Tag Archives: separation anxiety in dogs

Does Leaving Your Dog Alone Make You Feel Guilty?

Posted on by
Reply

76 percent of American animal owners feel guilty over leaving dogs alone, according to a American Animal Hospitals Association report. Not just that, the report also implies that staff can be too worried about their dog home alone to entirely concentrate on the job, which is not good news for business.

In some offices the solution has been to permit dogs to commute to work alongside their owners and the report goes on to assert that these staff put out top performance with pets by their side. Sadly , as inviting as that option may seem, very few office employees are likely to be given that privilege; while for many others it simply would not be practical.

Why is it so Hard to Leave Dogs Home Alone?

Many of us love our dogs, so it is simple to understand why we would not like to leave them home alone, but all that guilt suggests something more than just missing them. Guilt comes from feeling like we’re doing it wrong, so do most dog owners fundamentally feel that it is a bad thing to leave a dog alone? And are we assuming that our dogs are not happy when we are unable to be with them?

Dogs are pack animals and automatically understand they are safer when they are with the rest of the pack, but that doesn’t mean they cannot spend some time alone without getting stressed or concerned.

Issues Caused by Dog Separation Anxiety

Some dog owners have no problems leaving dogs alone for quite lengthy periods of time and report that they return home to contented and relaxed dogs, while others struggle to leave their dogs for even 10 minutes because their pooch suffers with dog separation anxiety.

Separation anxiety in dogs causes all sorts of behaviour problems from barking and whining non-stop, to gnawing everything they can get their teeth around, or pooping and urinating in the house. Some dogs can get very destructive when experiencing anxiety and their apparent distress can be heart-wrenching when it is time to leave.

The Right Way to Approach Leaving Dogs Alone

If you are going to be away all day, check you’ve provided for your dog’s basic wants by giving them access to water and to the outside so that they can relieve themselves if necessary. Arrange for neighbours, family or a buddy to come in halfway thru the day to let them outside if feasible.

If you are concerned about what your dog is intending to do all day, it’s good to bear in mind that a dog can spend as much as 18 hours per day napping. Many dog keepers will also leave toys which make their dogs work to get to the treats within it and can keep them busy for long periods.

The simplest way to leave your dog and to return is to not make an enormous fuss about it. Pay them no attention in the time leading up to your departure and when you return pay them no attention until they relax and leave you alone. This gives them the message that there is nothing significant about your comings and goings and so nothing for them to worry about.

How to Eliminate Dog Separation Anxiety

If your dog is already suffering with separation anxiety, you’ll need a good dog anxiety training routine and a bit of patience to get rid of it completely. Frequently pack leadership is the issue with an anxious dog and you’re going to need to ensure your dog knows that you are pack leader and that they can trust you, before they are able relax.

Leaving dogs alone is a personal choice and if you do it the best way and know they’re happy and relaxed when you’re gone, there’s no need to suffer from guilty feelings.

About the Author: Venice Marriott faced anxiety problems with her own rescue dog Sherlock and is now owner of a Dog Anxiety website, where you can get free video training on dog anxiety, and more information on leaving dogs alone when you visit the site.

Symptoms Of And Solutions For Your Dog’s Separation Anxiety

Posted on by
Reply

Separation anxiety is known to be one of the most impeding, heart-breaking and seemingly helpless situations a dog owner can experience.  You can find many articles written concerning separation anxiety and how to overcome it, but I feel it is important to continue to get the word out that there is help for these dogs.

Maia, my lab/pit mix, arrived in my life with this problem.  Lucky for me, she has a fairly minor case involving mostly barking, but some dogs will literally destroy furniture if left alone for any length of time.

Most of the time, separation anxiety appears to be prevalent in dogs who are rescued from a noisy shelter or have been left abandoned or bounced around from one adopter to another. One other instance that might cause separation anxiety is when a dog is left home alone and something terrifying happens, such as a bad thunder and lightening storm or even taunting and teasing by neighborhood kids throwing things at your dog.  This type of terrible experience will then be connected with being left alone and could then turn into separation anxiety.

I adopted my dog from a couple who were moving into a home that was not compatible to keeping a dog.  She obviously had a strong attachment to the couple.  It was heart-breaking to watch her going from one window to another, looking for her people to return for her.  After a day of this she adjusted to the fact that they weren’t returning and settled into life with me.  I love her to death, but I think she is now afraid that I will leave her permanently as her last family did.  She goes almost everywhere with me since I run my own mobile dog grooming business. 

If your dog shows any of the following behaviors when left alone, he or she may be in the grips of separation anxiety:

1.  following you everywhere throughout the house when you are home                               
2.  barking relentlessly if she can’t find or be with you
3.  eliminating in the house when left alone even though house-broke
4.  destroying furniture, window frames, door frames, etc.
5.  frantically running through the house

Dogs are pack animals and enjoy the company of other animals, whether they be people, other dogs or even a different species.  However, to a dog suffering with this overwhelming anxiety, it does not always help that there is another dog or buddy left with the dog who is suffering.  This kind of anxiety seems to be connected with a family member and isn’t always lessened by a companion dog.

If your dog suffers from the terror of being without you, don’t give up.  There are steps you can take to help a dog lessen the effects of separation anxiety, but it takes time and patience.

One of the best ways to help your dog is to exercise her every day, especially when you know you will be leaving her home alone.

Then, set aside a few minutes of time as often as possible to work on desensitizing your dog to your absense.  Initially, you can do all of the work within your home.  If your dog has difficulty being separated from you at all, start by entering a room alone and closing the door.  Only stay in there for a few seconds and then come out, walk down the hall, maybe go into another room and close the door, wait a few seconds, come out and continue doing this for a little while.  Try to ignore your dog’s antics as she tries to get your attention.  If at all possible, try to time when you open the door with the brief moment your dog is calm or quiet, rewarding that behavior by reuniting with her.

After making some progress with the inside doors, advance to going outside briefly, shutting the door between you and your dog.  Keep the time you are gone to a minimum and do not make a big deal over it., even if you see a lot of progress in your dog’s behavior.  Making a big deal over her positive progress may only backfire because just when she has learned to be calm, you get her all excited again.  Try not to do that.  The idea is to keep the coming and going as calm and natural as possible.   As you see a positive change in your dog, stay away for longer lengths of time.

Always try to keep your departures as calm and uneventful as possible, maybe leaving a special treat and just saying something like “You stay here.  I’ll be back.” or “See you later.”

Although you might be thinking of giving your dog a sedative instead of taking the time to work through this, I don’t think that’s the best way to go. These drugs can react differently to each dog and might even make things worse. 

However, there are other tools you can use along with the training method.  One very effective tool is the Thundershirt Anxiety Treatment Wrap.  Another is the Original Anxiety Wrap for dogs. Both of these are a type of shirt fitting snugly around a dog’s torso to exert deep touch pressure on the nervous system, creating a calming sensation.  Although it may not work to completely cure your dog of its anxiety issues, using it along with the training could significantly lessen the anxiety your dog has to deal with when you leave it alone.

When rehabilitating your anxious dog, have patience and consistency.  Take some time to work with her and perhaps look for a trainer in your area who could help you further the training and rehabilitation of your 4-legged family member.

Dog Whining Tops Separation Anxiety Behaviour Charts

Posted on by
Reply

Dog whining topped the charts as the no1 separation anxiety behaviour according to a report sponsored by the Danish Animal Welfare Society.

So , if you have been wondering what a dog with separation anxiety does when they are at home alone, this research was designed to to analyse the types of dog behaviour displayed by dogs and take a look at what else happened to them during a 4 hour time period.

Dog whining was used by a whopping 95% of dog to show their anxiousness, which is bad news if you have got a dog with separation anxiety and also have neighbors! To make things worse, the study showed that dog whining was strongly connected with a dog howling too , which is not just much louder than whining, the noise also carries over longer distances.

Vocalisation and Destructive Behaviour in Dogs

Video recordings were used to examine the activity of dogs with separation anxiety problems when left at home alone and divided the dogs behavior into the following separate categories:

  • Vocalisation; including barking, howling and whining
  • Destruction; including scratching, digging, chewing and tearing objects apart
  • Appetite related activities; including sniffing at different objects and nosing under doors
  • Displacement activities; including yawning and licking
  • Predator behaviour;

Of all of the categories analysed, the clearest relationship was between dogs that showed vocalisation and destructive behavior. This cross over was seen in 80 percent of the dogs in the study.

Affect of Time on Separation Anxiety Behavior

The dogs activities were plotted against a time chart and the results confirmed that separation anxiety behavior reached peak intensity soon after the owner left them alone and then customarily reduced increasingly over time.

However, if the dogs fears were set off again by external stimuli (such as noise) the time pattern was frequently reset to the start, so the dog took an equal period of time to start to calm down once more. The more anxious the dog, the less clear the time patterns became, which explains why some dogs can continue to bark throughout the day.

Study Dispels 2 Myths about Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Interestingly, the study rounded up by saying that there wasn’t any data to show that separation anxiety behaviours were due to disobedience or boredom. Hopefully this could go some way toward exposing some of the significant misconceptions around separation anxiety in dogs.

As an example, it is quite typically thought that boredom is the cause of a dog’s bad behavior when left home alone. This interpretation leaves many dog keepers feeling guilty and thinking they have to heap their dog with engaging toys before they’re going out.

One more reason that you often hear from dog lovers who come back home to destruction and mess, is that their dog does it deliberately, almost to spite them for being left home alone. But if disobedience isn’t a factor in dog separation anxiety behavior then this reason also starts to appear like another of those myths.

Understanding is not the same as Action

As interesting as studies like this are, and as helpful as they are to help us increase our knowledge of separation anxiety in dogs, action is what’s needed to stop the anxiety. So if your dog shows any of the symptoms discussed here, find yourself a good dog separation anxiety training routine and get into action now!

The Writer, Venice Marriott learnt about dog anxiety first hand with her own rescue dog Sherlock and has been studying about the effects of anxiety and the most effective ways to reduce anxiety for the last 2 years. Discover more about dog whining and separation anxiety by going to her blog.

What Makes A Dog Bark Non-Stop?

Posted on by
Reply

Dog barking is a difficult issue issue and regularly a massive source of tension between neighbours. For any of us, a dog barking is an unpleasant noise to listen to for even the shortest length of time and you can understand that when the dog next door barks on and off for hours like a faulty car alarm, it will try anyone’s patience. What we often overlook is that the dog will be barking for an perfectly good reason (as far as they’re aware) and that it is potentially just as unsettling for the dog who is experiencing the fear or anxiety.

Working out what triggers your dogs barking can be the toughest part of the issue as dogs can bark at the slightest of things. External noise, such as someone walking past the house will start some dogs barking , although, even in the house, some dog owners find they can’t leave their dog in a room alone without them becoming manic and barking the place down, and the door bell or telephone is frequently the cue for an outburst of barking.

Anxiety frequently lies behind a dogs excessive barking, even though on the face of it, it can look more like aggression. So to stop dog barking we need to start by handling any anxiety problems, which will automatically reduce our dogs need to bark.

Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Separation anxiety affects more than 15 percent of dogs (and some reports suggests as much as 50%). The anxiety leads to a number of behavioural symptoms from a dog pacing the floor, to chewing everything in sight as well as other damaging behaviour. Dog separation anxiety is nearly always the root of a dog barking too much when left home alone.

Reducing anxiety in dogs could be a lengthy process, dependent on how severe the symptoms are and will require both time and patience on your side. Once you’ve worked out the things that set off the anxious behaviour you’ll be able to use desensitization training to help your dog.

Leading the Pack

Closely linked to separation anxiety is pack leadership. As a pack animal, dogs instinctively know there must be a pack leader, one who is responsible for the safeness of the rest of its clan. If one of its charges goes missing, barking is one technique of helping them to find their way back. Clever stuff, but then if we stop and realize the dog could believe itself to be the responsible member of the pack, what does it feel when everybody goes out, locks the door and leaves them in the house on their own?

Excessive barking in dogs is much like any worried parents reaction to a child which has gone missing. In our anxiety we’d bellow at the top of our voice in they hope that they can hear us and come running back, so too a dog will try and let the missing pack members know the way to find their way back to the house. This is also why dogs will scratch wildly at the door or window, because they would like to get out and come and find you.

How To Stop Dogs Barking

One of the best ways to stop dogs barking is to take away the responsibility for the pack from the dog by showing them you’re the pack leaders and the ones to be trusted.

That does not necessarily mean using gizmos like the shock collar every time your dog barks (why punish a dog for doing what it thinks is its job?) or removing its vocal chords (does it change the dog’s mind about its responsibility?) Neither does it mean you’ve got to control your dog by pinning it down or pushing it around. Leadership can be established by showing your dog that you are the decision maker, for example by always making them sit and wait for their food and only begin eating when you give the say so.

It may seem like a roundabout way to stop dog barking, but by dealing with both dog separation anxiety and leadership problems you are much more likely to bring quiet to the home and the neighbourhood too.

Author Venice Marriott is a writer, rescue dog owner and runs a Dog Anxiety website, which provides help and information for dog owners dealing with dog anxiety. Get more information about how to stop dogs barking, when you visit the site.

What Is The Link Between A Dog Jumping Up And The Queen On Her Throne?

Posted on by
Reply

Comparing a dog jumping up to the Queen sitting on her throne may seem strange, but the link is a lot closer than you probably think!

Ask yourself why the Queen sits on a throne and why we bow or curtsy if we meet her?

The answer has much in common with pack behaviour, as when we bow down we reduce ourselves and so raise the person we are bowing to. This performance is simulated in homes the world over by dogs who, on seeing their owners return home, or visitors.. visit, will start jumping up at them.

Now the queen obviously does not need to demonstrate her standing every time she meets somebody, as that has already been done for her. But , for a dog this action is all about being the highest and thus demonstrating who’s in charge. So forget thinking it is just dog behaviour problems, and try taking a look at it as your dog asking you a question about who is in charge of who.

What follows your dog jumping up generally falls into 2 camps, either the dog is met with affection, which can regularly result in the dog becoming even more agitated, or the dog is chastised either due to the embarrassment of the dogs assault on your visitor or because another assult from your dog and your shopping will be strewn all over the floor.

The irony here is that both these reactions from you will motivate the dog to jump up again on another occasion because they’ve got the attention they wanted, and worse may give the dog an impression that it’s ‘leader ‘ and therefore accountable for the owner’s well-being.

Bigger Equals Better

This piece of dog behaviour can be followed all of the way back to a dog’s origins (as well as that of Royal etiquette), and can be summarised in a simple equation: Bigger equals Better. Height domination is one way that dogs (and their wild cousins) establish their hierarchy.

Back to the Queen, her elevated status is attained either with a raised seating arrangement (throne), or from her subjects reducing their height as a sign of deference or subservience, or often both. I knew of a Chihuahua that dominated a Great Dane by jumping up onto the back of the sofa every time they were in the room together.

Permitting your dog to believe that they are the pack leader can cause other major problems such as separation anxiety in dogs.

How to Stop a Dog Jumping Up

Your best approach is just to pay no attention to the dog when it jumps up. Do not look at your dog directly, say anything to them or touch them. If you need to stop the jumping, gently push the dog away or side step the assault, still without saying anything to your dog or catching their eye.

If you have a persistent jumper, it might take time at first, but you may notice quickly the duration and intensity of each jumping up episode reduces, till the dog gives up altogether.

If you are at home and worried that visitors will get this kind of manic attention from your dog too, then a simple solution is to put the dog in another room or on a lead before they arrive, giving you control over the situation.

When the dog gives up the jumping, it’s a sign that he not only realizes that this behaviour won’t get him attention, but as importantly that it respects your personal space, an excellent signal to give a dog in the pecking order stakes.

Author Venice Marriott is a writer and dog owner and runs a website, which provides help and information for dog owners dealing with dog anxiety. Get more information about how to stop a dog jumping up, when you visit the site.