Training For Separation Anxiety In Dogs
Separation anxiety is the kind of sensation that we can relate to. Young children have the same sort of anxiety when their parents leave for a night out. They learn that their parents will return and do not feel anxiety anymore. The same process has to happen for our dogs so that their anxiety is reduced. Anxiety in dogs will often manifest as disconsolate howling, chewing things or uncontrolled urination. If the dogs stays indoors this can be a problem for you. This article will give you some ideas on how to ease separation anxiety in dogs.
Separation anxiety begins when a puppy is separated from it’s mother too soon. A puppy should have at least 8 weeks with it’s mother before being re-homed. If a puppy was re-homed before this time it may experience separation anxiety in later life.
Training for separation anxiety in dogs can start as soon as you bring the puppy home. To begin with, don’t make a bid deal of the separation when you leave it at night or on odd occasions. Put it in it’s basket and walk away. It will get used to the fact that you are not always there.
If you make it clear to the puppy that you will not always be there then it will get used to it and will probably not suffer from separation anxiety when it gets older.
It might not be as straightforward to train a grown dog to not suffer from separation anxiety. Often grown dogs may have come from a shelter, the pound or have been given to you by the previous owner.
If it has spent anytime in a shelter or pound it may have been neglected before this. This may lead to insecurities and anxiety. It may have also been deprived of affection whilst in the shelter too which may add to it’s insecurity.
If it has been given to you by the previous owner there is generally a good reason why they have done this. It may be that there were family problems, a divorce, money problems or that the person had to leave the country. As a dog is a social animal and needs the support that a family gives to it, it is also aware when there are problems in the family. This can trigger emotional problems that could result in displaying separation anxiety at some point.
The way to train a grown dog for separation anxiety is to take the softly softly approach. Practice leaving your pet. Start off with just a short separation, say a minute or so. Close the door to indicate that you have left. Wait a minute and then come back in. Don’t make a fuss of the dog when you leave or come back.
Continue this mock separation process but increase the time each time you separate. If you hear the dog getting anxious then return to a separation interval that he is comfortable with. Gradually the dog will be completely adjusted to separation and will not get anxious.
To break up this process you could also try taking the dog’s mind off the fact that you have left. So you could give it a tasty treat or a meaty bone. This should keep it interested for a while by which time you may have returned. Although this will not solve the problem, it may break up the training for you.
