Luvk9s Dog Training

Separation anxiety
      

 An interesting phenomenon of the pandemic was the adoption of rescue dogs by Americans who were homebound, resulting in shelters actually running out of dogs available for adoption.

Unfortunately, another phenomenon is now occurring as a result of Americans returning to the office. Dogs who had companionship 24/7 are now home alone – and many are struggling with separation anxiety.
    

What is separation anxiety

Separation anxiety occurs when a dog who is overly attached to his human panics when his owner leaves. Signs of separation anxiety can include whining and pacing as you prepare to leave the house, refusing food when you leave, inappropriate elimination soon after you leave, and barking, howling, destructive chewing and attempts to escape while you’re gone.

Many common behavior problems can cause similar symptoms, so don’t confuse behavior issues with separation anxiety. A dog that inappropriately eliminates in the house may not be completely housetrained. Destructive chewing in a young dog can be a result of teething, or with any dog, lack of exercise or plain boredom.

Also rule out any medical issues that might be causing the sudden change in your dog’s behavior such as a change in medications, a urinary tract infection or some other medical issue.
  

Addressing separation anxiety

If your dog has a mild case of separation anxiety, simple counterconditioning might do the trick. The idea is to develop an association between you leaving and something good happening, like a food treat your dog only gets when you leave the house. Find something that will take your dog at least 20 minutes or more to finish.

A frozen Kong, stuffed with a mixture of food and peanut butter, yogurt or cottage cheese works well for this purpose. If your dog loves puzzle toys, give him a puzzle toy to work that he only gets when you leave the house. My dog received a bully stick every time I left the house; he would plant himself in front of the cabinet where the bully sticks were stored the moment he realized I was getting ready to leave.

Severe cases of separation anxiety require a more complex desensitization and counterconditioning program; it may be necessary to enlist the help of a specialist who can prescribe medication if appropriate.

The general process will involve desensitizing your dog to triggers, setting up a safe room and then slowly, over time, getting your dog used to you being gone for longer and longer periods of time.

Desensitize your dog to the triggers

Dogs are masters of observation; they quickly learn what your “getting ready to leave” routine is and will often start getting nervous before you even leave the house. If your routine consists of showering, dressing, putting your shoes on, grabbing your purse/wallet and then your car keys, your anxious dog may start getting stressed out while you are showering because he knows that eventually leads to you leaving the house.

Identify the triggers and desensitize him to each trigger. Put your shoes on but don’t leave the house. Instead, give him a tasty treat. Pick up your car keys, then give your dog a treat and sit down and read the paper.

Set up a safe room

Many dogs with separation anxiety will become even more anxious if you crate them when you leave the house. Find a safe room where your dog can stay while you’re out. Preferably, it will be a room where there aren’t many things for your dog to chew or destroy. Common safe rooms include bathrooms, kitchens or an unfinished room or basement area. Don’t close the door to this room; get a baby gate instead so the dog can still see out.

Playing calming music, leaving the TV on and experimenting with anxiety relieving products like dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) collars and diffusers can also help. A dog cam is a worthwhile investment and will allow you to monitor your dog as you are working your way through the process.

   

The process

The first step is to get your dog used to the safe room by sitting in the room with him. Close the gate, give your dog something to chew and ignore your dog. Encourage the dog to entertain himself while in the safe room. Once they are entertaining themselves, wait 5-10 minutes before you open the gate and leave the safe room.  Do not acknowledge your dog as you are leaving.  If your dog stays in the safe room, great. If they follow you out, don’t worry about it. Repeat this daily until your dog stays in the safe room entertaining himself after you leave.

The next step would be to put your dog in the safe room, close the gate and sit on the other side of the gate. Repeat daily until you can walk away and return with your dog barely noticing. The goal is to slowly build up the time you can stay away with your dog remaining calm (and occupied.) Start out being gone for 5 seconds; slowly build up to being home but out of sight for 20 minutes. Randomly during this training period, start adding triggers (picking up car keys, etc.) that you worked on earlier.

Once your dog is comfortable in the safe room while you’re home and periodically out of sight, begin leaving the house a few seconds at first and very slowly build up the time you can leave the house without your dog getting stressed.
 

Be patient

The time this will take varies – be prepared that this could take several months or longer. You may have setbacks and have to start over again at square one. It’s helpful to keep a diary so you can keep track of your progress and make appropriate adjustments.

Have a back-up plan for your dog if you do need to leave the house while going thru this process. Have a pet sitter on call or start getting your dog comfortable going to doggie day care. Dogs with separation anxiety often are surprisingly fine left in your car for short periods of time, weather permitting.

Be patient – the effort will be worth it.