- Location
- Canada
I've been asked to look after Angel overnight for New Years...
last time the "girls" were in this house at the same time, it was chaos---I had Trixie at one end of the house, frantically trying to reach Angel, and Angel at the other end, frantically trying to reach Trixie. We had a handler for each, and were rewarding each time they sat.
Now I do intend to pose this problem to the trainer when I see her...but I have only a few weeks to prepare Trixie for ann overnighter, and she's the main cause of the ruckus. How do I teach her to calm, when Angel is in the house?
If I keep her on umbillical tie, will she eventually settle? Should I talk to the vet about a dose of Trazadone for that date, to help manage the stress?
My first inclination was to refuse Angel.....but her seperation anxiety is BAD if left overnight--bad enough that her owner left an overnight job paying $24/hour for a day job paying only $17/hour. And Angel is part of our pack--we raised her. I'm not OK with leaving her in a panic-inducing situation when her owner is forced to travel overnight. It's only one night......I'm sure there's a way we can manage....but I'm asking for some advice from more experienced owners.
Steps being taken so far:
Pack walks: teaching Trixie to walk alongside Angel, with a person between the girls This works until Angel pushes in to join in the treat giving, then Trixie jumps on her and has to be reset to my side.
In yard: Trixie has a long line, so she is separated at first sign that she's making Angel uncomfortable with her physical play. Angel loves chase, but is not a fan of having her face nipped. We stop them and break them up often.
In house: dogs on lead, or seperated by gates. Treats given liberally, any time Trixie looks at, but does not react to Angel. Near the beginning of the visit, treats given any time she manages a check in, then a sit, then a down. Last visit with Angel, it took 4 hours for the dogs to calm to where I had Angel chewing a bone in the bedroom, and Trixie allowed out of her pen/off a lead. Still heavily rewarding every look
last time the "girls" were in this house at the same time, it was chaos---I had Trixie at one end of the house, frantically trying to reach Angel, and Angel at the other end, frantically trying to reach Trixie. We had a handler for each, and were rewarding each time they sat.
Now I do intend to pose this problem to the trainer when I see her...but I have only a few weeks to prepare Trixie for ann overnighter, and she's the main cause of the ruckus. How do I teach her to calm, when Angel is in the house?
If I keep her on umbillical tie, will she eventually settle? Should I talk to the vet about a dose of Trazadone for that date, to help manage the stress?
My first inclination was to refuse Angel.....but her seperation anxiety is BAD if left overnight--bad enough that her owner left an overnight job paying $24/hour for a day job paying only $17/hour. And Angel is part of our pack--we raised her. I'm not OK with leaving her in a panic-inducing situation when her owner is forced to travel overnight. It's only one night......I'm sure there's a way we can manage....but I'm asking for some advice from more experienced owners.
Steps being taken so far:
Pack walks: teaching Trixie to walk alongside Angel, with a person between the girls This works until Angel pushes in to join in the treat giving, then Trixie jumps on her and has to be reset to my side.
In yard: Trixie has a long line, so she is separated at first sign that she's making Angel uncomfortable with her physical play. Angel loves chase, but is not a fan of having her face nipped. We stop them and break them up often.
In house: dogs on lead, or seperated by gates. Treats given liberally, any time Trixie looks at, but does not react to Angel. Near the beginning of the visit, treats given any time she manages a check in, then a sit, then a down. Last visit with Angel, it took 4 hours for the dogs to calm to where I had Angel chewing a bone in the bedroom, and Trixie allowed out of her pen/off a lead. Still heavily rewarding every look
Last edited:
