Dog obedience and training > Information > Separation anxiety

Separation anxiety

Separation anxiety is a behavioral problem that manifests itself in a number of different ways. When left alone some dogs will whine like crazy, bark incessantly, or destroy your stuff, especially near doorways and exits. Separation anxiety, at its root, is caused by stress. When your dog is not able to be near you it is a source of such stress that is causes these irritating behaviors. It is important, though, to understand the cause of this dog behavior problem so that you can attack it effectively.

It is very important to note that separation anxiety is very often misdiagnosed. Thanks to drug companies there are many veterinarians today that will take a dog that merely hasn't learned proper indoor behavior and prescribe medication to attempt to fix chewing and housebreaking issues.

So how do you know if your dog really has separation anxiety or merely doesn't have proper indoor manners? The best thing to do is to consult an experienced dog behaviorist. There are several traits, however, that would lead you to believe that your dog is suffering from this disorder. If your dog whines or barks, almost maniacally while you are gone, especially near the doorway than he may be suffering from anxiety. If he is engaging in heavy destruction, especially near the doorway or window, he may be suffering from anxiety. There are other symptoms, but typically separation anxiety is diagnosed on a case by case basis.

Dog owners who have dogs afflicted with separation anxiety often worsen the problem because they don’t understand the cause.

Understand that correcting your dog, yelling, or other such traditional forms of discipline may backfire with separation anxiety. As I mentioned earlier, separation anxiety is caused by stress. Actions that add more stress will not help but hinder your progress in dealing with this dog behavior problem.

Take a sensitive approach to correcting this problem. Understand that fixing this dog behavior problem will require a shift in your dog’s perception of the world. Right now his perception tells him that not being near you is a cause of fear, panic, and worry. Proper training for separation anxiety will show your dog that being without you is not something to fear.

The best way to approach this problem is by doing proper crate training. You need to show your dog that it is possible to be alone and to not feel stress.

Start out by putting your dog in the crate, closing the door, and sitting in front of the crate. Your dog may whine, cry, and bark. Do not pay attention! If you pander to his whining you will succeed not in fixing his separation anxiety problem, but will train him to whine uncontrollably. Just wait him out. As soon as he has calmed down sufficiently, let him out of the crate.

Repeat this process over and over. Each time insist that he stay crated a bit longer and gradually increase your distance. Stick to your guns! It is going to be tough to listen to his whining but you must stick it out.

Let’s examine this process from your dog’s point of view. He knows that being separated from you causes huge amounts of stress, yet you put him in his crate and cause him stress. Invariably he feels stressed and manifests it by whining and crying. He feels that these actions will alleviate his stress. They don’t, however. His screaming does nothing to help his situation because you don’t pay attention to him. Eventually, he tires of this. When he spends a few moments in the crate being calm you are actually training him. You are showing him that there are other ways to deal with stress. Before he only believed that he could deal with stress in one way, now, being calm is an alternative. If you persist in this course of training you will create a new pattern or new behavior. You will slowly train him to be calm and to accept not being near you.

When you have accomplished your dog being calm in the crate while you are at home, start venturing outside. Leave the house and wait for only a few minutes. Gradually increase the time until you can leave for hours and your dog is fine in his crate. When you have accomplished this, you have trained him to know that being without you doesn’t cause stress.

When you have arrived at this point, you can gradually wean your dog off the use of the crate. Keep in mind, this is normally a several month process to get him to the point where he is comfortable by himself. Allow him more freedom when you are home and when you are gone. I would recommend that you always keep the crate handy and use it a few times a week, even when your dog is cured of his separation anxiety. This will help to maintain the training you have done.

When you do get to the point where you are leaving your dog, don't make a big deal out of it. About 15 minutes before you leave begin to ignore your dog. Do the same when you come home, just ignore your dog for a bit. You don't want to associate your comings and goings with anything special, they are merely a part of life.

Separation anxiety is a tough one to deal with. The best results I have seen come from a combo treatment of appropriate medication mingled with correct training principles. Good luck and good training.