Many dogs are happy to lounge around their homes all day, perfectly content to snooze on the couch or dog bed while their family is out working and attending school. Unfortunately, this is not the case for all dogs. Some dogs find the departure of their human companions very stressful. A variety of unpleasant behaviours can occur, including howling and barking all day, destructive chewing or accidents in the house. Most dogs with separation anxiety can be helped through behaviour modification on the part of the owner.
If your dog suffers from severe separation anxiety and starts causing himself bodily harm you should consult your veterinarian as well as a professional trainer that uses.
A family’s daily absences from the household are a fact of life. Many families are gone from home for at least eight hours. Make your arrivals and departures from your house routine.
First, the use of a crate is recommended. Please refer to the Crate Training section before attempting to crate train. When introduced properly, a crate can be a safe haven for most dogs and will help provide them with a feeling of security. For dogs that may be chewing destructively, this will not only protect your material and sentimental possessions, but in turn will protect your dog from items that could potentially cause them physical harm. This will help reduce the anxiety when the family returns home, anticipating what their dog may have gotten into.
If a crate is not an option, you will need to confine you dog in an area that the dog will feel comfortable in and can easily be maintained as a safe “dog-proof” area. Start slowly. Using short quick sessions, place your dog in their crate or safe area with a good chew toy, a meal or something that they are normally engaged by. Leave you dog’s view for a very brief moments. Reward your dog with calm praise or treats for maintaining a calm and quiet demeanour. This should gradually build to more extended periods of time and incorporate such things as opening your door and simulating your departure.
Hello and Good-bye
Are you making your dog’s separation anxiety worse? Owners often feel guilt ridden when preparing to leave their dogs for the day. What many people perceive as reassuring to their dog only makes the situation worse. Many people anxiously shower them with love and kisses and constant attention right before they walk out the door. “Oh Fido, I love you so much, be a good boy, we’ll be back before you know it.” After such personal attention, our immediate departure comes as a very big shock to your dog, and leaves your dog worried and anxious. Upon returning home, many people can’t get to the door fast enough and make a big fuss about how happy they are to be home. “Oh I missed you so much Fido!” Your departures and arrivals have become very big events to your dog.
Be Cool to Be Kind
When you leave for the day, place your dog in the crate or safe area about five to ten minutes prior to your departure. Make sure you provide your dog with something stimulating to take the focus off of your departure. When you leave, say nothing or simply a little “be good” in a calm quiet voice. Note: Don’t use the command ‘stay’ as it will make it difficult if not impossible to successfully train your dog to stay.
When you arrive home, don’t run to your dog immediately. Say nothing or a simple “Hi Fido, mommy’s home.” Put down your bags, hang up your jacket and take a minute to relax. This requires restraint on the human’s part. Fido will be okay for a few minutes and you most likely have the whole evening to look forward to. Go let your dog out of his crate or area and take him outside to relieve himself. Wait a few minutes until outside or after coming back before showering your dog with “I missed you’s.”
Destructive Chewing can go hand in hand with separation anxiety. Dogs have a natural desire to chew on things to soothe their anxiety. Not only can a destructive chewer ruin many of your household items, but it can be a big health risk to your dog. Most veterinarians are happy to recount stories of the unusual items they have removed from our companions. Determining the level of your dog’s chewing requirements will help in your quest for safe and suitable chewing items. Some dogs may be happy to carry a stuffed animal around for years while others may remove the stuffing in seconds.
Chew toys also vary in their strength, so sometimes investing in one good and slightly more expensive chew toy will far out weigh purchasing cheaper products. ‘Kong’ http://www.kongcompany.com/worlds_best.html and other treat dispensing toys like Premier’s http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/behavior/busybuddy toys can be a saviour to an owner with a dog that likes to chew.
Start by introducing these treat dispensing toys packed very loosely with the dog’s daily kibble mixed with some higher value treats like hotdogs (cut into small quarters), ground hamburger, dry cereal, cheese, bacon bits, liver or sardines. You may also want to try peanut butter or cheese whiz or plain yoghurt, once the dog gets good at de-stuffing these toys, gradually increase the difficulty (start packing more kibble and treats in) which will continue to challenge and stimulate the dog while you are not present.
Please see the following links for help with Separation Anxiety & Destructive Chewing...
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