Separation anxiety is known to be one of the most impeding, heart-breaking and conceivably serious conditions a dog owner may have to deal with. Much has been written about it and there are definitely ways to help lessen your dog’s extreme anxiety, but I feel it is important to keep emphasizing the fact that there is help for this condition.
Maia, my lab/pit mix, came into my life with this condition. Fortunately, she only resorts to barking when left alone, but some dogs will literally exhibit very destructive behavior if left alone for any length of time.
Usually, separation anxiety is found to be exhibited in dogs who come from a shelter or have been abandoned or re-homed from one foster home to another. One other instance that could bring on separation anxiety is when a traumatic event happens to a dog left alone, such as a an earthquake or even being tormented by neighborhood kids throwing things at your dog. This sort of horrifying event will then be associated with being left alone and could then turn into separation anxiety.
I acquired my dog from a a family who was moving into a home that was not compatible to keeping a dog. Maia was very bonded with this couple. It was heart-breaking to watch her running through my house looking out windows, looking for her owners to return for her. After a while she adjusted to the fact that they weren’t coming back and settled into life with me. Maia was about two years old when I adopted her. Although I have no idea what experiences she had in her early life, being left by her family seemed to make her afraid that I would also abandon her. She goes almost everywhere with me since I have my own mobile dog grooming business.
If your dog shows any of the following behaviors when left alone, he or she may be suffering from separation anxiety:
1. not letting you out of her sight when you are home
2. barking relentlessly if unable to find you or be with you
3. urinating or defecating in the house when left alone even though house-broke
4. scratching up furniture, window frames, door frames, etc.
5. frantically running through the house
Dogs are pack animals and enjoy being with other living creatures, whether it is people, other dogs or even another species. However, when a dog suffers from separation anxiety, it does not always help to have a canine companion for your dog. Even when I leave my dog with her good buddy, Buster, she is more concerned about the fact that I am not there, or that she is not with me.
If your dog suffers from the terror of being without you, don’t give up. There are things you can do to help a dog get over separation anxiety, but it does take time and patience.
Exercise is one of the most beneficial ways to get rid of some of your dog’s excess energy.
Then, set aside a chunk of time to work with your dog whenever you can. You can begin by working entirely within your home. If your dog panics at being separated from you at all, start by calmly going into a room without your dog and closing the door. Don’t stay more than a few seconds and then come out, walk down the hall, maybe go into another room and close the door, wait a few seconds, come out and continue doing this for several minutes. If she is whining, barking or scratching at the door, try to pay no attention to her as you continue with this exercise. Actually, the most effective way for this to work is to open the door during the brief moment when your dog is quiet if that happens at all. That way you are basically rewarding your dog’s calm behavior by returning to her.
After doing this several times, you can move on to an outside door, leaving your dog inside. Never make a big deal over coming or going, regardless of the time factor, even if your dog makes huge progress. It would be very tempting to really praise your dog for being quiet, but that may cause her to lose her calmness because you would be going overboard over her progress. The idea is to keep the coming and going as calm and uneventful as possible. Keep lengthening the time you are our of your dog’s sight.
Always try to keep your departures as calm and uneventful as possible, maybe leaving a kong filled with treats and just saying something like “You stay here. I’ll be back.” or “See you later.”
I would not recommend giving your dog a sedative, mainly because sometimes sedatives can have side effects and might even make your dog worse.
If you want more help with overcoming separation anxiety, there are other tools available. One very effective tool is the Thundershirt Anxiety Treatment Wrap. Another is the Original Anxiety Wrap for dogs. Both of these are a type of shirt fitting snugly around a dog to exert deep touch pressure on the nervous system, creating a calmness. Although it may not work to entirely cure your dog of its anxiety issues, using it along with the training could greatly reduce the anxiety your dog has to deal with when left alone.
So, don’t give up on your anxious dog. If you still need more help, I’m sure you could find a trainer or dog behaviorist in your area.
