Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety is when your dog panic's at your depature and remains in this state until you return. During this stressfull time it is common for your dog to: Soil the house, chew around areas where you usually come & go, howl in misery all day/or pant, shake and drool.
To put SA into some perspective, it is likened to a human that suffers from panic attacks - This is a serious emotional problem but with the right type of training it can be curable.
So what causes Separation Anxiety?
There is no definite answer to what triggers a dog to have SA as each case is entirely unique but it generally thought that 'over attachment' 'frustration intollerence' and a 'true phobia' of being alone are the most common issues.
Over Attachment
Does it feel like your dog is stuck to you like 'velrco'? Are they at the most content when they are closeby/or even touching you? Clingy dogs are certainly more prone to suffer from SA than other more content/independant dogs.
Traumatic Separation
It does appear that SA is more common in dogs that have experienced some trauma related to being alone. This might explain why 'rescue' dogs can be more suseptable to SA. Being in kennels or left in an unfamiliar place surrounded by unfamiliar barking dogs, who are often scared themselves can be a contributing factor in why a dog learns to be scared about being left alone.
Trauma while Alone
For some dogs SA can develop out of something they have experienced that has scared them whilst you were gone. An example of this is low flying aircrafts that use the same path every day. Your dog does not understand what the noise is and it scares them.
Dogs Who Have Never Been Alone
Dogs that have been re-homed from a household with another dog can often find it very difficult to re-adjust. Kennel dogs who are use to a set schedule often become 'institutionalised' and find it really hard to adjust to new changes to their routines.
Maybe you have just bought a puppy, rescued a dog or fear that your family has some form of SA, if so, the following ideas and excerises are things you can do/practice to ensure a peaceful departure and a happy homecoming.
Preventing Separation Anxiety
Quiet Comings and Goings
Are you guilty of giving your dog big gestures of affection when you are leaving or coming home, if so try and stop it. Overloading them with emotions at these ctrical times really does them no good. By creating dramatic departures/entrances you are telling your dog that it is a big deal you coming & going & they need to panic the minute you set foot out the door. You can still acknowledge your dog with a loving pat on the head and a 'Hello/Bye Maxi' on your arrival/depature home but by playing down your entrances/exits you are minimising their arousal levels and teaching them it's not a huge ordeal to be left alone.
House Training
Does your dog cower when you come home as they know they have done an accident of the carpet? If so, as infuriating as it can be, please avoid grabbing your dogs collar, shaking them, shouting, yelling and pushing their faces into their facese. It is not uncommon that some dogs become so nervous over the possibilty of their owners getting angry again when they come through the door that they actually have a wee accident out of fear of the approaching owner.
Teaching Your Dog Whats Acceptable To Chew
The trick here is not to stop your dog from chewing it's to direct it to the right place. A normal chew might only last 5 minutes but if you use a kong and stuff it with tasty food (like meat paste, natural yoghurt etc) it will have your dogs attention for longer.
In the House
It's always a good idea in the house to have boundaries of where you allow you dog to go. Some dogs thrive with free access however most feel more secure when they only have limited areas in which to patrol. When leaving your dog alone its always a good idea not to leave them in a room with a window they can look out of especially if it's onto the main street. Territorial or protective dogs will see this as there job to be on sentry duty and will bark at anything/anybody that comes close to the house in order for them to go away.
Exercise
Excercise will not cure SA but it can protect your home from a bored dog who is looking for something to do.
When leaving your dog alone they key rules are, keep them well exercised, given them plenty opportunity to do the toilet before you depart, leave them in a comfortable but restricted area, make your departures/arrivals low key and leave them a tasty to kong to chew on whilst your away.
Treating Separation Anxiety
As mentioned before keep your comings and going low key. Don't emotionally overload your dog with affection before leaving/arriving you are only reinforcing that it is a big deal that you are leaving & they must worry until you return
2. Never correct destruction or accidents after the fact. Appeasing posture is not your dog feeling guilty it is them trying to protect themselves from your wrath. Your shouting & yelling will not stop them doing the exact same thing tomorrow.
3. The primary basis of treating SA is to try and create situations whereby you dog is happy when you leave and content the minute the door closes. It is true for most dogs that suffer from SA that they are in a blind state of panic before you even set foot out the door. Why? because they have learned your routine for getting ready to go out and have associated that with being left alone. Triggers like picking up your keys, putting your coat on and brushing your hair are enough for your dog to start panicking & you haven't even left yet. You need to find out what 'triggers' your dog before starting to desensitize them.
4. Once you have found your dogs 'triggers' you know need to desensitize and dis-associate them with you leaving. Ideally five times a day, so one trigger at a time. So if putting your outdoor shoes on is a trigger, then get your shoes on and ignore your dog completely whilst you watch TV, text a friend, sit down & read the newspaper - Do anything but leave the house. Then after about 2 minutes or so, take your shoes off whilst continually ignoring your dog. The idea of this exercise is to teach your dog a new association - that brushing your hair, putting your shoes/jacket on doesn't mean much at all. A tip also is never to do this exercise within an hour of you actually leaving or you run the risk of sensitising your dog to be more anxious when you actually go.
5. Now that you have been working on desensitizing the next step is to counter condition the triggers. What does your dog adore? In most cases dogs respond best to food so when you are getting ready to go out get out the tasty peanut butter kong from the freezer, have it in your hand until you see your dog drool with anticipation then put it down on the floor and wait for them to become lost in trying to lick out the goodies. Once your dog is fully engaged, perform one of the 'triggers' like picking up your keys and put them down straight away. Then walk over and take the kong from your dog. The reaction you are looking for is 'What' 'I was licking that' Now put down it down again, let them get engrossed in licking away & then jingle your keys again. Put them down & then take away the kong. Repeat a few times, then take away the kong for good & carry on doing something else.
The idea of this is to learn your dog to associate hearing one of their 'triggers' with something that makes them feel happy. The next step in to reintroduce another 'trigger' so now you are going to practice - Picking up the keys with putting your shoes on. Again repeat 4 or 5 times a day gradually adding more 'triggers' until you can actually leave the house.
6. After practising the above for a few days and your sure that your dog is now relaxed when he hears the keys, then pick up the keys BEFORE you put down the kong, the put on your jacket. This will teach your dog to associate all your 'leaving triggers' with feeling happy and relaxed. The speed in which you progress depends on the severity of your dogs SA.
7. Don't underestimate the important part of this process being getting your dog comfortable with you leaving the house. Once you reach the point where you can walk out the door, it's usually relatively fast and easy to expand to five seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes to an hour etc.
8. Don't be fooled into thinking that getting another dog will help remedy your dogs SA, it won't in fact you could end up with two dogs suffering from the same condition.
9. Get in the habit of closing the doors behind you in the house leaving your dog in the other room (only briefly to start with) tell them with a solid 'Sit, Stay' to stay put for a second whilst you hide behind the door & then return
10. Resist the urge especially with 'Velcro' dogs for them to sleep in your bed or bedroom. They have got to learn independence & by constantly being with them is not allowing them to learn it's OK to be alone.
Each case of SA is different but generally if you follow the above advice you will start to see significant results in 4 to 6 weeks. Unlike other behavioural problems once your done with SA your done and all their troubles become part of you and your dogs interesting history.
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