Why is my dog so hostile towards me mornings when I go to work?

[Nikia]

On mornings when I go to work, I get ready and then take my dog out and eat breakfast. After I eat breakfast, my dog won't let me pet him or touch my husband whether or not he is sleeping without growling at me. He also barks at me especially when I get up to head out the door.
He is not hostile towards me at all other mornings or other times of the day. He seems really happy when I come home.
We have had him for 4 years, adopting him from the Humane society. He is a 12 years old American Eskimo.

[Dangerously Amused]

1. Separation Anxiety?

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. Maybe he has abandonment issues

And is insecure about you leaving him

[Nikia]

3. Probably but I always come home

I know that it was probably traumatic for him when his previous family left him at the Humane Society four years ago. The first time my husband packed up for a business trip it sounded like my dog was screaming when he left. He reacted the same way the first time we took him to be boarded.
When my husband and I leave the house to do something, he always tries to come with us. We always come home though. When I go to work, I even come home at approximately the same time.

[NewWaveChick1981]

4. That's extreme separation anxiety.

I had a dog about fifteen years ago that went through something similar. She had been left at the animal shelter, and the animal shelter thought she had been abused and/or neglected before she was turned over to them. She was so incredibly happy to have a nice pack with us that whenever hubby or I had to leave (i.e. work, grocery store, etc.), she would get very upset. We had to desensitize her through repetition, and your vet can tell you how to do it. We had to pretend like we were leaving and then go outside for a few minutes and come back in like we had not been gone. We repeated it and stayed gone progressively longer. It took about two weeks of this and she was fine by the end of it. In fact, there were times she just said bye to us and headed to her bed to take a nap. :) One thing that makes separation anxiety worse is to make a big deal or a huge fuss about you coming back. The dog is ecstatic to see you, and if you make it into a big happyfest, that makes leaving worse for the dog.

It's not easy, I know. :hug: It's hard on you and hard on your dog. The desensitization route is the one that worked for us!

[Wcross]

5. American eskimo's a very vocal animals.

I agree it is separation anxiety. I have a rescued girl and she loves to bark. She also growls quite a bit at the rest of the dogs. Is this the only dog in the household? Eskimos tend to need to have company.

Here is a picture of my American Eskimo, Angel. This is after her summer shave down. (Tennessee summers tend to get HOT.)


Here she is in her winter clothes!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

6. Depends. It may be justifiable outrage.

Do you work at one of those?

- Telemarketing firm
- Wal-Mart
- Microsoft
- Halliburton
- Oil company
- Fox News
- Credit Card company

[AlienGirl]

7. Separation anxiey and anticipating being bored

Your dog is expecting that once you're gone, he'll be bored, and he would prefer you to stay so you can entertain him.

Get a foraging toy, something that you put a treat inside that he *really* has to work to get out. Put his favorite treat in it, and always give him that toy/treat as you leave. The idea is to leave him with something productive to do, and leave while he is engrossed in the process of getting the treat. If he gets tired of one foraging toy, or it becomes too easy for him, get another one of a different style and do the same thing. You can have several alternating toys with different kinds of treats.

Another thing that can help is going through your good-bye ritual, leaving for a short time, and coming back very soon (like 5 minutes at a time) to reinforce the idea that your absence is only temporary. This can help if the problem is fear of being alone rather than frustration and boredom.

Tucker