Dealing with Dog Separation Anxiety – Can You Do It?
One of the most common dog behavior problems is probably dog separation anxiety. In order to be happy and healthy dogs need to have a lot of social interaction either with humans or other dogs. They are very social animals and leaving a dog alone is something they cant stand.
Understanding the causes of dog separation anxiety is also what can give is the keys to solving this problem. For a dog it is very hard to deal with isolation or separation from their owner.
There are different levels of the anxiety showing, some dog are okay being left alone while others will start worrying almost the minute they are left to vent for themselves.
Before buying a dog you should take this problem in account if you are planning on leaving the house for longer periods during the day like if you are going to your work. Some breeds are more prone to anxiety and insecurity, like the German Shepherds, Airedales, Springer Spaniels and Weimaraners.
Plus a higher number of dogs that come from a shelter seem to develop dog separation anxiety easily. These dogs might have gone through some severe trauma before ending up in the shelter and once they are placed in a home with an owner they can trust, they will start relying on that owner a lot faster than dogs that havent experienced any trauma in their life already.
When buying a puppy in a pet shop be aware to check the age the pup was separated from its mom. Dogs being separated from their mom too early on in life (before being 8 weeks old) and then put in cages like is the case in most pet shops, very easily develop feelings of anxiety and stress later on in life.
So now that you know the particular case in which dog separation anxiety is more prevalent, lets look at why your dog can develop this behavior disorder.
Seeing that a dog needs a lot of attention, love and companion, neglecting to fill these needs is the major cause for your dog to develop anxiety. If you want your dog to be content and happy, you must take care to properly prepare your dog for those times you cant be with him.
Being left alone, your dog will start looking for you and when unable to find you or unable to get to you, all sorts of anxiety symptoms will appear.
Dog separation anxiety can range from mild signs like stress when you are walking out the door to full blown anxiety problems where it is not abnormal to find your furniture completely destroyed upon return.
Great improvement can be seen when using the right tools and training methods, but completely solving your dogs behavior problem can be a tedious process in this case. Be prepared to properly deal with it the moment you find your dog becoming stressed when you arent around, that will save you a lot of time and effort.
If you are at a complete loss and have tried it all, I am happy to let you know that there are some very effective training methods to deal with your dogs separation anxiety and that it is possible to complete solve the problem.
I know from my own personal experience just how stressful it is to have a dog with separation anxiety. I have had to endure many angry phone calls from my neighbors and at some occasions even had to deal with the police because my dogs would cause noise. And every time I would come back in the house I would prepare to be cleaning the floors or having to put furniture back in its place.
dog training | Mirjam T | 24 February 2009 |
