Dealing with Separation Anxiety
Working with dogs in shelters has always been one of the greatest passions for me in my career in animal welfare. Many
dogs that come from rescues, shelters and humane organizations usually end up in one of these facilities because of some type of behavior issue. I have had several requests to talk about separation anxiety and how to deal with this behavior. I have studied several different books about dog behavior and the explanation of how many of these authors deal with separation anxiety is as varied as their opinions of how to best train a dog.
Separation anxiety manifests itself in a variety of forms. Many dog owners report that when they leave their dogs alone the dogs destroy furniture, eat doors, and shred anything from drapes, carpet and anything that is left in the room. Many times the advice is to crate train the dog and leave a dog in a kennel when the owner is gone. Sometimes this advice works and is easy, for other owners the dog becomes even more frantic and eats their way out of the kennel and then destroys other things in the room. What is the answer for separation anxiety?
There are many theories about separation anxiety and many theories about what the root cause of this behavior is. There are experts in dog behavior who believe separation anxiety is a possessive behavior rooted in dominance issues. There are other experts who subscribe to the school of thought that believe separation anxiety is rooted in deep psychological trauma caused by abandonment and fear. Some veterinary behaviorists believe that separation anxiety is so serious that it needs to be treated with antidepressants.
So what is the best way to handle separation anxiety? I can honestly tell you I don’t know. I have worked with people who have dogs that they claim have separation anxiety and can tell you that every case is different. I have managed a boarding facility and have been asked to work with several dogs where the owners claim that their dog exhibits separation anxiety behavior. In most of these cases as soon as the owner drops the dog off at day camp the dog transforms into a dog that is well adjusted, social and gets along great with humans and other dogs. When the owner comes to pick the dog up I watch as the dog totally walks all over the owner. So the theory that the cause of the separation anxiety behavior is possessiveness and dominance appears to be true. The advice in this case would be to teach the owner to take more of a leadership role with their dog and when this is accomplished the behavior amazingly vanishes. Dogs need stable, calm environments and many behavior issues can be solved when leadership is instilled within the dog’s pack environment. I must emphasize that leadership and structure are a powerful tool in curing behavior issues.
I have also witnessed dogs that have been through abandonment and unstable living environments for a long period of time. The dogs appear to have serious trauma and trust issues and there seems to be a genuine fear of being left alone. These cases require and extreme amount of patience by the owner to develop the trust that lets the dog let go of the trauma and fear of being alone. In many cases the owner has to apply the same philosophy that many child psychology experts advise to train young children to sleep by themselves. The advice is to acclimate your dog slowly to being left alone by leaving for short periods of time. Usually exercise is advised to burn off the anxiety and energy the dog has. Usually a tired dog will rest after exercise and it is a good way to calm the dog’s mind. If an owner can establish a routine based around exercise the dog will soon begin to understand the routine and become calmer when the owner leaves. The advice we usually give is to start out with small periods of time and then increase the time away from the dog. The dog should always be given some type of chewing device and usually a Kong Toy filled with a broken up dog treat will keep the dog busy for a few hours. Patience is the key to these dogs and many owners feel frustrated and feel like they can’t ever overcome the issue. Veterinarians may prescribe anti anxiety drugs in these cases. I don’t advocate the use of drugs in most behavior cases but this may be a short term answer until training takes hold. The use of anti anxiety drugs should always be a short term proposition and I am not an advocate of the long term use of drugs for behavior issues unless there are serious disease or health issues.
In concluding this discussion please think about what you are getting into when you bring a dog into your life. Many people get a dog to fill a personal need. Many people feel that a dog will cure loneliness or fill an emotional void that has been left by the loss of something or someone. A dog should always be brought into one’s life in an environment of calm, confident strong energy. Dogs should never be brought into one’s life in an environment of emotional turmoil or need. Dog’s are super sensitive to their environment and will respond in a negative way behaviorally to an environment of weak energy. As I have discussed previously always try to provide a calm stable environment, provide daily exercise and give your dog the leadership they crave and you will see tremendous results very quickly.
By Nick Fisher
President and Founder Balanced Dog LLC
没有评论:
发表评论