WHAT IS
DOG SEPARATION ANXIETY
?
WHAT IS DOG SEPARATION ANXIETY:
Fear: An emotional response to a present or perceived threat.
Stress: A feeling of emotional strain and pressure; a type of psychological pain. Chronic stress is a prolonged, often overwhelming feeling of stress that negatively impacts daily life. The body's natural response to prolonged stress is anxiety.
Anxiety: An emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of apprehension, unease, worry, or dread over anticipated or perceived threat events.
Phobia: A Phobia is an excessive and irrational fear response, characterised by an unfounded dread of something unlikely to cause harm.
Panic: a sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety, often causing wildly unthinking behaviour.
Distress: when stress and anxiety are severe, prolonged, or both.
Fear is a normal response to an actual or perceived threat. Anxiety is the body’s natural response to stress. Anxiety is a feeling of fear or apprehension about what is to come. It might be rational; related to an event that has made them feel anxious previously. Or, irrational, related to a perceived threat where none exists.
Separation Anxiety (as it is widely known) is often Separation Distress.
Separation Anxiety: a dog suffers from anxiety when separated from their owner, or person(s) they’re most attached to. The dog’s mood state drops; they become upset. They might employ coping mechanisms to help alleviate the prolonged stress they feel. These behaviour problems might be destructive behaviours.
Separation Distress: a dog exhibits distress when separated from their owner, or person(s) they’re most attached to. The dog’s mood state drops dramatically; they become very upset and can sometimes panic. They often employ coping mechanisms to help alleviate the prolonged stress they feel. These behaviour problems are often destructive behaviours which can include self-harm.
COMMON SYMPTOMS OF SEPARATION ANXIETY IN DOGS:
Only when the owners are absent, the following coping mechanism symptoms persist with Separation Anxiety/Distress:
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Barks (not a persistent barker when owner is present)
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Howls
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Whines / whimpers or ‘cries’
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Chewing or destructive behaviour in the home or garden (not usually destructive when the owner present)
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Disruptive (e.g. pulls items off sideboards, non-typical behaviour when owner is present)
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Paces continually
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Drools or salivates
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Trembles
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Digs outdoors, or indoors, scratches or destroys doors, windows or carpets: can result in serious injury / self-harm
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Frantically tries to escape (to re-unite with owners). Can result in serious injury/self-harm
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Chews a body part (feet, tail) causing self-harm
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Persistently licks themselves
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Urinates (although completely house trained)
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Defecates (although completely house trained)
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Appears anxious, agitated, or depressed when you prepare to leave
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As you leave, commences frantic barking
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When you return, appear elated; acts like you have been gone for an entire year!
If these symptoms persist while you are home, explore alternative reasons like boredom, lack of mental stimulation, juvenile destructive tendencies, or incomplete toilet training. Not all cases involve Separation Anxiety / Distress; sometimes it's an easy fix. If you think your dog might be bored, take a look at the "Mental Stimulation – Exercise for the Brain Behaviour Guide." This can be downloaded from the Learning Zone of the website. Ensure your pet's mental needs are being met adequately.
While a daily walk, especially before you leave your dog, can be helpful, it's often not sufficient to prevent Separation Distress.
UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SEPARATION ANXIETY:
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A dog with Separation Anxiety / Distress exhibits physiological signs of stress; an automatic response from being parted from owners; a panic response.
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The distress they feel causes an emotional response; your dog becomes clinically distressed and exhibits anxious behaviours. Their mood state is drastically reduced. This means they go from happy to sad / depressed.
Dogs, as a species, are highly social and never alone. Being apart from their family is unnatural for a dog. If they stayed within their canine family, they would be together 24/7. Therefore, we have to teach dogs how to cope and feel safe alone.
Imagine a young child left alone for the first time. They would become anxious and panic to find themselves alone before they had got used to this occurring. People expect dogs to just accept being left alone, when it is, in-fact, quite alien to dogs as a species.
We expect dogs to do something which goes against their genetic makeup. Through conditioning, any animal can learn to adopt practices that go against their genetic makeup, however, they need to be taught these practices.
COMMON CAUSES OF SEPARATION ANXIETY IN DOGS:
If a dog has usually had human companionship but the situation abruptly changes. For example:
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The dog is no longer constantly with a person, or with their person less
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A major change in routine resulting in the dog needing to be left alone
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A new job where the dog cannot go with the owner
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Death of the owner who was always home
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Death of companion dog / animal
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Adopted from a shelter
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Re-homed (change of owner / loss of the previous owner)
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Moved house
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New family circumstance – e.g. child has gone to college
IS MY DOG JUST BEING SILLY:
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NO! Your pet is not being silly or playing up. They are distressed. They feel fear, anxiety, and panic. They do not feel safe left alone. It's not just about their potential loneliness or preference for your company.
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Ignoring their reaction, or forcing them into a situation where they do not feel comfortable or safe, is the last thing you should do. Would you throw a child into a swimming pool using the sink-or-swim approach?
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Owners who try ‘flooding’ (exposing their pet to a high level of stimulus to the thing they fear) are not rewarded and many live to regret their actions.
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Just because you know your dog is safe doesn’t mean they do, and you certainly have not communicated this to them effectively. If you don’t, they might not ever adjust to being left alone. They may never feel comfortable or safe.
DOES BREED TYPE PLAY A ROLE IN SEPARATION ANXIETY:
Yes, some breeds seem to be more susceptible to Separation Anxiety /Distress. Breeds with sensitive natures are particularly prone, such as Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Weimaraners. Some dogs from the same litter of puppies can be more susceptible than others to Separation Anxiety / Distress i.e. the more sensitive puppies, because to some degree, it depends on the personality of the individual dog.
Any dog can develop Separation Anxiety / Distress because environmental conditioning and personality type play an important role, but the following breeds are more susceptible to Separation Anxiety / Distress:
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Weimaraner
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Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffie
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Hungarian Vizsla
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Dachshunds
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German Shepherds and Sheperd breeds
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Australian Shepherds
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Border Collies
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Labrador Retrievers
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Cocker Spaniels
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Bichon Frise
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Chihuahuas
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Toy Poodles
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Remember, all breeds can develop Separation Anxiety / Distress…
TREATMENT OF SEPARATION ANXIETY IN DOGS:
The earlier you spot Separation Anxiety / Distress in your dog’s behaviour, the greater success you will have in treating it, and the easier it will be for you. To treat it, you need to get help from a professionally trained and experienced Animal Behaviourist / Dog Behaviourist. They have formal qualifications and extensive knowledge in animal psychology, mood, emotions and behaviour training tactics.
Untreated Separation Anxiety / Distress often worsens in severity. Many dogs are Re-homed / surrendered to a rescue organisation / euthanised because their Separation Anxiety / Distress was left untreated.
Please heed this advice; get help as early as possible to treat your dog’s Separation Anxiety / Distress from the right professional person, an Animal Behaviourist.
Check qualifications and accreditations. Many people say they are an Animal Behaviourist.
Separation Anxiety / Distress is not a dog training issue.
Enlist the help of a professionally trained Animal Behaviourist / Dog Behaviourist. They will evaluate your dog’s inherent behaviour and true personality. After their assessment, they will develop a Behaviour Modification Plan for implementation to treat the Separation Anxiety / Distress.
During your desensitisation work, it is essential to ensure your dog never experiences Separation Anxiety / Distress. This means that during behaviour modification for Separation Anxiety / Distress, your dog cannot be left alone except during your strategic desensitisation sessions.
When treating Separation Anxiety in dogs, the goal is to resolve the dog's underlying anxiety by teaching them to tolerate being left alone. This is accomplished by setting things up so your dog experiences the situation that provokes his anxiety, namely being alone, without experiencing stress / fear / anxiety / distress or panic. This is not an easy task and unfortunately, is not as simple as leaving your dog on their own, just for short periods whilst they get used to it.
The earlier you seek help from a professional Animal Behaviourist, the easier it will be for you to turn things around with your dog because you will have less work to do. In saying that, a professional Animal Behaviourist is still able to help you with your dog even if the Separation Anxiety / Distress has been left untreated for years. It is still worth getting help and you will be surprised what difference it will make for the quality of life for your dog and by extension yourself. A professional Animal Behaviourist will never turn you away or tell you it’s too late.
Separation Anxiety / Distress treatment focuses on changing the dog’s emotional response to the stimulus (counterconditioning) and/or replacing the undesirable response with one that is desirable using reinforcement-based techniques (response substitution).
In scientific terms, this is Desensitisation and Counter-Conditioning. In other words, we turn the negative association of being left alone into a positive experience for the dog, so they feel safe and can cope alone, acting independently.
The good news; it is actually quite a simple process.
The bad news; the process is very subtle, is hindered by a panic response and depends heavily on many variables. Each variable will be reviewed by your detailed orientated Animal Behaviourist.
Each case is different because every dog and every owner is different. Remember this important point; an Animal Behaviourist is a skilled professional. Enlisting their help not only makes your life easier, but you get the results you want.
A trained Animal Behaviourist can make the most complex situation look easy and will build a manageable behaviour modification plan for you to work from.
SEPARATION ANXIETY MEDICATION:
In some cases, separation anxiety medication may be required from your vet if the dog’s anxiety is so high that it stops the dog’s ability to learn the Behaviour Modification Plan designed by your Animal Behaviourist. BUT by only giving your separation anxiety medications to treat a behavioural issue you WILL NOT be fixing or treating the underlying cause of the behavioural issue. You will only be treating the symptoms of the behavioural issue. Medications should only be given as part of a Behaviour Modification Plan. You will work with both your Vet and your Behaviourist who will work together to help you to fix the issue.
HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?
At Animal Behaviour Australia we are committed to rectifying the cause of your pet’s behaviour problem, giving you a problem-free pet. Dealing with symptoms alone does not rectify the underlying cause or address motivating factors resulting in your pet’s unwanted behaviour. Seek help to address BOTH the cause and symptoms, by booking a Behaviour Consultation for your pet with our Animal Behaviourist. A targeted treatment plan provides tailored advice for your unique pet and particular situation. Each pet and situation is different, so every plan is different. A Behaviour Consultation is less costly than you might expect. To view consultation types and pricing, click on the ‘Book an Appointment’ button below. Get help for your pet now. BOOK NOW!!
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