Understanding Separation Anxiety In Dogs
Adrian Fletcher
Separation anxiety is the kind of dread a dog experiences when you or someone close to him leaves. This is an emotional experience that humans feel too, so it is easy to relate to your dog's anxiety, however it is largely irrational because you will return and the separation is only temporary. Your dog doesn't understand this and must be taught not to get anxious. A dog that is feeling anxious may bark uncontrollably or urinate or chew things up. If the dog is in your home at the time then this is unwanted behavior. It is also not good for your dog's wellbeing to feel these sensations and you are responsible for the health of your dog. This article will give you some ideas on avoiding separation anxiety in dogs.
Separation anxiety is something that a dog learns early in life. A puppy that isn't weaned off it's mother properly can have this problem later on in life. The puppy should spend around eight weeks with it's mother before being separated.
Training for separation anxiety in dogs can start as soon as you bring the puppy home. To begin with, don't make a bid deal of the separation when you leave it at night or on odd occasions. Put it in it's basket and walk away. It will get used to the fact that you are not always there.
If you make it clear to the puppy that you will not always be there then it will get used to it and will probably not suffer from separation anxiety when it gets older.
Teaching your puppy about separation anxiety should be quite straightforward. This may not be the case if you take on a grown dog. The dog may have come to you via the dog pound or maybe a previous owner has given it away.
A dog that has spent any time in a shelter or pound has effectively been abandoned by it's previous owner. Thus anxiety over a past or future separation may be a completely rational conclusion to draw from past experience. It may also have had little affection in the shelter making it even more anxious.
If a dog has been given away by a previous owner there is generally a good reason for this. The dog may have behavioral problems but it may also be that the family has had it own share of problems. The couple may be going through a divorce or maybe they are having financial difficulties. All these problems will filter through to the dog and could manifest as separation anxiety.
The way to train a grown dog for separation anxiety is to take the softly softly approach. Practice leaving your pet. Start off with just a short separation, say a minute or so. Close the door to indicate that you have left. Wait a minute and then come back in. Don't make a fuss of the dog when you leave or come back.
Continue this mock separation process but increase the time each time you separate. If you hear the dog getting anxious then return to a separation interval that he is comfortable with. Gradually the dog will be completely adjusted to separation and will not get anxious.
Other strategies include keeping the dog busy while you are away. So you could fill a toy with peanut butter or cheese spread and give it to your pet. This will keep it so busy trying to get at the tasty treats in the toy that it does not consider the issue of separation.
About the Author:
|
