TACKLING SEPARATION ANXIETY IN DOGS

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TACKLING SEPARATION ANXIETY IN DOGS
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• Does your beloved pooch howl the house down, soil
  all over the place or destroy your furniture
  and/or belongings, when left home alone? If so,
  then theres a strong chance little Fido suffers
  from separation anxiety. This is not uncommon in
  pet dogs, and is something that can be overcome
  with time, dedication and patience, but it may
  not be the only cause of your dogs unwelcome
  behaviour. Before figuring out if your pet dog
  suffers from separation anxiety, you should rule
  out these other common causes first

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• Your pet soils inside the house
• Pet dogs who are left alone, and who havent been
  trained to wait and do their business outside,
  may do it freely inside when youre not there to
  let them out. Some dogs will also need to pee
  more frequently than others.
• You get back after a few hours to find your
  furniture has been chewed
• Pets left alone may need toys or some other form
  of mental stimuli to keep them occupied and to
  prevent them from resorting to destroying your
  furniture or belongings to keep themselves
  entertained. A long walk before they are left
  alone, may also help.

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• The neighbours have complained about constant
  barking from your pet dog
• If your pet dog hears a noise outside or sees
  other dogs or people through the window, they may
  bark in response when left alone. They may still
  respond to these sights or noises when you are
  home with them, but it may not be in the form of
  barking, particularly if you have shown them that
  such behaviour is not acceptable. Left alone,
  they may bark incessantly and cause problems for
  your neighbours, but it need not necessarily be
  because they are feeling anxious in your absence.

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• However, if your pet has had plenty of exercise
  before being left alone, is sufficiently toilet
  trained and has plenty of toys to keep them
  occupied in your absence, but they still
  demonstrate the types of behaviour illustrated
  above, then they may well suffer from separation
  anxiety.
• How can you treat separation anxiety?
• Simply suppressing this behaviour is not enough,
  its vital that pet owners do their best to
  prevent their pet dog from becoming anxious in
  the first place. Punishing their anxiety related
  behaviour generally makes matters worse, so the

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• best solution is to try and ensure that your pet
  can be content without relying on you. Dont
  respond when they try to get your attention by
  barking, whining or pawing at you, instead,
  reward them when they display relaxed behaviour,
  such as lying quietly or playing with their toys.
• Its also important to teach your dog that its
  okay to be left alone, and this can be done
  effectively using a desensitisation and counter
  conditioning program. By gradually exposing your
  dog to that which frightens them in this case
  being left alone and gradually increasing the
  time frame in which they are alone, they no
  longer view it as something scary and their
  anxiety will slowly reduce.

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• Dogs can suffer from a wide range of
  psychological issues, most of which are easy to
  treat provided you seek professional help, and
  are willing to devote enough time to helping your
  pet overcome their problems. A well-rounded pet
  that is a pleasure to be in the company of, is
  what every pet owner strives for, but this
  doesnt often happen without a lot of hard work
  and dedication, and its almost always worth it.
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