Separation anxiety in dogs
Provided as a public service for those with dogs who have separation anxiety. Indy, our coonhound, has severe separation anxiety, so, unfortunately, I've got a lot of experience with this. I am not a dog trainer or vet, so if your dog is showing signs of separation anxiety, GO SEE YOUR VET FIRST!
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Barking. Chewing. House-soiling.
Those are three of the most common signs of separation anxiety, one of the least pleasant dog behavioral problems - for you and the dog.
If your dog shows signs of separation anxiety, what should you do?
First of all, visit your vet. Your dog could be ill. In addition, anxiety can be a symptom of thyroid problems, so make sure you test that, too.
Next, here are some tried and true methods for a happier separation for everyone:
Exercise: The more the better. Thirty minutes of hard exercise a day are a minimum for most healthy dogs. This means jogging, running with a bike, or, in miserable weather, playing chase or fetch in the house can be an OK substitute. This is in addition to any walks. Alternately, if you can't get your dog to jog (and there are those who can't, won't or shouldn't engage that hard of exercise), at least a couple hours of walking daily should help. After all, a tired dog is more interested in sleeping than you leaving.
Kongs: Make your leaving the best part of the day by providing Kongs stuffed with goodies the second before you leave. We like to put our dogs' regular kibble and add moist food as a stuffing, then chuck it in the freezer - at least overnight. We make sure we deduct this from their normal food ration so they don't get fat.
You: You may need to change the way you do some things. Make leaving and coming home no big deal. Take your dog to her crate, give her a kong, and leave. No long goodbyes, maybe just a "be good." When you come home, let her out, say hi, but then basically just ignore her for a half hour. Nothing good should happen in the half hour after you get home: no snuggles, no dinner, no walks (except a brief one for elimination if you don't have a fenced yard), no playing. It's not cruel, it's just making sure that your homecoming is not something to be wildly anticipated as the best thing ever.
Obedience training: Not only is a dog who has formal obedience training just generally easier to handle, they are more willing to take direction from their people, and that includes believing when you act as if nothing is wrong when you leave for the day. Also, the mental exercise of daily practice is wonderful for tiring dogs out. There are a lot of great dog trick books out there if your dog has already mastered the basics. Find a reputable positive-reinforcement trainer and get started now.
Nothing in life if free: A dog should have to work for everything that she values: food, treats, toys, attention, walks, going outside, going in the car - anything that she thinks is good. She should at least sit before she gets any of these things. A sit is the doggy way of saying "please." Your dog should say it frequently if she doesn't already. This reinforces obedience training and reminds her that you are in charge. This is a good thing.
Practice separations: This sucks to do, but it really does make an enormous difference. To practice, put her in her crate, shut the door, leave the room, then immediately turn around, come back in and let her out. Don't make a big deal of putting her in or letting her out. Just do it. Then walk away and go about your day as usual. Then, later on, do it again, this time, taking a little bit longer. Then again, a little bit longer. If at any time she shows any signs of anxiety, you've moved too quickly and you need to shorten the time that she can't see you. Usually, once you get up to twenty minutes, your dog should be fine (most of the dog's anxiety is in the first 10-15 minutes that you're gone). This is a hard task and requires that you spend basically a whole weekend doing nothing but this. If your dog doesn't like her crate, start feeding her in it (no need to close the door); this creates very positive associations.
A few final things:
Good luck!
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Technorati tags: dogs, separation anxiety, dog training
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Barking. Chewing. House-soiling.
Those are three of the most common signs of separation anxiety, one of the least pleasant dog behavioral problems - for you and the dog.
If your dog shows signs of separation anxiety, what should you do?
First of all, visit your vet. Your dog could be ill. In addition, anxiety can be a symptom of thyroid problems, so make sure you test that, too.
Next, here are some tried and true methods for a happier separation for everyone:
Exercise: The more the better. Thirty minutes of hard exercise a day are a minimum for most healthy dogs. This means jogging, running with a bike, or, in miserable weather, playing chase or fetch in the house can be an OK substitute. This is in addition to any walks. Alternately, if you can't get your dog to jog (and there are those who can't, won't or shouldn't engage that hard of exercise), at least a couple hours of walking daily should help. After all, a tired dog is more interested in sleeping than you leaving.
Kongs: Make your leaving the best part of the day by providing Kongs stuffed with goodies the second before you leave. We like to put our dogs' regular kibble and add moist food as a stuffing, then chuck it in the freezer - at least overnight. We make sure we deduct this from their normal food ration so they don't get fat.
You: You may need to change the way you do some things. Make leaving and coming home no big deal. Take your dog to her crate, give her a kong, and leave. No long goodbyes, maybe just a "be good." When you come home, let her out, say hi, but then basically just ignore her for a half hour. Nothing good should happen in the half hour after you get home: no snuggles, no dinner, no walks (except a brief one for elimination if you don't have a fenced yard), no playing. It's not cruel, it's just making sure that your homecoming is not something to be wildly anticipated as the best thing ever.
Obedience training: Not only is a dog who has formal obedience training just generally easier to handle, they are more willing to take direction from their people, and that includes believing when you act as if nothing is wrong when you leave for the day. Also, the mental exercise of daily practice is wonderful for tiring dogs out. There are a lot of great dog trick books out there if your dog has already mastered the basics. Find a reputable positive-reinforcement trainer and get started now.
Nothing in life if free: A dog should have to work for everything that she values: food, treats, toys, attention, walks, going outside, going in the car - anything that she thinks is good. She should at least sit before she gets any of these things. A sit is the doggy way of saying "please." Your dog should say it frequently if she doesn't already. This reinforces obedience training and reminds her that you are in charge. This is a good thing.
Practice separations: This sucks to do, but it really does make an enormous difference. To practice, put her in her crate, shut the door, leave the room, then immediately turn around, come back in and let her out. Don't make a big deal of putting her in or letting her out. Just do it. Then walk away and go about your day as usual. Then, later on, do it again, this time, taking a little bit longer. Then again, a little bit longer. If at any time she shows any signs of anxiety, you've moved too quickly and you need to shorten the time that she can't see you. Usually, once you get up to twenty minutes, your dog should be fine (most of the dog's anxiety is in the first 10-15 minutes that you're gone). This is a hard task and requires that you spend basically a whole weekend doing nothing but this. If your dog doesn't like her crate, start feeding her in it (no need to close the door); this creates very positive associations.
A few final things:
- Getting another dog won't help. Your dog is missing you and having another dog won't lessen that.
- Having someone come over during the day sometimes makes things worse since that's just that many more separations for your dog to deal with. Also, we've found that there are very few people who are willing to make entrances and exits as low-key as they need to be.
- There are medications that your vet can prescribe, but they must be used in conjunction with behavioral therapy.
Good luck!
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Technorati tags: dogs, separation anxiety, dog training
1 And you thought...
That's really interesting. I didn't know that before. Thanks!
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