Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Posted on by TheBorkingGabby

WHAT IS SEPARATION ANXIETY?

Separation anxiety is a term used to describe dogs that are overly dependant from their guardian and that experience anxiety when left alone.

The separation worries them so much that quite a few of them start to be anxious as soon as they realize their guardian is about to leave. Some of these dogs try to never be alone. So much that they follow their guardian wherever they go when they are in the house. Some instead don’t show any evident sign up until minutes after they are left alone.

SYMPTOMS

Some symptoms appear before the guardian has left the house:

  • drooling
  • shaking
  • restlessness
  • crying
  • following their guardian around

Some symptoms only happen when the guardian is not present:

  • soiling (not to be confused with not completely housebroken dogs that might soil indoor when owner is not in sight because they are afraid of punishment)
  • coprophagia (also not to be confused with dogs that do it because afraid of punishment)
  • destructive behaviour focused mostly on the guardian’s possessions or exit points (except juvenile destruction or boredom)
  • excessive vocalization
  • pacing
  • escaping
  • drooling
  • self-harm that can happen as a result of the destructive behaviour or as a result of stress related over grooming

CAUSES

There can be different reasons for a dog to develop separation anxiety but it usually appears as a consequence of some trauma.

This include:

  • been suddenly left alone in the house without having been given the chance to get used to it gradually
  • something scary happened to the dog or around him while he was alone. (being abandoned in a shelter, fireworks outside but close to the house, etc…)
  • change of guardian
  • change of residence
  • change of routine
  • sudden absence of a household member (maybe passed away or moved out)

WHAT HELPS

  • playing games and doing exercises that promote confidence. This will encourage your dog in trying new strategies to cope with your absence.
  • medication in severe cases. This is something to be always discussed with your vet beforehand. It’s only necessary if your dog is too anxious for any initial progress to be made at all.

WHAT DOESN’T HELP

  • A crate. Crating your dog might be useful if your dog sees it as a safe place but he’s most likely going to feel confined in a tight space. If your dog experiences enough anxiety he might injure himself by trying to escape.
  • Another dog. Unfortunately the separation anxiety is most likely related to the absence of his human guardian/s rather than be caused by being left alone so getting another dog will not help.
  • Distractions. Toys or boredom busters are only effective when a dog is calm enough. That’s because these toys require some concentration and anxious dogs cannot focus. However once you start the exercises and your dog starts to be calm enough then these toys are a valuable aid to the training.
  • Punishment. Punishing your dog is not effective for 3 reasons. Firstly it might arrive too late for your dog to associate it to the reason he is being punished for. Secondly it’s going to make your dog fear your arrive as well as your departure and therefore making the whole experience a lot more stressful. Finally your dog’s behaviour is not the result of misbehaviour or lack of training.
  • making a fuss when going out or getting home. Knowing how your dog reacts to your absence, you might be worried whenever you leave or come back and as a result you might make a fuss of your dog in the attempt of reassuring him. Unfortunately dogs tend to mirror our emotions and are more likely to feel worried if we are. So when you leave or come back don’t make a fuss of your dog until he’s calm.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Even though separation anxiety is a serious and complex issue there are things that can be done to manage or solve the problem.

Special exercises can really turn things around and make life easier for both the pet and the guardian.

But before you start the training there are a few things that you need to keep in mind:

  • you should never leave your dog alone as long as the training is still in progress. Take him with you if you can or arrange for someone like a family member of a friend to be there when you cannot. Dog walkers or dog day care are also a good option. This is extremely important because giving your dog the chance to feel anxious will take you a step back in the training or it will invalidate all your progress all together
  • having training sessions only when the dog is calm and before anxiety appears. This is because a stressed dog will not be able to learn a new behaviour but will only remember how he felt during the stressful situation;
  • make sure to have a kong, puzzle toy or chew toy to use during the training once your dog starts becoming calmer when he is alone. These toys are boredom busters and can keep your dog’s mind off the fact that he’s alone. But they only work when your dog isn’t already experiencing anxiety. If introduced while he’s anxious than your dog will be too worried to engage with the toy
  • exercise before leaving. Movement not only releases endorphins (that alleviate stress and anxiety) but it also tires your dogs down so that he will be more likely to occupy the time he’s alone with a nap
  • slowly build up the time you leave your dog alone until you reach 40 min (a few seconds at the time) and then 5 min at the time until an hour, 15 min at the time until 90 min, then you can try 4 hours and after you can do up to 8

MILD/MODERATE CASES

If your dog has mild to moderate separation anxiety you need to desensitize your dog to the cues that tell him that you are leaving and then you need to very slowly habituate him to be by himself starting for as little as a second.

The first exercise consists into tricking your dog into thinking that all the departure cues don’t actually mean that you are going out. This is important because a dog can start getting anxious even before you leave. This happens because dogs can pick up on our routine, they can learn that there are certain things that we only do right before our departures and therefore they will know what is about to happen as soon as we start to prepare ourselves to go out.

There are a lot of cues that we put in place and they are different for everyone. However the most common ones are getting dressed, putting your shoes on and grabbing your keys. So think for a while about what you regularly do before going out and make a list.

Now do your cues, as if you were going out, and walk up to the door. You might notice that your dog is distressed but don’t make a fuss of him and open the door a little. Without stepping out, close the door and then do your routine for when you get back home (putting keys down, taking off your shoes, hanging your coat, etc…) and go sit somewhere. If your dog comes up to you to greet you don’t make a fuss of him. Only pet him when he will have calmed down again.

Repeat the exercise a few times during the day and over the next few days. You will notice that your dog will be confused at first and he will keep an eye on you. But as you repeat the exercise he will start to ignore you and he will settle. When you start seeing him calm you can introduce a toy to keep him busy and you can pass on to the next step.

The second exercise consists into doing exactly the same things as in the exercise above. Except this time you will step out of the door and close it behind you for just a second before getting back inside. Then continue the exercise as before.

Your dog might look a bit concerned at first but as you repeat the exercise he should settle down again.

Once this happens than you can start building the time you are out.

MODERATE/SEVERE CASES

If your dog has moderate to severe separation anxiety then you might need to add another couple of exercises before you start practising with the ones above.

The first exercise that you can do consist in asking your dog to stay in one room as you slowly move outside and out of sight. Slowly build up the time your dog has to stay in that room. Once he consistently does it for a few seconds, you can introduce a kong or a toy that will keep him busy. Moreover he will associate the toy with your imminent return and that will keep him calm.

Practise in different rooms and once you can leave your dog alone for 40 minutes you can proceed with the second exercise.

The second exercise consists in asking your dog to stay while you go out of the room and you close the door behind you. Start with a few seconds and then build up the time. You can leave the toy with him. Once you reach the 40 min than you can move on to the same exercises for the mild cases.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or if you need help with one of our services don’t hesitate to contact us in the following ways. We are available for all Chelmsford (UK) area.

As always I apologise if my english is not perfect. Still work in progress!

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