Nicole Wilde on Separation Anxiety |

In the past few years, the term “separation anxiety” has been bandied about in training and veterinary circles, yet there are no hard and fast statistics about it–not only is it hard to diagnose, but training approaches to defining and solving this issue are often controversial and confusing.

If you have an anxious dog and have ruled out medical issues with your vet, how can you tell if he actually has separation anxiety or if he’s just destructive in general? What are the myths surrounding this problem? What are appropriate methods to alleviate it? Should you ever use medications? What are your options?

To get the real scoop, I recently talked with internationally known trainer and canine behavior specialist Nicole Wilde. Her book, Don’t Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog’s Separation Anxiety, offers an innovative protocol to help you build your dog’s confidence and change his behavior from worried to more nonchalant when you leave.

Nicole’s unique “outside the box” approaches are based on tried and true scientific methods and on her own experiences that she used with her own dog Sierra, and with her clients’ dogs. (Nicole’s credentials appear at the end of this post.)

In this first of a three-part interview, Nicole discusses the definitions, causes, how we can help the suffering dog, and clues about separation anxiety when adopting a dog.

What is separation anxiety (SA) and what isn’t SA? Some of us don’t know the difference and have misconceptions about SA if the symptoms are similar.

Separation anxiety is the emotional distress experienced by a dog when separated from a particular person or persons. This differs from “isolation

Have you come home to this?

distress,” which is when a dog simply does not like to be left alone. It is important to differentiate between separation anxiety, isolation distress, and a dog who is simply destructive or not completely potty trained.

What are the causes of SA? Can SA be a learned behavior?

There can be many causes for separation issues. Sometimes a family adopts a dog when one person is between jobs, or over a long holiday when they’re all at home. When the schedule changes and the dog is suddenly left alone more, he can’t cope.

Another common cause is when a dog has been rehomed. Often the dog feels at sea, as though he might be abandoned again. These dogs can take a while to settle in.

Experiencing a traumatic incident can also lead to a dog not wanting to be left alone. There is an amazing story in my book about a dog who, with his owner, walked in on a robbery in progress. Before the incident he had never had behavioral problems but immediately after, he developed quite a case of separation anxiety.

As far as separation anxiety being a learned behavior, it’s possible that if one dog in the family has it, it could cause the other dog to become more anxious than usual, although I’m not sure the second dog would then have a true separation issue.

Are some dog owners actually creating SA by encouraging certain behaviors? I know some people like “velcro” dogs. What are some of our own behaviors we should avoid to prevent fostering SA?

Being with your dog constantly and then leaving him alone can encourage a separation problem. But it’s a common myth that practices such as allowing a dog to sleep in your bed or “coddling” him will actually cause a separation issue—although doing those things won’t help if he’s already got one.

It’s true that many dogs with separation anxiety will follow people around—the “Velcro” dogs you mentioned—but not all do. Sierra, the dog I adopted from the shelter (who was the inspiration for my book), preferred to lie outdoors on the ramp in back of the house as long as she knew I was inside. But if I left, she fell apart. It’s important to note that not every separation anxiety issue is a textbook type case.

If you are planning to adopt a dog, is there a way to know if he has SA before bringing him home?

Great question! And I wish there were a great answer. Before we adopted Sierra, we found out she’d been in the shelter four times; that doesn’t bode well for a dog feeling secure when left alone. But although many dogs in shelters and rescues can have separation issues, they certainly don’t all have them, and I would hate to dissuade anyone from adopting.

If you are adopting a dog, the adjective “escape artist” might be a clue that the dog also has a separation issue, and is escaping in order to go after the owners; but that’s not always the case, and digging deeper is warranted.

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Part II of this interview series: Nicole offers advice about how to help your dog feel safer and calmer through management techniques and protocols, discusses the crate controversy, and provides tips and suggestions for building your dog’s confidence.

Part III of this interview series: Nicole talks about innovative ways to manage your dog’s anxiety when you leave, including calming techniques, the crate controversy, and how to build your dog’s confidence.

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Nicole Wilde is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and internationally recognized author and lecturer. Her nine books include So You Want to be a Dog Trainer, Help for Your Fearful Dog, and Don’t Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog’s Separation Anxiety. In addition to working with dogs, Nicole has worked with wolves and wolfdogs for over fifteen years and is considered an expert in the field.

Nicole is on the Advisory Board of the Companion Animal Sciences Institute, the educational branch for the International Institute for Applied Companion Animal Behavior, and an Advisory Board member for the Association of Animal Behavior Professionals. Nicole writes an Ask the Expert column for Modern Dog Magazine, and blogs for Dog Star Daily, Victoria Stilwell’s Positively Expert blog, and her own site, Wilde About Dogs. You can find Nicole on Facebook at Nicole Wilde, Author and on Twitter at @NicoleWilde.