Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Helping Your Pup Deal with Your Absence
Have you ever come home to find a chewed-up shoe, a destroyed couch, or complaints from your neighbors about excessive barking from your dog? Chances are that something more sinister than a mischievous little furball is brewing. More often than not, these signs speak of something much more emotional: separation anxiety.
Separation anxiety is one of the most common problems in dogs, but it troubles many pet owners a lot. Still, one might ask why it takes place and how one can cope with it. As much as one might tell his or her dog that he or she is going, the dog cannot understand such a thing. For some dogs, going away means an awful situation-that brings panic, stress, and even destroys behaviors.
Separation anxiety in dogs: what causes it, its symptoms, but most importantly, how to look after your pet when you are away.
What Is Separation Anxiety?
Separation anxiety is a condition in which a dog can't handle the separation with its owner. The most dogs are known to get fretful when their owners are away, but a dog suffering from separation anxiety cannot cope with this because it panics more at being left alone.
It would be worthwhile to note that separation anxiety is far much beyond the state of mild uneasiness or boredom. The animal tends to be involved in destructive behaviors towards itself as well, which can be stressing the dog and its owner.
Why Do Dogs Get Separation Anxiety?
Dogs are naturally social animals. A feral dog would be part of a pack, so they have many members to spend all day with. While our domestic dogs are unlikely to make a pack these days, that instinct to join a group is definitely strong. Some dogs may comprehend being left alone as their pack having abandoned them, thus fearing and becoming anxious about being left alone.
Some causes for this separate anxiety include:
• Rotation of shift in work: You take time out of and outside the house for extended durations, and your pup is not going to cut that slack.
• Moving to another home: A new home can feel pretty confusing for a dog who needs familiarity and routine.
• Traumatic exposure: Many dogs who have gone through traumatic situations like abandonment or rehoming sometimes develop separation anxiety.
• Poor socialization: puppies with poor socialization or a dog that has spent most of their life alone is likely to develop separation anxiety.
Manifestations of Separation Anxiety
These dogs are known to show behaviors when left alone or even when they anticipate that the owner is leaving. Here are the more frequent ones.
• Destructive behavior: This is perhaps the most obvious sign. The separation anxiety in a dog will lead to chewing through the furniture, scratching of the door, or even causing some form of destruction to other objects in the house.
• Excessive barking or howling: The dogs that have this anxiety will bark or howl all day and night every time their owners leave the house. The neighbors complain more of the noise.
• Pacing: Some dogs will pace up and down whenever they are anxious and cannot seem to settle down.
•House accidents: Even the best of house-trained animals will urinate or defecate in the house when emotionally distressed.
•Over-slobbering or panting: Some dogs will dribble saliva, pant, or show some physical symptoms of distress when left alone.
•Hiding and Running Away: Some dogs at the extreme level will tend to try to escape using digging and scratching through the doors and windows just to get away and follow their owners.
How to Help Your Dog Cope with Separation Anxiety
Now that we understand the symptoms and cause, let's discuss the cure. While separation anxiety is stressful and heartbreaking, there is fantastic news offering multiple methods to ease your pup's discomfort during their time away from you.
- Establish a Consistent Schedule
Routine: Dogs are easily accustomed to a routine. One of the best methods to help ease separation anxiety is to establish a regular daily routine for your dog. Try to leave and come home at about the same times daily. Develop a routine around exercise, eating time, and play time so that your dog can know ahead of time what to expect; then the dog can sit back and feel secure.
- Short Deferrals Practice
If your dog panics the moment you step out, from short trips is where you have to start. Start by leaving for just a few minutes at first then increase gradually. This will give your dog an understanding that you'll always return. Don't make mountains out of molehills- fuss over simple actions. Your dog could sense these subtle feelings and use them as a means to drive his anxiety.
- Engaging the Mind of a Dog
A bored dog is an anxious dog as well. Be sure to provide enough toys or challenge your pup with puzzle feeders or chews so that their minds will be always occupied when you leave for work. In any case, dogs mentally stimulated on the other end are unlikely to focus more on their anxiety.
Interactive toys, such as Kongs filled with treats, also can keep your dog occupied for hours. You can hide treats in and around the house, even placing a few in snuffle mats to provide them with something fun to stay busy with while you leave the house.
- Desensitize Departure Cues
Separation-affected dogs are also quick to pickup cues that tell them you are leaving. Examples include when you grab your keys, put on your shoes, or grab a bag. To eliminate this cue-over-Associating-Behavior, you practice going through your pre-leaving routine but don't leave. Take your keys and put on your coat then sit back down. In a short time, your dog will realize these cues don't necessarily mean they have to leave either thus doing away with some of the anxiety.
- Exercise Before Leaving
It is also about exercising the dog before heading out of the house, so that it has enough physical activity to expend all extra energy. A long walk or a playing session may cool down your dog and leave it in a ready state to catch a few winks.
- Crate Training
Lastly, crate training can be helpful if your dog feels safe in the crate. If your dog already likes going into their crate then that might possibly give an impression of safety when they are left alone. Of course, this means that you would create a warm and inviting crate, comfortable bedding, and a couple of favorite toys.
- Use Calming Aids
There are various aids that can be used to help alleviate the anxiety a dog feels, as well as their calming effects on the dogs. These include feliway diffusers, calming sprays, and even those wraps that will help with anxiety: The ThunderShirt. Your veterinarian may sometimes prescribe an anti-anxiety medication or a natural supplement such as CBD oil.
- Professional Help
If your dog has such bad separation anxiety that doesn't improve with home remedies, you may need to seek professional help. An accredited behavioral dog trainer or animal behaviorist will meet with you and your dog to devise a particular plan aimed at reducing his anxiety. If the situation is dire, your veterinarian may even prescribe medication.
Patience and Persistence
Time and consistency are what manage the separation anxiety of a dog. Although unwanted behavior such as destroying things in your house or barking excessively is infuriating, do remember that your dog is not trying to be spiteful; he really is struggling with fear and tension.
You can help many dogs to defeat separation anxiety and learn to be more okay with being alone by taking this approach. Your bond with your dog is incredibly strong, and helping them through this challenge only makes that stronger. In the end, all your puppy really wants is comfort knowing you are going to be right back.
