Grrrrr, vets have no right to recommend medicine to help a dog with anxiety. I do believe it is anxiety, whether it be from Tony being anxious all the time or it is separation anxiety. I have offered advice before, and I have also just watched Tony's threads and not respond. The reason I am responding today, is because, Tony and Bandit need help. Not from us here on the forum, but with a trainer who knows how to deal with this type of behavior. Tony, I have mentioned to you before you need someone to come to you and Bandit and help you. I think it's great that you come here seeking help, and for the most part we as a collective can and have helped you two through many things. You have a beautiful girl, and I know you struggle as a first time husky owner(and first time dog owner). I commend you for seeking out help through this forum. I just feel this is more of a hands on problem you have. Where someone needs to go to you and help you, not from us telling you to do this or that.


http://dogtraining-delaware.com/      Tony take a look at these people, unless someone else can give you a better place to go. They will go to your home, they will go to your town. They specialize in obsessive compulsive behavior as well as separation anxiety.

http://positiveresultsdogtraining.com/    Here is another place you can contact. They offer all around training.

I am not familiar with your area, but by typing in dog behaviorists in Bear Delaware brought those 2 places up. Again if someone else here can provide Tony with a better behaviorist, which imho is what Bandit and Tony need, please offer up some contact info. Sometimes new dog owners just don't know where to begin.

Tony, I know you have asked about a second dog recently, it may help, but for the time being I think it would be a wise choice to get Bandit in the right frame of mind, and you know how to properly care for her, before you add another.

aljones wrote:

Time out!!

Jeff, that was unfair - probably more true than not - but still overly abrupt, imho.  Tony's a new Husky owner who's doing his best to figure out how Bandit works - I'll give him credit that he hasn't taken her to a shelter with the learning curve he's going through.

Tony, first I do have to agree with the consensus that Bandit's chewing on his tail is probably anxiety - and will not even begin to suggest the reason why.  
I will disagree with Jeff on one point - *my dogs* have one of the most unstructured lifestyles going and they don't chew on things, run away (run, yes; away, well, not too far) or get too hyper (and that's within limits).  I think I've said before that I tend tho think that it's your anxiety that you're passing to Bandit.  

As far as the benedryl - it has it's uses; it's great for snake bites in that it reduces the swelling and relaxes the dog; it's handy for long trips with dogs who are travel anxious; I've even used ot for Avalanche when we've had thunder storms of long duration, he's nervous but normally handles the ones that pass through, more than a couple of hours and he's pacing.  It does have its place - but for a vet to recommend it for what would amount to daily use is not even borderline abusive and almost criminal.

I'm sorry Al, I don't accept your objection.  My post was accurate,  impersonal,  non-judgmental,  and justified given the situation,  especially considering I was specifically asked what I thought about the situation.

I have not addressed Tony as a person at all beyond his relationship with his dog,  which we all happen to have lots of information about.

So I don't accept the objection of unfairness. As for abruptness, well, that's simply a direct post online without expressions of sympathy or compassion, and I'm not going to apologize for that. Not my style and also not very productive in terms of addressing actual problems and working together to find solutions.

Renée ' s post balanced my post perfectly. Both accurate and justified, but different in nature and style.

Okay so for the,last week I have had her sleeping all night in the crate. I used to leave the door open now its closed at night. If the door is open she,would end up in my bed at some point in the night. Now, since the door has been shut at night there is almost no crying when I leave. I recorded roughly 90 mins of when I left for work this morning and all she did was sleep. Wish my battery didn't die on the go pro. I will try to get more but she acted normal but I still think that's when the tail chewing is going on. She has recently been chasing her tail so maybe there is something wrong with it??

Tony, I would go to a different vet, see if there is dry skin, mites, or something bothering her. Once the vet rules out any physical problems, ask if it's anxiety related, if so ask for a behaviorist recommendation, if they can not recommend any one, please contact the two places I gave you links to. I personally think it is anxiety based. Having a second opinion, will at the very least give you a better foundation to work with. Even if she has a medical problem, I would still seek out a behaviorist. Bandit seems to transfer her anxiety from one issue to another, by having someone come to you and help you, in no way means you are doing a bad job. Huskies, are prone to having certain issues, and without experience or knowledge, you will battle manifestations forever with her. Even the most experienced dog/husky owner, may at times need more help. Please do not think your are inept, you are inexperienced. Bandit in time will be a fantastic companion to you, but she will never be, unless you seek out a professional who is local to you and can give you the hands on experience that you need.

Tony, I would much rather see daily posts of you and Bandit and the fun times you have, rather than the posts with you asking on how to correct an issue. Although, even the most seasoned vets here will have a problem, from time to time. The overall flow of the forum is on how we interact happily with our huskies. I would love to hear and see the wonderful moments that are awaiting the two of you. Simply pick up the phone and give one of those 2 sites a call. Tell them that you have a husky and she has some anxiety related issues and that you are an inexperienced owner who needs help. Nothing wrong with doing that, it really is a grand gesture to do that, because you want to have the best experience with your husky, and the best life she can have with you.

I highly recommend the second link--Nancy Fitzgerald is a wonderful trainer in Delaware and should be able to help immensely.

I'd also recommend Joe Goch: https://www.facebook.com/OffLeashK9TrainingPhiladelphia

He's who we worked with for Anya-he'll come to your home.

I'll look into them. First I am going to get a different opinion from another vet before I call one of them. I just feel like a failure if I have to call someone in to help... Ya know. It's a dog it shouldn't be this hard ughhhhhh

Are you a professional dog trainer? Behaviorist? No? Then you need help.

Just like you wouldn't depend on yourself and the internet for a cancer diagnosis, you are in over your head and shouldn't be looking to handle this on your own.

I mean this lovingly and gently, really. We all have had the moment where we were overwhelmed by our dogs--the important thing is to get help as early on as possible so you can start really enjoying life with your pet!

Don't feel like a failure Tony. Being a failure is by failing to call and get the support and help you and Bandit need. You chose, imho, the most beautiful dog breed in the world, but by doing so, you also picked one of the most intelligent, yet most difficult dog for a first time owner to have. It is not failure to ask for help, on the contrary. I can assure you if you call and get the help you two need, many of us here will applaud you and congratulate you, since I know many of us have been here to help you the several months you've been on the forum. I mentioned this before, but I will mention again, the longer you wait to get the help you need, the more difficult Bandit will be to correct her behaviors.

I have a appt with a different vet tomorrow. We will see how it goes and see what is determined. Oh boy im nervous to find out

Jimmy - if the vet rules out anything medical, I wonder if she is plain too much by herself with your work schedule - while you wait for training to take hold, you might try putting her in day care a few days a week. Or, I saw your video at your parents - are they able to doggy sit a bit so she has some company?

Vet said start with a different flea med. Didn't see any mites, fleas on her coat but May have been bitten before and it is driving her nutts. She said "I don't want to jump to behavioral without looking at the easier diagnosed options" not word for word but you get the idea. I feel a little more confident with her than I do the original Vet I was taking her too. Time will tell

That sounds much better than automatic Benedryl.

RIGHT!!!! I think I'm done with the other place. My visit was for about an hr instead of 10mins

FINALLY!!! got it on video of her biting her tail.... for 2 seconds lol all this time recording. At least a dozen times and when she finally does it she bits for two seconds. She was laying down sleeping... then woke up... bit her tail a bit.... then her leg for a second then back to sleep ugh!