Separation Anxiety in Dogs
by Jennifer Hanlon.  K9Einsteins Professional Dog Training

NEVER correct a dog for any destruction or mess they cause while you are gone. They do not “know what they did.” If you come into your home and yell at your dog for chewing up the rug, all you are communicating to the dog is that he is in trouble because you came home, and that rugs are very, very, bad!
A bunch of people just rolled their eyes and thought,

 “He does so know what he did.”

Trust me he doesn’t. Dogs communicate through eye contact, body language and tone of voice. I can promise you that if you are coming home to destruction on a routine basis, you are entering your home with all three in an aggressive state. If it is the first time, you might have entered the home relaxed, but upon seeing your home look like a bomb hit it, you will give of anger in some way.

The slightest stiffening of your body, colorful expletive or quick glare at the dog will convey strong messages of displeasure.

As for understanding why you are angry, if I started screaming at you in Russian odds are that you wouldn’t have a clue as to what I was upset about. You would however, know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was angry, right?

How do you think you might react to that? Would you cringe? Back up? Maybe even look for a way to escape from the screaming psycho?

I just want to reiterate that none of this destruction is born out of any malice. Please do not correct the dog when you return home. I know that it can be very difficult. As a human I can understand how much it’s going to cost to replace damaged items. I can understand that it’s going to be a pain to have to clean up the mess after a long day at work. A dog does not.

Overview of Separation Anxiety

This is a serious issue and as with all dog behaviors, tends to escalate. If your dog is showing minor symptoms, fix it immediately. Each day will bring a little bit more anxiety to the dog, and I’ve seen some pretty severe symptoms develop.

Imagine you are a teacher and you turn from the blackboard to see a student missing. You are responsible for that student and you lost them. You turn the school upside down (and probably make one heck of a good mess doing it) and there find no sign of them. Imagine the anxiety you would be feeling.

Then several hours later, in walks the missing student. Think of the gamut of emotions that will be going through you.

Now imagine that happens to you everyday. Your anxiety level will naturally increase with each day. Maybe this will be the day he doesn’t come back. Have fun explaining that one to his parents.

This is what the dog goes through on a daily basis. They didn’t “miss you” while you were gone, they “lost” you. Our humanization of them tells us that they missed us terribly and are just so happy that we are home. This is simply not so.

Of the two words in this behavior problem, people often focus on the wrong one. It seems to be all about “separation,” and not so much about the “anxiety.” This often leads to the problem being inadvertently exacerbated.

Every single person in this world has experienced anxiety firsthand at some point in their lifetime. I think we can all agree that it was not a fun time in our lives. It’s even worse for a dog that lives in a world where they often don’t have anyone else nearby who speaks their language. For the ones that do, odds are that dog is just as anxious and they will feed off of each other. Treating anxiety in a dog is quite different than in a human.

People will do everything possible to not leave the dog alone. They will adjust their schedules and cancel appointments. They will allow the dog to follow them from room to room in the house. Often these poor dogs can be sound asleep and will pop up immediately if the owner gets up from the couch. How sad that the poor dog can’t relax and have a nap because he is always “on duty.” In every single separation anxiety case I’ve had, the owner told me they couldn’t even go to the bathroom by themselves.

They will try harder and harder to make the dog feel “reassured.” They leave the house with tearful goodbyes, assuring the dog over and over that they will be back. They return with gusto, telling the dog that everything is ok now that they are back.

Soft tones and petting equal praise to a dog. So essentially, if you pet your dog and tell him what a good boy he is while he is anxious, you are in fact telling him he is good for being anxious. This creates a vicious circle that is very hard to break out of.

Remember that the as the pack leader, the dog is responsible for his pack, namely you. If you leave the den, the dog has then lost a pack member and that is going to make them crazy.

So yes, this anxiety was caused by the separation of a pack member, but the anxiety is much more of an important focus here.

A significant amount of your dog’s anxiety will be resolved simply by removing the responsibility of commanding the pack. The rest will come from teaching him what to do when he is alone.

What causes separation anxiety?

To answer this, we must look at the heart of canine culture. Dogs are pack animals, and follow a strict hierarchy. They can not and will not ever deviate from this. When you bring a dog into your home, congratulations!

You have just converted your human family into a dog pack. And every pack must have a leader.

If we do not assume the role of pack leader, then the dog will have no other choice then to ascend to that role himself. That’s where behavior problems come in, ALL of them.

We are proud of our dog’s good behavior.

“See that? I taught him how to do that!”

On the other hand, bad behavior is the dog’s fault.

“This is ridiculous! He never listens!”

If we don’t teach the dog what to do, how is he supposed to know? Does it really seem appropriate to blame the dog?

Rule # 1 of dog training: It is NEVER the dog’s fault.

Good or bad, ALL behaviors come from us. If your dog doesn’t listen to you, at some point you (inadvertently) told him he didn’t have to.

A canine leader of a human pack will always be a disaster. They do not understand the human world, and never will be able to. They will make canine decisions that translate into what we call behavior problems. The pack leader is responsible for the pack’s survival. For a dog in charge of his human, it is a position riddled with fear and anxiety.

This concept is not a new one, but is sadly often discarded. We treat our dogs like children and “humanize” them. Dogs are very clear when dealing with each other. Behavior is either acceptable or it isn’t, and at the current moment.

With this in mind, dogs know that humans are not other dogs; however they do think that we think the same way as they do. This is where we confuse them. We think in human and forget that they can’t.

Dogs immediately start looking for their place in the pack as soon as we bring them into our homes. They look for direction as to what is allowed and what is not. It cannot be ok to jump up on dad when he gets home from work, but a big no-no to jump on grandma when she comes over for dinner. This is a mixed message to a dog.

If we do not give them clear directions, they will not see us as leaders and:

BAM! Instant pack leader, just add anxiety

They have probably have been following you around which you thought was cute. “Look how much he loves me!”

He might whine or dig at the door when you take out the garbage or go take a shower. The whining turns to barking and you decide to let the poor thing in the bathroom with you praising the behavior the entire way. “It’s ok, good boy! You’re fine, it’s ok”

You decide that the card game you are supposed to go to will happen again next week. “I’ll just stay home so the dog doesn’t get upset.”

The mistakes are not with the dog’s behavior, but in how we handle them. You can’t explain to or reason with a dog. If we let undesired behaviors go unchecked, it is essentially the same as approving of them.

The shadowing should be halted and the dog taught to lie down and stay.

The whining to barking should be ceased and the dog taught to entertain himself properly. Examples are to go lie down, go get a toy or sit quietly and relaxed and wait for you to come back.

If you change your schedule as much as possible to remain home with the dog, you are not teaching him what to do when you have no choice and must leave him.

Many people also make a mistake by getting a dog while on a vacation or school break thinking they will be home to train the dog. Then as soon as they go back to work or school, the dog has a coronary that his pack is disappearing. This can in effect create separation anxiety.

If your dog suffers from separation anxiety, then you are not the leader of your pack, and that is the critical first step if you are to successfully rehabilitate the dog.
 

How do I fix Separation Anxiety?

Now the part you’ve all been waiting for. Ok, so we have identified the problem, now how do we fix it? Here’s where the hard work, consistency, patience, repetition and most importantly, an understanding of canine communication comes in. You may have to bring in a professional trainer to help you.

None of this will work if your dog does not see you as leader.

First and foremost, you must put your dog through an obedience training program. Imagine the commands as “chores” you would give a child. They need to know that you are in control, and to learn behaviors that will please you.

Obedience training is not to teach the dog to put his butt on the floor. He’s been doing that since before he could see and hear. It is for the human to learn and practice how to be the pack leader. It is also to teach the owner how to communicate with the dog in his own language.

You must exercise a dog throughout the day. And that is not just playing in the yard. A dog must be walked at LEAST twice a day, but preferably more.

Whenever I refer to walking a dog, it is to be understood that the walk must be in a controlled heel, which means the dog is walking next to you or slightly behind you with a loose leash. A walk should also be at least thirty minutes.

A pulling dog is leading you and therefore in charge. A tired dog is a relaxed dog.

For healthy dogs, we have had much success with homemade agility exercises. Teach the dog to jump through a hula hoop, or jump over pole strung across cinder blocks. For small dogs getting two of the little foam staircases used to get on furniture and placing them back to back is great too. Have them go up one side and down the other at your pace. Get creative, this is fun!

Agility builds confidence in a dog, and is fun. The human is also still in control as you are directing the dog on how to “play.”

Do not make a big deal out of your comings and goings. Remember that the dog doesn’t understand your words, or have any concept of the future. (They don’t get it that you’ll be home later.)

If you are feeling sorry for the dog and guilty because you have to leave, that will come through in your voice, eyes and body language.

Conversely, do not make a big deal out of returning home. Do not speak to or make eye contact with the dog. If he is carrying on, wait until he calms down and open the door, clip on a leash and go outside to do his business. Then take him for a walk. He should be calm by the time you return home. You can acknowledge the dog after the walk.

Often when this behavior is ongoing, you must also try “mock leaving.” Watch your dog for cues that trigger the anxiety of you leaving. Examples are putting on your shoes, picking up your keys, packing a lunch, picking up a briefcase etc.

Identify these cues and use them to your training advantage. Leave the house for a few minutes and return home. Do not acknowledge the dog if he is carrying on. Keep a water gun or shake can nearby. Squirt the dog or shake the can and say “NO. Quiet.”

When quiet, tell him “good quiet,” in a soft voice. An exuberant “GOOD QUIET!” will only serve to raise his excitement level which is the opposite of what we wish to accomplish.

If your dog only shows symptoms when certain family members leave, then have the others do the praising and correcting when they leave. As mentioned, you should probably enlist the help of a qualified dog trainer to make sure this is done properly. The timing of correction and praise is imperative.

Try and build up to at least one hour of good behavior while you are out. The majority of cases with separation anxiety will exhibit signs in the first forty five minutes to one hour. Generally if you can get to this point the dog should be ok.


Author: Jennifer Hanlon. K9Einsteins Professional Dog Training