# Just adopted a dog, too clingy?



## deoxyribo (Nov 2, 2010)

I just adopted a small beagle mix from long beach SPCA (great place for a dog without a home to be by the way, best animal shelter ive seen) and she is very clingy.

a little backstory
shes about 1 year old light brown/white beagle mix. she just got spayed and still has the E-collar on. ive had her about 4 days now and am having a few problems.
I live in an apartment but i work online so i dont leave that much. but it also means my neighbors are very close and will hear a lot. whenever i leave for a second i hear her instantly start crying. ive also come back to howling which is not appropriate for an apartment unfortunately.
she also crys all night. i keep her in my bedroom but not on my bed, and she will cry nonstop which is really affecting my sleep schedule.
the last problem is im pretty sure she was previously trained to use the bathroom indoors. she had a few accidents the first two days and WOULD not go outside.
i usually take her on a 10-30 minute walk 2-5x a day and she just wouldnt go. so i decided i was gonna walk until she went and praise her and give her a treat when she did. so after over an hour she went and now shes going but she still isnt making it easy because she only pees/poos once or twice a day and sometimes it will take a lot of walking, but at least she isnt going inside anymore

what ive done so far:
i started using my bedroom as a sort of crate, feeding her in there and giving a treat then closing the door and staying outside. im hitting the door with my shoe whenever she whines or crys, and am hoping she will go longer and longer without crying. unfortunately after 15-20 times of going in with a treat, she starts crying instantly. basically im scared to leave my apartment cuz she might howl or cry and get my neighbors mad and get me evicted.

as for crying through the night, i ahve no idea how to fix it. will this go away with time?
basically, she follows me everywhere and will cry/whine, and even howl, if she doesnt have access to me.

what can i do to keep her quiet through the night and not cry/whine the instant im out of her sight??

P.S. sorry bout the long story but i need help!

thanks.


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## jess4525 (Aug 27, 2009)

At night, is her crate near your bed? If you can put it next to you that might help. I'd also keep up with the praising her when she goes outside, where she's supposed to.


She's probably still adjusting to her new home, it will get better!


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

Separation anxiety is a tough thing to work through and very common in rescues AND in hounds. 
That being said the trick here is to give her time to settle in to your home and routine and to adjust the training you are trying with the crying. 
Think about it this way. You leave, that's upsetting, she cries a LOUD NOISE happens, startles her and upsets her more...few minutes later, she cries again. Another loud noise occurs. How does this make her being alone feel safer???
Then, you return YAY and you have a treat YAY. Having you around is awesome. How does this make her being alone feel safer?
Punishment when you are out of the room and then rewards and excitement when you come back are going to make the whole thing HARDER and more upsetting for the dog. It's the exact opposite of the recommended treatment for SA. 

As for the other things: housetrain her like she was a puppy, frequent visits outside, restrict her freedom in the house and reward each successful jaunt outside. 

Does she have a dog bed to sleep on? Training her to "go to bed" using great rewards will help to make the bed (her bed) more rewarding than sleeping with you. Also GIVE HER TIME to settle in. A new animal can't be expected to settle in at once, you're a strange person, it's a strange house, strange neighbourhood and you don't know her history. Give her a good bone to chew or a stuffed frozen kong to work on in bed AND in the bedroom when you practice your "leavings". 

I also recommend you write little nice notes to your neighbours. Explain she's a new rescue and is having some trouble settling in (make sure you put the dog's name in the note) and that you are WORKING on it. Most people will understand and give you a bit of leeway and if you ask them to let YOU know when they hear her etc they can feel like they are helping. 

I was in your situation. I get it. My dog had to have antianxiety meds and I took her everywhere with me for a long time while I worked on the desensitization. It's not easy. We've made great progress.

There are many awesome threads here on DF about SA and how to work with it. Do a search and look for posts by Darkmoon.


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## deoxyribo (Nov 2, 2010)

thanks for your reply

as for the training, i give her treats at the beginning and kind of ignore her when i open the door. 
and she does have a dog bed right next to mine, and lately shes been going to sleep okay, but then only staying asleep for a few hours and keeping me up the rest of the night.
also, she doesnt seem to like toys very much. could also be that shes not used to them.

do you have any advice on how i should react at night when shes wimpering and crying?
just completely ignore her or pet her then try to sleep again? ive tried dangling my arm off the bed so she knows im there but it doesnt help a ton.


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## jess4525 (Aug 27, 2009)

Maybe she's telling you she needs to go out?


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