Understanding Dog Separation Anxiety

Dogs are pack animals. They want to be with other dogs, lead by their owner or alpha dog, and they feel safe and secure with their pack around. So when you leave every day to go to work, to the movies, or even a quick trip to the store, your dog will get anxious in your absence, as being alone makes them feel uncomfortable.

Your dog’s anxiety works like a clock. Each minute you are absent, a little bit more anxiety starts to build. Depending on your breed of dog, this anxiety builds faster or slower, but all dogs feel it. Some dogs can last an entire day without experiencing too much anxiety, while others – especially the very loyal and friendly breeds – can become incredibly nervous and jittery in as little as a few hour or less.

This nervousness leads to unwanted behaviors, like chewing, whining, urinating or scratching, which a dog does in order to release some of its anxiety. These behaviors can be destructive to both your house and your dog, as the longer this anxiety goes untreated, the more it will grow every time you leave your house.

But there are several things you can do in order to decrease your dog’s chances of getting separation anxiety. These methods are best starting young, as a dog that already has too much separation anxiety may still need training from a professional, but all of these tips are useful ways to ensure your dog does not get any worse:

1) Before leaving the house, be sure and ignore your dog completely for at least 10 minutes. Do not look at your dog, do not talk to your dog, and most importantly, do not do any behaviors that get your dog excited. Your dog experiences an increase in energy naturally when you leave, and exciting your dog only to step out of your house and leave it alone will give your dog a rush of loneliness and extra nervousness. You want your dog to barely notice your absence, and gathering its attention before leaving does not accomplish that goal.

2) Similar to number 1, when arriving back home, ignore your dog for another 5 or so more minutes. It is tempting to give attention to your clearly attention starved pet, but doting on your dog when you come home is only going to teach it to wait, nervously for your return in order to receive the affection it was waiting for. Dogs that are given too much attention by their owner when they come home end up sitting by the door, waiting for their owner’s return. The longer the owner takes, the more that excitement becomes anxiety and, eventually, unwanted behaviors.

3) Dogs are incredibly smart animals. They notice that you get up and put your coat on before you leave, or that you pick up your keys from the table. So those noises start to associate themselves with you leaving, and the anxiety will begin to kick in even before you have walked out of the door. If you notice that any of these rituals are exciting your dog, try to do them when you are not leaving. Put your coat on but stay inside the house. Jiggle your keys a bit but do not step foot outside the door. Eventually, your dog will start to habituate to these behaviors and they will not cause the same anxiety as they had previously.

4) As you work on all of these methods, you should also try the taking short trips outside. This can take a little time out of your day, so be sure you have a lot of time to devote to this. In order for the short trip method to work, you need to make sure your dog is not too excited. Then leave your house, but do not wander off. Wait outside the door for about 1 to 2 minutes and listen for any bad behaviors. If/when there aren’t any, come back inside. Wait until your dog calms down and try again. This time wait an extra 1-3 minutes. If your dog starts to make whiney noises, it is important to wait until it has stopped before entering again. Eventually, you will be able to work your way up to 30-60 minute periods. Once you have managed to keep your dog anxiety free for that long, you are ready to take longer trips.

Separation anxiety is a serious issue, both with pets and with pet owners. It can cause harm to your belongings as well as your dog, and can hurt your relationship with your dog (and your neighbors). But by using these techniques to reduce the likelihood of separation anxiety, you should be able to keep the unwanted behaviors to a minimum.

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