Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Causes and Solutions
Coming home to a panting dog and a chewed-up home is sad for everyone involved. This article covers dogs suffering when left alone, let's figure out the causes and let Petli give you the solutions.
As always, it is important to understand the reasons behind the behavior before attempting to adjust it. Does your dog have difficulty being alone? Or does she/he suffer from separation anxiety from you specifically? These are two very different things to consider.
Differences between loneliness problems and separation problems
If your dog can be left with a neighbor, another dog, or a friend without showing signs of distress, then your dog has difficulty being alone. If your dog becomes anxious, stressed, waits by the door, whines, and howls only when you leave, then your dog likely has separation anxiety.
Separation problem
Such dogs usually:
- Keep an eye on you.
- Follow you closely.
- May refuse to eat if you're not home.
- Do not want to go for a walk with anyone else.
- Will lie down right next to you and preferably never leave your side, etc.
It is unnatural for a pack animal to be alone. Most dogs require training to feel secure in solitude. Dogs vary in their ability to be alone, and some can never handle it. Therefore, it is essential to begin training relatively early with a puppy, as inadequate loneliness training is a major cause of problems in adult dogs.
Separation anxiety often refers to a dog that cannot be left alone at all. As soon as their owner leaves, their anxiety builds up.
Which dogs are at risk of separation problems
Senior dogs can develop loneliness issues if their senses start to fail, and they feels vulnerable. Dogs that suffer from illness or pain can also develop loneliness issues for the same reason.
Rehomed dogs are more likely to have separation anxiety. And some breeds that are meant to live and work in packs are predisposed to it. It may also be that something happened when the dog was alone that caused the anxiety, such as being scared by attempted break-ins, children knocking on the door to play, or a loud noise from outside.
It is also common for dogs left alone for too long without proper training to develop fear of being alone. This subject is complex, and it is difficult to say what should or should not be done to reduce the risk of the problem, as it all depends on the individual dog.
Solutions to separation problems
The measures vary depending on the cause.
1) Step-by-step training to get the dog used to being alone
First, eliminate all alone time. Your dog cannot get used to being alone while at the same time being left alone for longer than she/he can handle. Find a good dog sitter or daycare center, and then create a thorough training plan that you carry out 3-4 months.
Before you start, check your dog's well-being: Review your dog's exercise and stimulation schedule. An under-stimulated dog will have a hard time feeling calm. A breed and individual-adapted outlet should be routine, not a one-time event. Additionally, taking a long walk with training and nose stimulation may be wise before leaving the dog alone.
Take the training in small steps so as not to overexpose and aggravate: In a harmonious dog, we can gradually build up the feeling of security step by step. Start by massaging your dog to calm down in its bed. Then say "See you soon" and leave the bed. If your dog stays put, return and pat her/him before the next repetition. You do not want to start by leaving your dog in another room in the home or closing the front door behind you. It can be too difficult for a dog that dreads being alone.
Practice in another room before you leave the house: When your dog is used to staying put while you do other things in the same room, it may be time to practice in a cozy room. A bed and water are a must. Turn on some calm music and have a lamp on. You can try giving your dog a tasty bone, activity toys, and other small treasures your dog can find occupy her/him with.
Say "See you soon" and leave the dog, then take a few steps away from the room. Return almost immediately and preferably if your dog is still lying on its bed. The goal is to return before your dog starts to worry or get bored with her/his things. Repeat several times a day. Otherwise, your dog has no chance to get used to it, it requires repetition.
Vary the difficulty level non-linearly: Do not consistently lengthen the time away. Let your dog's behavior determine if it's time to increase, first only when your dog is calm is it time to make it more difficult. Do so by gradually but not linear increasing the time, 20 seconds, 1 minute, 30 seconds, 3 minutes. Otherwise, your message will be that the better the situation is handled, the worse it gets.
Add one difficulty at a time according to the dog's ability: When your dog goes to bed and rest instead of standing at the gate, it's time for the next step. Hang a towel over the grate to reduce visual input. If your dog doesn't care, try closing the door slightly, but go back to a time margin that your dog can handle well. Don't add two difficulties at the same time, to avoid setbacks and anxiety as it becomes counterproductive to your goal.
Use a surveillance camera for safe training: A surveillance camera is a good investment in separation training. This way, you can see in real-time what your dog is doing when you're outside the door or have left. You can see if there is any indicationes of stress and if so you need to interrupt the training, or if your dog has settled down and it's time for you to return (reinforce the behavior).
When it is time to leave home: Now you have trained the foundation. Practice the same way but leave your dog in the home and go out the door. The door is usually a charged portal. So practice going out and leaving the door open. When that works well, you can close it abit but leave it slightly ajar.
When your dog handles the door closing without worry, you can start alternating between standing outside, walking away, driving away, and so on. Vary the time you're away. You ideally want to return to a calm dog resting on her/his bed. If worry or panic sets in, you should interrupt the training and simplify the progression in your training plan since stress indicates that you have gone too fast.
Be sure to stay calm and confident during the training, don't unnecessarily look at your dog or try to take all the training steps in stride.
Take it gently and always at your dog's pace: Often we need to be minutely precise in the beginning, gradually increase in time, starting with a few seconds. With time and training, your dog will settle down faster and faster when you say "See you soon," and then you can add minutes at a time as your dog has confidence that you will return.
2) Solutions to separation problems
Boost your dog's independence: If you have a dog with separation anxiety, you may need to work on building her/his independence, for example through scent track training, directional sending, "stay" cues, and remote control. At the same time, reduce recall training, walking close to you, contact exercises, and everything that reinforces closeness to you.
Start praising your dog more for independent play with toys instead of treats near you, and create problem-solving situations where the dog needs to act far away from you, such as searching for a ball you've thrown into a field, finding treats you've hidden in tree trunks, or searching for other people further away from you.
Announce when the dog is coming along:
Repeat "You're coming with me" every time you go for a walk, it gives the dog information about when to come along, or be left behind. The foreknowledge of what is to come reduces stress and anxiety. Basic training is important: You can also tie your dog up on a walk, say "See you soon", throw a few treats on the ground, take a few steps away and then immediately return before stress sets in. If you do this several times per walk, your dog will develop a tolerance for it. But be careful, you want to turn anxiety into security, and not push your dog over the limit of stress.
Practice "sit-stay" at home if your dog usually follows you around. Let someone else in the family feed, give treats, and take your dog for a walk so your dog builds bonds with someone other than you. This won't make your dog love you less but it will increase the chance that she/he can cope with being away from you. Essential resources need to be linked to more than just one person.
Acknowledge the dog when it is independent: If you usually confirm your dog's contact-seeking behavior by looking at her/him, talking to her/him, or petting her/him, you may need to adjust this. This does not mean you should stop doing this. You should just offer it when your dog is independent rather than following you around.
How does the mantra progress? The above is basic training for a dog with separation anxiety without other influencing factors. But sometimes the cause-and-effect relationship is complex, and several measures are needed. After the above has been put into practice, and you have a more independent dog that dares to be without you and sometimes chooses to do so on her/his own, move on to step 1 in the article and train regular Home alone training.
3) The desire to be multiple can be race-based
If your dog is of a breed that is meant to work in a pack and suffers from separation anxiety, it may be time to get another dog. Some breeds are not suitable to be kept alone. It is important to keep this in mind when buying a dog. If you really don't want more than one dog, and if it's important to be able to leave the dog alone for a few hours, then you need to choose a breed with that in mind. Perhaps an independent breed that doesn't tend to attach to just one person is a safer bet.
4) Pain and illness are a common cause of separation problems
First and foremost, pain or illness should of course be treated. If uncertainty persists in the dog, or if the symptoms come in waves, you may have to accept that a sick dog cannot be alone. The solution may lie in a dog sitter or a dog daycare. Severely ill dogs, such as those with epilepsy, should not be left alone.
5) Seniors with failing senses rarely want to be alone
Failing senses can make even the bravest of seniors feel insecure. Limiting the area the dog is left in can help, lowering blinds and creating a quieter indoor environment with some "background noise" like TV or radio can alleviate stress. An Adaptil diffuser plugged into a wall outlet can calm some dogs.
Society and employers usually have greater understanding if you need to bring your elderly dog to work and sometimes exceptions can be made, why not ask? It may only be a matter of six months before your dog's time is up.
If you have a young dog and an older one that cannot be left together, try separating them if you notice that the older one is stressed when you leave the house. It could be that the young dog does not leave the older one alone when they are alone. Film them when alone to be on the sure what's going on.
Separation anxiety and loneliness are major welfare problems for dogs. If your dog is suffering from either, seek help immediately as the prognosis is better the earlier you address the issue.
More to keep in mind regarding separation problems
What does the law say about leaving dogs alone? Different countries have different laws. Be aware of what applies to you. In Sweden puppies under 4 months of age should only be left alone for short periods and adult dogs require attendance every six hours. This can be interpreted as a guideline for how long an adult dog should be left alone.
This is how you can tell that your dog has difficulty being alone:
- Your dog becomes anxious before you leave or when you start routines that your dog associates with you leaving.
- Your dog becomes overly "happy" when you come home. Is it stress or joy? Perhaps a great relief that you have returned...
- Your dog howls, barks, or whines when you are gone.
- Your dog is destructive and destroys objects/furniture when you are gone.
- Your dog becomes quiet, only lies on the hallway mat, whines, and waits.
- Your dog is very excited after being alone, perhaps it becomes aggressive on walks, which it does not otherwise do
- Your dog pees/poos indoors when she/he is alone.
- Your dog paces between windows and doors keeping a look out for you.
Film your dog when you leave her/him alone so that you know with greater certainty how she/he handles loneliness.
Written by: Caroline Alupo
Caroline Alupo is Petli's co-founder. She has a master's degree in ethology and is also a trained dog trainer and dog psychologist. She has 19 years of experience as a professional dog trainer. Read more about Caroline here.
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