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Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Your dog may look happy when you return, but in truth if your dog is excitable, they may be experiencing mental anguish, which is not healthy.

Did you know that separation anxiety is the 2^nd most common reason why dogs are euthanized or given up by their owners?

Separation anxiety can occur in any breed and at any age.

Dogs are pack animals and it is not natural for a dog to be left alone. Dogs can react to a lack of exercise and or the stress of being separated from their "pack member(s)" by becoming upset, destructive, barking continuously, or eliminating in the house. The degrees can vary, and your dog may only do one, or perhaps all of the behaviors. You may be mistaking the behaviors as "Breed Traits" when in reality it is mental anguish. You may see personality changes in your pet as well. He may become aggressive, or shy. They may become depressed and can even make themselves sick. They may begin to chew on parts of their own body. Our neighbor's German Shepherd chewed on his tail so much that it had to be amputated. He had recently lost his favorite "pack member" and obviously didn't have another strong enough pack leader, to take its place. My own rescued schnauzer, perfect as she is, will occasionally dump out our garbage and spread it all through the house. This too, although it does not happen often, is separation anxiety because it only happens when we leave the house.

In order to stop our dogs from having separation anxiety, we first need to understand what is causing it. Two of the more common reasons this can occur are... (and the cause can be either or both of these).

1. The number one cause of separation anxiety is a human’s lack of leadership. We humans more often than not tend to treat our fellow canine family members like humans. In a pack, the leader is allowed to leave. However, the followers never leave the leader. If your dog is instinctually seeing you as their follower and you leave them, it causes so much mental anguish that a dog often takes it out on your house or themselves. The dog sees themselves as the one who is responsible for the pack and when the pack has left the house they get in a panic because they are afraid that something might happen to their pack members for which they are responsible for. When a dog accepts you as pack leader separation anxiety will not exist. If you do not understand the instincts of the dog and his pack members, the articles, Top Dog, Speaking Dog, Why did my dog do that, The Human Dog, Small Dog Syndrome, Dogs and Human Emotions, Dominate Behaviors in Dogs, Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position and Alpha Boot Camp for Dogs will give you a better idea of how your dog instinctively thinks. However, the issue of separation anxiety is not always solely one of a leadership issue.

2. Separation anxiety can also be due to a lack of exercise. A build up of energy being stored within the dog can bring about multiple behavioral issues. When you leave, it intensifies their stress and they act out because they do not know what else to do with this built up energy. Walk your dog in the morning before they eat and again at night. For the walk to be successful, your dog needs to be focused on their owner, their pack leader. Therefore, the dog should not be pulling in front of you. The dog should be walking beside or behind you, following YOU as opposed to you following THEM. If you allow the dog to pull in front, you are once again re-enforcing to your dog that they are alpha over you. Instinctually, the pack leader goes first. If you do not make your dog heel beside or behind you, the walk will not accomplish its intended goal. When a dog walks with their mind focused on the owner, they are releasing both physical and mental energy. This works their brain and also fulfills their canine instinct, but also relieves them of the responsibility of having to provide leadership in a human society, which the dog is really not equipped to do. I suggest you save some money, buy some of Cesar Millan DVD's and watch them. The money you invest in these DVD's will be less than your dog’s future destruction and anguish.

Since it is not natural for a pack animal to be left alone, this can also occur in a submisstive dog who does see you as the leader, but who is not completely secure within his pack.

Some things that can help

1.Is your dog getting enough exercise? Are you spending enough time with them? Have there been major changes lately? These and other questions should be asked and addressed. Sometimes it is just a small thing that makes the difference with controlling this problem. Do you provide pack walks? Be sure you take your dog for a long pack walk before you leave for any extended period of time to drain their mental and physical energy.

2. Are you your dog's pack leader? Or is your dog your pack leader? Read the articles, Top Dog , Why did my dog do that, Speaking Dog, The Human Dog, Dominate Behaviors in Dogs and Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position.

3. When one leaves the house one must not make a big thing out of it. When you come back, do some other things first like taking off your coat and putting the groceries away before you greet the dog. You want to avoid the dog getting the impression that leaving is a big deal. Saying good-bye to a dog is something that helps the human deal with the separation, but in reality the ritual of saying good-bye means nothing to the dog's feelings. It's all for the humans. You want the dog to think that you leaving is just part of the routine. If you feel bad about it, your dog will "feel it" and it will upset them. Read The Human Dog to understand why.

4. Sometimes getting a second dog will help your dog cope with his human pack leaving them. You may still want to crate your dogs while you are gone, however having the crates close to one another can ease your dogs tension, as they will not be alone. Just be sure you are the pack leader to your first dog, before you venture into getting a second dog. If you successfully position yourself as the pack leader to the first dog, they will help you teach the second one the house rules.

5. If you have more than one dog, and you do not know which dog is being destructive, you need to play private investigator. Peeking through a window or setting up a camcorder or two will help you find out who the perpetrator(s) are.

6. You may need a new attitude - from now on you are not going back in the house when little Fifi cries. You are going to ignore the bad behavior and reward the good. When you go back and hold them or pet them and console them, you are rewarding the behavior that you don't want and it is confusing to your dog because they think, "Well, I must be doing the right thing if she comes back and praises me."

7. Do practice departures. Leave for 2 minutes; come back in; ignore them for a minute or two, give them a treat. Increase the time to 5 minutes, 8 minutes and so on. Do not reward bad behavior.

Separation anxiety can be curable if you fulfill your dogs canine instincts.

To help you learn to do this, we strongly suggest Cesar Millan DVD's and or Cesar Millan Books to every dog owner, from Chihuahua to Pit Bull. An excellent guide to communicating with, understanding,  and controlling your dog.

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Written by Dawn Littlefield
Littlefield Kennels Edited by Dog Breed Info Center®

© Dog Breed Info Center® All Rights Reserved

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Old Dog New Tricks Understanding a Dog's Senses The Human Dog Why did my dog do that? Proper way to walk a dog Dogs and Human Emotions Speaking Dog Why dogs must be followers What does it mean to be dominant? Proper Human to Dog Communication Canine Feeding Instincts FAQ about dogs Small Dogs vs. Medium and Large Dogs Separation Anxiety in Dogs Dominant Behaviors in Dogs The Submissive Dog Successfully Adopting a Rescue Dog Bringing Home the New Human Baby Approaching a Dog Top Dog Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position Alpha Boot Camp for Dogs Guarding Furniture Stopping a Jumping Dog Submissive Peeing Protecting Your Puppy from Dog Attacks An Alpha Dog Chaining Dogs SPCA High Kill Shelter A Senseless Death, a misunderstood dog Amazing what a little leadership can do Transforming a Rescue Dog DNA Canine Breed Identification Raising a Puppy Puppy Temperaments A Dog Fight - Understanding your Pack Understanding your puppy or dog Run away dog Socializing your dog Should I get a Second Dog Is your dog out of control? Nothing in life is free Illusion Dog Training Collar Top Dog Photos Housebreaking Training your puppy or dog Puppy Biting Deaf Dogs Are You Ready for a Dog? Breeders vs. Rescues Find the Perfect Dog Caught in the Act The Gangs All Here

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