Separation Anxiety

Dogs are social pack animals. Attention and socialization are needed for a dog to function normally. However, some dogs show extreme anxiety when left alone. This is sometimes displayed as house destruction, continuous vocalization, or inappropriate elimination in a house-trained dog. This behavior is analogous to a panic attack that a human may have in a stress-provoking situation. Separation anxiety is not specific to any age, sex or breed, and sometimes occurs after a traumatic or stressful situation that a dog has been through. Some shelter dogs initially display some separation anxiety when newly placed in a home. After a few months of patience, desensitizing, and retraining, most dogs will become excellent pets and loyal companions if given the chance.

How do I know if my dog has Separation Anxiety?
If your dog displays two or more of these signs, he may have separation anxiety:

• Extreme house destruction ONLY when you are gone.
• House destruction at or near entry ways and exits such as chewing door frames, window frames and even wallboard in an attempt to escape to find you.
• Self-injurious behavior in attempts to escape, such as digging until his nails bleed or his shoulders are stiff and sore, chewing until his gums bleed or he breaks teeth, and sometimes even breaking through glass windows or chewing crates or fencing, cutting himself in the process.
• Nervous pacing, drooling, whining, or hiding as you get ready to leave your home.
• Exuberant, frantic greetings when you return.
• Your dog may follow you around the house when you are home and always have to have you in sight. He may be overly clingy and need to be touching you, whether it is sitting on your feet or leaning against you at all possible opportunities.
• Refraining eating or drinking while you are gone.
• Extreme aversion, nervous drooling, and/or escape attempts when being put in a crate or enclosed area.
• Anxious, barking, whining, or pacing when left in the yard without you right there.
• Urination and/or defecation in the house ONLY when you are gone.

As you can see, some cases can be more severe than others.
If your dog has mild Separation Anxiety, showing only a few symptoms in a mild form, here are some things you can do:

• Obedience train your dog, emphasizing distance commands such as a Sit-Stay or Down-Stay a few paces away. This can be accomplished in our Canine U dog training program.
• Do not allow your dog to cling to you. You can pet him and call him to you, but do not fawn over or constantly pet him. He needs to learn to be independent.
• Do not make long, drawn out, emotional departures and arrivals in an attempt to comfort your dog. Keep calm and ignore the frantic greeting your dog displays. When he calms down, quietly talk to him and pet him momentarily.
• Make a list of all triggers that indicate to your dog that your are leaving such as picking up your keys, turning the radio on for him, getting your coat, getting your shoes, briefcase, etc. Do these things in a random order throughout the day when you are home so they become meaningless to your dog and unpredictable. This takes numerous trials and much dedication on your part. When you get to the point of actually going out the door and going to your car, go right back in and quietly reward him for calm behavior. Proceed slowly with this exercise, repeating each step until he no longer shows any sign of distress for that particular trigger.
• Leave an item of clothing or an unwashed blanket of yours that is heavily laden with your scent for your dog to have. This often gives a calming effect.
• Use his food for separation training. Save most of his food for when you are gone. Stuff it into things that he must work at to get the food out while you are gone such as multiple Kong toys (add a little wet food and freeze them to make them even more challenging), biscuit balls or saucers, a long hollow cow leg bones, Roll-A-Treat balls, and Buster Cubes. These can help keep him occupied and change his association with your absence from anxiety to anticipation of food. These things stimulate the natural chewing and food-getting drive of a dog and challenge him more than just offering him his food out of a bowl. Rotate several of these every weekly so your dog doesn’t get bored with the same old food-stuffed toys. In the room or rooms your dog is contained, hide some of these toys so your dog must follow his nose to get “the prize.” This can help detract attention away from your leaving.
• If at all possible, keep your dog out of a crate and in a safe room until he can handle being kenneled without anxiety again. Please, see our Crate Retraining Fact Sheet.

NEVER do the following, as these things will only increase the problem:

• Never punish him when you get home for house destruction, soiling, or for any anxious behavior.
• Do not get another dog to give him company. The new dog can become destructive and anxious from picking up on the anxious dog’s behavior, or may have no effect at all.
• Do not force your dog in a crate or give him a larger crate or a wire crate, thinking he just wants more room or needs to see things better. He must be retrained (desensitized) to a normal, enclosed crate in a slow, progressive manner.
• Do not take your dog to a harsh, compulsive obedience school where aggression, dominance and punishment are advocated. This will increase the anxiety your dog is exhibiting. Your dog is not misbehaving deliberately - he’s experiencing panic attacks because he’s terrified to be alone.
• If you give up your dog, you are only passing on the problem. It will not go away by simply rehoming the dog. If you must rehome, please be honest.

Extreme Cases

If your dog has many or all of the above listed symptoms of Separation Anxiety, you may need to keep him in a day-care facility or a boarding kennel until he gets used to being alone. Sometimes a dog walker can help as well, or you may need to leave him with a friend or family member. If you can take him to work, even for part of the day, this can also help. A behaviorist can help formulate an individual program tailored for his needs, his current environment, and your schedule. You can also discuss drug therapy options to get him past the initial severity of the problem. This approach can hasten the retraining and desensitizing he needs to minimize destruction and decrease the danger he is to himself. Remember, Separation Anxiety is a panic response and it can be overcome. Your dog is not being destructive on purpose or out of revenge, so time, patience and proper retraining are the keys to solving this problem.