You leave and he howls. Not just for a moment, but seemingly forever. When
the howling finally abates, it is replaced by a whine. When you return, you find
your home a mess. Your dog has engaged in destructive behavior that is completely out of character. Your dog has a real problem: separation anxiety.
Dogs love their owners and develop a very close relationship with them.
Sometimes the closeness of that relationship can leave them confused and
frightened when the owner is gone. Thy dog may seem confused, angry or sullen
when the owner leaves and may appear to lash out against being left alone by
ruining furniture, creating messes or otherwise acting in ways wholly
inconsistent with his training. Separation anxiety is relatively easy to
diagnose: an otherwise well-adjusted dog seems to transform into a monster when
left alone. Unfortunately, it is not always quite as easy to treat the disorder.
Helping a dog to overcome problems with separation anxiety is a process, just
like other aspects of training, it takes time and repetition to be truly
successful. The idea of training away separation anxiety seems unlikely. How
can you address a behavior when you are not present to see, prevent or correct
it? Fortunately, there are actions one can take to decrease separation anxiety
and to prevent your dogs frustrated behavior from spiraling out of control
during your absence.
Prepare the dog for your departure. Many people have a tendency to lavish
attention on their dog before leaving. They may take extra time to play with the
dog or find other ways to try to squeeze in a little extra quality time with
their canine friend. Though well intended, this only makes the owners departure
even more noticeable and worrisome for the dog. Instead of petting and kissing
the dog goodbye, owners dealing with separation anxiety should take measures to
correctly prepare the pet for their absence.
This can be done by intentionally decreasing interaction with the pet prior to
leaving. Although one may want to spend extra time with a pet before leaving him
alone, the best practice is to actually come close to ignoring your pet for
several minutes prior to leaving. This will make your departure less jarring and
should serve to decrease the dogs level of anxiety.
If you are leaving for an extended period and feel the need to connect with your
pet and to enjoy their company, find ways to do so earlier in the day. Resist
the urge to say goodbye before actually leaving.
Provide an immediate distraction for the dog. Right before leaving, it is
desirable to provide the pet with some sort of distraction. A new toy, for
instance, may serve to occupy his attentions, allowing for a smoother transition
to his alone time. Whatever immediate distraction is provided, make sure it is
something that is likely to interest the dog for several minutes. The objective,
after all is to maintain his attention on something other than your absence for
as long as can be reasonably expected.
This technique has the added benefit of teaching your pet that his time alone
will result in a pleasurable experience. He will begin to connect your departure
with a fun toy or diversion instead of feeling it will only bring anxiety and
loneliness.
One should also provide a more lasting distraction. Dogs crave human contact and
will unavoidably miss it while alone. However, maintaining something of a human
element to their surroundings can decrease the separation anxiety the feel when
left without company.
Many have experienced success by keeping a radio or television tuned to
programming featuring a great deal of dialogue. The dog will hear human voices
and although he certainly wont be fooled into believing he is in the company of
human friends, the sound is still soothing and can reduce feelings of stress and
loneliness.
Separation anxiety can be an absolutely befuddling issue for a dog owner. Even
the most well-mannered and well-trained dogs can suddenly transform into
destructive troublemakers as a result of separation anxiety. Training away this
difficulty can be hard, especially when a dog feels very connected to his owner.
However, by preparing your dog and utilizing appropriate immediate and lasting
distractions, one can reasonably expect to reduce the anxiety experienced by
their dog.