Stop Dog Separation Anxiety
Dog separation anxiety is a serious condition that occurs when your dog becomes very stressed and anxious whenever you prepare to leave or are gone from their sight.
It doesn’t matter if you are gone for a few minutes or all day. Your dog becomes visibly upset and shows his anxiety through pacing, whining, chewing, incessant barking, making housebreaking mistakes and even damaging property.
Does Your Dog Have Separation Anxiety?
If your dog can spend periods of time alone or away from your presence and just makes occasional housebreaking mistakes or engages in activities that he or she enjoys like chewing, barking and digging, it is probably just boredom rather than your dog suffering from dog separation anxiety.
However, if your dog cannot be out of your sight and becomes visibly anxious and stressed whenever you prepare to leave and engages in destructive and insecure behavior while you are gone, your dog could be suffering from dog separation anxiety. You need to take steps to make him comfortable being alone and out of your presence.
Click Here to Stop Dog Separation Anxiety for Good!
Dogs are very social creatures so you will need to exercise patience, as well as repetition and consistency in your training, in order to wean your dog away from an over-reliance on you and build confidence and calmness in your dog.
Getting Started
One of the first things you can do is make sure your arrivals and departures from the house are very low key and matter of fact. Don’t make a big deal out of leaving or returning. If your dog shows visible signs of anxiety when you are preparing to leave, get your dog used to activities such as you reaching for your keys, putting on your jacket, or other activities that cause your dog distress. Do these activities without actually leaving the house so that your dog doesn’t associate them with your leaving. You may need to do this many times in order to reinforce this new meaning in your dog.
Another thing you can do is make sure your dog gets plenty of physical and mental exercise. Take your dog for vigorous walks, visit a dog park so he can interact with other dogs, or play fetch with a ball or frisbee. Mental exercise is also important. Expose your dog to new sights and smells, as well as interaction with other people and dogs.
More Ideas to Stop Dog Separation Anxiety
Make sure your dog has things to do while you are gone. You can fill a Kong or bone with a treat or hide treats for your dog to find. Crate training can also be effective in calming your dog. Take it slowly, allowing your dog to get used to the crate while you are at home.
Feed your dog in the crate, leave favorite toys in there, and make sure the crate feels comfortable and secure before you leave your dog home alone in the crate. If your dog is suffering from severe dog separation anxiety and cannot be alone, consider doggie daycare or have someone watch him while you are away from the house until he is fully trained.
Give your dog activities to do while you are at home so that all his attention is not focused on you. Make sure your dog has interactive toys to play with on his own. If your dog drops the toys to come to you, redirect your dog back to the toy and praise him and reward him for playing on his own. You want your dog to be able to be on his own whether you are home or away.
Once your dog is able to engage in activities on his own and can be out of your sight while you are still home, you can begin to leave him alone in his crate for short durations. Practice leaving your dog for short periods of time. Extend the length of your absences until your dog is comfortable being on his own.
Dog separation anxiety can be a serious problem and cause your dog a lot of stress. However, if you practice a lot of patience and show consistency and repetition in your training, your should be able to help your dog to become relaxed and comfortable outside of your presence, which will result in a much happier dog and dog owner.