I mentioned in a couple of posts that Hudson and I had some difficulties after we were forced to be separated for 3 hours a week ago on Sunday. I believe it was the first time in his life he was left entirely alone – always before, there has been company. First his litter and his dam, then his puppy-raiser (who I know never left him alone because he was part of a prison program, so there is no leaving the dog in the other room for the night or similar) , then his kennel-mate and his trainer, and then me and the boyfriend. He is a very emotionally needy pup, and will often come over and nosebump me to get my attention and a pat on the head. When he is parted from me, he is always extremely happy and eager to be returned to me. (this happens, for example, when I am ill and the boyfriend must take him out, or when I have a severe IBS attack and must run for the bathroom while the dog is eating his dinner, or when I need x-rays and other imaging done that would either be a health hazard or so loud as to unsettle him)
Being a very sensitive, needy dog who has never been left alone, he was quite upset to have it happen to him, and for so long! It was somewhere between 2 1/2 and 3 hours altogether that he was left home. I am quite happy to note that he did not become destructive at all. I worried mostly that he might hurt himself trying to get back to me, but fortunately that did not happen.
That is not to say it was smooth sailing.
When I first came home, he was delighted to see me again. He scooted around like he does when he was excited, his tail whipping so hard back and forth that it struck his own flanks. He nearly leapt into my lap.
However, that was short-lived.
Like a small child, Hudson went back and forth – he was upset and wanted my comforting, but he was also upset with ME and wanted nothing to do with me. He’d come over and bump me with his nose or his head to get my attention like he does sometimes when he wants affection, and after just a moment of petting he’d walk away from me. It was totally abnormal for him, because usually he wants to hang out as long as I’ll pet him! Other times, I’d invite him to come be petted and he’d just lay there looking at me, sometimes not even bothering to look at me.
Worse yet, from my perspective, is that he started ignoring commands. It’s one thing for him to ignore me when I’m offering affection – it’s a bit of a snub and hurts your feelings a bit, but it’s not removing the very capabilities you rely on. On the other hand, when your service dog won’t even follow you out of a room on command, you worry about relying on them. When I tell him to stand, the command I use when I need to use him to steady me when standing or transferring, will he ignore me and keep moving, risking injury to us both? When I ask him to pick something up for me, will he? When I need him, can I rely on him? Or will he keep ignoring me?
I suppose I’m lucky that I continued to be sick and not leave the house. I had to do things for myself that he usually does – get up and turn on and off the light, figure out how to pick up things off the floor, use the edge of the bathtub to steady myself instead of the dog when getting up off the toilet, kick things out of the way instead of having the dog move them…it was a rough couple of days, but managable. I don’t know what I would have done if I had to leave the house on Sunday or Monday.
On Tuesday, I had to go out, because Hudson and I were due to be tested for our recertification. I was very, very worried that we wouldn’t pass. A big part of the test is how well the team works together, and to judge by Sunday and Monday, we might not work well at all that day! He ended up behaving fairly well. Not at our best, but it was good enough to pass. It was a huge relief to pass…and be done. To not have to worry about this for another two years.
But I went through 2 1/2 days of my service dog not wanting to have anything to do with me, and that was their fault for separating us. I went through more pain at the hospital, I was alone, and I had to deal with days of my service dog ignoring me. If it weren’t for them, all I would have had to deal with last week was a nasty stomach virus.
And THAT, that I could have handled.
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No comment right now about the cause of the separation. But it seems to me that Hudson’s separation anxiety is very much like that of a young child.
Better preparation for this might have been occasionally causing short separations, of increasing duration, until it was “no big deal” for him to be apart for 3 hours. The service dog organization might have told you about this. The kid, or the animal, learns that their adult will always come back eventually.
My cats use the head-bump for attention too. I could certainly identify with what you were describing. When we return from a trip or they come home from a day stay at the vet, there is always a few days of adjustment. I’m sure Hudson will be back to normal in no time.
The trouble with trying to desensitize him is that I’d be breaking my agreement with my service dog org. I do intend to discuss the matter with them, but our training and our agreement say that we will not be separated from the dog except under medical necessity, as I recall. I’m sure that’s what our training said; I’m not 100% that our contract said that, but I’m pretty sure it did.
I really try not to break the rules of my service dog org. They’ve got 20 years of experience placing dogs and I bow to their expertise.
Dahlia, I’m not sure you read the previous post which gave the reason for the separation. The ER she went to refused to let the dog (or her boyfriend) inside which forced her bf to leave the dog at home. There was no time for “short separations of increasing duration” as it was an emergency situation.
Kat, I think that Dahlia is merely offering a suggestion of how the issue of Hudson being upset over being left in the future could be handled. 🙂