Correcting canine separation anxiety problems with dog training and owner education.
If your dog has been diagnosed with separation anxiety then it is time to take steps help your dog stop unwanted behaviors. It is a good idea for owners to track the dogs behavior in order to monitor the dogs progress during treatment.
Treating Separation Anxiety: The whole family needs to be involved in treatment because there will be a lot of training involved and each member of the family needs to be on the same page. Please remember the dog is truly panicking and not being spiteful or mean.
- Nothing In Life Is Free! Go back to puppy training 101. Make Fido work for everything. Food, love, and attention are things the dog should be working for. Give positive reinforcement and stop reinforcement of the behaviors you don't want. Never give attention to a dog who is acting fearful, for example do not pet the dog when it is shaking or acting nervous. This is reinforcing fear.
- Avoid leaving the dog home alone: Use doggy daycares, boarding facilities or a veterinary clinic so the dog is not left home alone to panic. The idea is to stop the behavior now so the dog doesn't continue the same behavior pattern.
- Don't punish the dog.
- Teach independence: The owner should train the dog to stay on a dog bed or a special rug and practice in-home separations where the dog must first stay a few inches away from the owner gradually working up to several feet. The "stay" command should only last a few seconds at first but work up to several minutes before releasing the dog and giving a special treat. The dog bed should be something that can be moved so you can practice in many rooms of the house. This is something that can be practiced while getting ready for work in the morning. Make the dog stay on the bed while putting on make up or shaving in the morning.
- Help your dog get used to your departing behaviors: On days you do not need to go to work, go through the normal workday routines of getting ready, but don't leave the house. This will help the dog learn not to react to the behavior. Try rattling the keys but don't get up to leave, when the dog stops reacting to this behavior try rattling the keys and walking to the door, but don't leave the house. Work up to being able to do all these behaviors without the dog reacting.
- Plan gradual departures: Do not try this on a work day but rather on a weekend. Pretend you are getting ready for work (go through your normal routine) and leave for a few seconds. When the dog doesn't react, increase the time gone to 1 minute, then 2 minutes, then 3 minutes, etc. Work your way up to leaving the dog for longer periods of time but go very slowly.
- Ignore the dog for 15 minutes before leaving and after arriving home. This will teach the dog that your coming and going is no big deal. This is a hard but necessary step for most people.
- Medications: There are medications available from your veterinarian that might help some dogs. These medications are not successful by themselves but can help some behavior problems during the training process.
The steps listed above are meant to help dogs with separation anxiety but do not replace the importance of talking to a veterinarian and/or an animal behaviorist.
Related Article: What Is Dog Separation Anxiety?
Reference: "Canine Separation Anxiety", Lecture at Central Veterinary Conference by Melissa Bain, DVM, DACVB
The copyright of the article Treating Dog Separation Anxiety in Pet Training is owned by Charla Dawson. Permission to republish Treating Dog Separation Anxiety in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
