not what he does. If he is not confined (but has the run of the house) what does he do?

#3: Hypervigilance

• How social is Winston with other dogs (not those in your family)? Has his behavior changed relative to other non-family dogs since your Golden passed?
  
• What does he do when he goes after a squirrel? Does he stop when the squirrel runs up a tree or over the fence? Does he bark or charge or both? What happens when the intruder is run off? Does he continue to bark?
  
• What is his alert/bark threshold? Does he bark at everyone walking down the street? Only at people coming to the door? Only at strangers? Only at adults?
  
• How often does he get to go outside the backyard (but not in the car)?
  
• What is his behavior like when he goes outside the backyard? For instance, head down or head up? Watchful for threats or withdrawn? Pulling on the leash or quietly walking along?

I know it's a lot of questions, but I really think that, rather than a generalized anxious dog, you have a Pyr with several distinct triggers -- each of which need to be addressed separately. If you have time to answer a few of these questions, it may shed more light on what his behavior is and from there we may be able to help you understand WHY he behaves that way and that may suggest some solutions.

[Jewel]

A friend told me of this behaviorist in Dallas. I don't know whether she has particular experience with anxiety issues, at least her website doesn't say that specifically. But I presume you can call and inquire.

http://www.thedogspeaks.com/index.html

I'll continue to ask around.

[SebastiansMom]

My friend and I recently had an appointment with Aaron Stewart, owner of The Educated Dog, to work on some aggression issues my friend's Saint was having toward my Saint/Pyr puppy. He is in the Dallas area, and absolutely wonderful!
As it is, my puppy also has separation anxiety and claustrophobia issues, to the point that he will not eat even his favorite, special-occasion treats while crated. He has yet to destroy anything, but I worry that his new crate won't be able to contain him if he can't be crate-trained by the time he is large and powerful enough to destroy it. I will probably be calling Aaron in the near future.