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![]() Your goal is to help your pet reduce his dependence on you so he feels safe and less anxious when you’re not home. The plan that follows is a general guide you can follow,3 but for serious cases please seek professional guidance. Separation anxiety can be very challenging to overcome and will likely take time, determination and effort on your part to help your pet. Once you’re sure separation anxiety is the problem, begin behavior modification right away, preferably with the help of a professional. Howling and barking triggered by environmental cues.Destructive chewing or digging, especially among young dogs.Housetraining problems, submissive urination or a urinary tract infection.Such examples that might be confused with separation anxiety symptoms include: Video of your dog’s behaviors can be very helpful here, but laboratory testing may also be done to help rule out underlying medical or behavioral issues. Changes in the household, such as a death in the family or a child going away to collegeīehavior Modification Is Important for Dogs With Separation Anxietyįirst and foremost, if you’re not sure your dog is suffering from separation anxiety, contact your veterinarian for a definite diagnosis.A dramatic, abrupt change in schedule, such as an owner who was previously home all day taking a job away from home for 6 hours a day.Separation anxiety may also be triggered by: If you rescue a shelter pet, I strongly recommend you implement A Sound Beginning’s “welcome home” techniques and music immediately, once your dog is home, to help reduce the potential of separation anxiety from occurring. It’s likely the anxiety may be triggered by being abandoned or by the loss of an important person in the dog’s life. It’s not known why some dogs develop separation anxiety and others do not, but it is far more common in dogs adopted from animal shelters. Why Do Some Dogs Develop Separation Anxiety? But both of these strategies may ultimately make the problem, and your dog’s symptoms, worse. The other extreme is simply ignoring the anxiety and hoping your dog will grow out of it. If your dog struggles with separation anxiety, you may be tempted to “baby” your dog or bring him with you everywhere you go. A dog that’s normally reliably housetrained who has accidents only when you leave is one such example.ĭestructive behaviors, including excessive chewing and digging, that occur only when you’re gone are another sign. You can typically determine that your pet’s anxious symptoms are due to separation anxiety if they occur only in your absence. In other cases, signs of separation anxiety can be subtler, such as drooling or pacing (or trotting along a specific path in your yard). When you leave, your dog may howl relentlessly, chew up furniture, urinate and defecate on the floor or even try to escape. Your dog may, for instance, show signs of distress when you get ready to leave the house. Sometimes, separation anxiety in pets is painfully obvious. Separation anxiety is a common behavioral problem, especially in shelter dogs that may have been previously abused or neglected, that can take a serious toll on both pets and their owners.
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