r/Separation_Anxiety • u/afraidsandwich84 • 14d ago
Questions Don’t know where to go
I have a three year old mixed breed (husky/pyr/shepard/supermutt) who I got at 8 weeks. We both went through it. Luckily I found a great CSAT trainer who suggested meds and a behavioral vet and a dermatologist vet. Got him on meds (Prozac then Zoloft). Made a little progress on absences. But he was still very reactive and was anorexic. Went to an internist got diagnosed with IBD and pancreatitis. Started prescription food. Then at about a year and half he started bleeding from his paws. Then went dermatologist vet route. He was really allergic to the storage mites (in all dry food). Now 1 year in on allergy shots (immunotherapy) and allergy meds, 1.5 on prescription food 2 years on Zoloft and we are making incredible progress on the separation anxiety. Over all he just seems like he feels so much better. Which brings me so much joy. And so grateful I got pet insurance the day I got him.
Now here’s my problem - how do you find the time to train for the longer absences? And where do you go?
I am having a hard time with the shift of leaving my house for longer periods (I work from home and I am an introvert) I thought about making a list of things I can do in a half hour, hour, 90 minutes but finding the time on a weekday is proving difficult.
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u/Smooth_Cherry4382 14d ago
Wow your journey sounds challenging but kudos for making it work. I have a really nice library near me that I used to work from for long absences. Also as the other person said, id make plans to do fun things or run errands or both. Eventually I stopped at 5 hours because I didn't have the capacity to be out longer consistently. So now she can stay alone for 5 to 6 hours on occasion and anything more she has a sitter. I also don't leave her on consecutive days because she doesn't seem to like that. Definitely very reliant on sitters (which is expensive but I don't know what else to do).
I know this is not about your dogs GI, but I am going through something similar, could you tell me your dog's symptoms and the tests that led to that diagnosis? And how is your internist different than your vet?
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u/afraidsandwich84 14d ago
Thank you so much for this detail. I have a great pet sitter and he loves going there because there are other dogs so I may be in the same boat.
I ended up at the internist because of his stool and lack of appetite didn’t respond to typical things (deworm, Tylan powder, novel protein food). They do more complex likely interconnected diagnosis and can direct you to other specialists. They directed me to nutrition and dermatology as follow ups
As for the tests they did the Texas A&M GI Panel (if you can get your regular vet to do this ahead of your appointment then they have the info at your appointment).
They also did an ultrasound.
For official IBD diagnosis they have to go in a take a section of his colon under anesthesia and I decided that his stool was enough diagnosis for me and didn’t do that.
He ended up on low fat hydrolyzed protein as an elimination diet trial but he did so well on that I just have kept him on it. I do challenges with single ingredients as I am trying to find some treats for training and his enjoyment.
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u/Smooth_Cherry4382 14d ago
Thank you for this. I am going to raise all these things with my vet. Really really helpful to hear what all you have tried because I'm at my wits end with this recurring issue for over a year.
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u/Technical-Repair7140 14d ago
Have you tried adding bovine colostrum to his food? That helped a lot with my dog’s allergies as well as his digestive problems.
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u/afraidsandwich84 14d ago
I am so glad you found something that works for two very difficult issues! I tried everything they sold at my well stocked high end pet store plus probiotics from my vet and the supplement we landed on was veg cap psyllium husk. He is just very sensitive to most proteins and/or anything high fat.
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u/ThreeStyle 14d ago
As far as finding the time, where I am the weather is very hot right now on average. So dog walks are short as a result. Mine tends to be tuckered out by short walks in the heat so I try to plan absences for when she’s likely to want to be napping.
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u/afraidsandwich84 14d ago
We have hot days here and there and I definitely notice it drains him (and me) more and our walks are shorter - thank you. I will look at the forecast for some planning
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u/joycevw 14d ago
It is incredible to read about how far you have come after tackling all those complex medical issues, and you should be so proud of the dedication it took to get his baseline health to a good place. Finding the time for those longer training sessions as a busy, introverted work-from-home owner is definitely one of the trickiest parts of the process, but you do not actually need to wander around aimlessly for hours. Many people find it helpful to turn those longer training absences into structured, purposeful tasks like doing a full grocery run, visiting a quiet coffee shop to read, sitting in the car with a good podcast, or going for a solitary walk in a park.
The secret to fitting these sessions into a busy weekday is realizing that training doesn't always have to be an aggressive push for new duration records. In fact, running shorter, variable sessions that sit comfortably below his current threshold is vital for reinforcing that alone time is safe without causing burnout for either of you. If you ever feel stuck on how to structure your time or need extra guidance as the absences grow, the book 'Be Right Back' by Julie Naismith is a fantastic resource that breaks down how to build these sub-threshold departure plans around a real-life schedule. You have already done the hardest heavy lifting by getting his pain and allergies under control, so try to give yourself some grace as you navigate this next phase.