Separation Anxiety In Dogs

What Is Separation Anxiety

Behavioral issues for dogs with separation anxiety may range from a dog who waits on the door for you to return home, refuses to eat while you’re gone, or the dog that is destructively trying to break out of the house. You may have dogs that are perfectly fine in your home but are beyond stressed when you have to leave them somewhere unfamiliar. I’ve worked with dogs that break windows, jump out of 2-story windows, and eat through doors.

Why Do Dogs Have Separation Anxiety

We can only theorize in most cases. Sometimes we make up a story we tell ourselves, and sometimes we may be imposing our own stress and emotion on the dog. But I think the most common root cause is the dog that has previously been left abandoned, dropped at the shelter, dumped somewhere, left at the shelter, or bounced from house to house without finding “home”. Can dogs that have been “spoiled rotten” suffer from separation anxiety — yes, of course, and it’s easier to resolve that the other root causes.

There is no question that there is an emotional root involved in separation anxiety. Your emotions and the dog’s emotions often collide and we wind up stuck.

Interestingly enough separation anxiety is often mislabeled. We can do many things to figure out the best way forward and to communicate new expectations & feelings of safety & stability to the dog.

Isolation Distress

There are dogs that become very anxious when left alone. They may pace around the house, eliminate on the floor, or even make themselves sick with stress. For some dogs, as long as another being is with them they are settled. But for some, they cannot bear to let you leave the room without them.

Confinement Anxiety

Often, to prevent the destruction of the house and home, we attempt to crate dogs with separation anxiety. For some, a cozy place to sleep makes them feel comfortable and relaxed, while others attempt to break out of the crate by any means necessary. Even if they injure themselves, break off their teeth, or destroy the crate.

We often then move to heavy-duty crates (often called tiger crates), or crates with smooth metal sides instead of grids or plastic with tiny breathing air holes the dog can not bite.

If you’re dealing with a dog with claustrophobia — this could make the problem worse until they simply give up or surrender to the anxiety. They may resist entering the crate at all in the future.

Medications for Dogs With Separation Anxiety

If you begin your efforts with more traditional veterinarians, they are going to offer you prescription medications that alter your dog’s brain and/or sedate your dog. I don’t think either of these is a great option. Over the years, I’ve only had 1 dog with anxiety we felt the need to keep on medications. There is no need to sedate your dog most of the day when you just need to run a quick errand.

Dr. Google and Nurse Facebook are going to suggest to you all sorts of ideas. And many of them are rooted in natural remedies which is great. But they leave you guessing, wasting money, and frustrated because you haven’t really worked through the “whole” issue at the very root cause — and you probably haven’t yet changed the mindset of your dog, or your own. There are no quick fixes and magic elixirs. But when we put some of these modalities together with a bit of expertise and conditioning training we see great results.

When the families do what I advise them to do, put in the work, and make the necessary changes, I have never seen a dog we could not help.

Separation Anxiety Training

No matter the root of the issue, or the severity, there are some common separation anxiety techniques to implement to help a dog with separation anxiety. Let’s explore a few separation anxiety training techniques.

• Confidence — if your dog cannot let you go to the bathroom and close the door without becoming anxious, we generally have a confidence problem. We also likely have a leadership problem in the messages you convey to your dog — even if they are subliminal. A confident dog in everyday life, gameplay, activities, earning privileges and following rules, and learning skills can overcome separation anxiety. If your dog cannot let you out of his sight, it can be much harder for him to let you leave the house.

• Communications — your dog hears your thoughts. The angst you feel in your gut is communicated in your thoughts. We have to shift to positive, clear expectations. We have to lead with meaningful confidence. Create a mental picture of positive outcomes as you prepare to leave and convey to your dog that you’ll be back by dinner, he’s safe, he’s calm, he gets to play with toys, etc.

• Nutrition — very few people consider this aspect of well-being and the effects it may have on anxiety. And vice versa. Anxiety takes a toll on the gut too. We know that gut health has an impact on the brain & anxiety, but it’s also true that anxiety (if it comes first) can contribute to gut health issues. You may not see them directly related or you may not see immediate symptoms, but they are connected. Prepare to discuss nutrition, supplements, and essential oils with me. It’s critical to address this aspect.

• Emotional Release: there is an emotional root. We may never know exactly what it is or what happened to your dog, but we must release the stuck emotions. Even if some of them are your own! Essential Oils, Herbs, Homeopathy, Reiki and Animal Communications can offer use integrative modalities to help your dog calm their mind and body to be open to learn and adust.

• Separation Anxiety Training - the first week or two will be your most significant challenge and time investment. You may even have some investment expenses to set things up for success with new tools, cameras, crates, dog walkers, time off work, etc. Lots of things need to change and you have to practice many repetitions of incrementally more difficult training and durations.

You need ALL the pieces. As I said above are no magic elixirs and I personally do not believe training alone is the answer. I have had significantly better results over the years when we bring a completely holistic approach to separation anxiety training.

Get access to the process I follow when working through separation anxiety; https://k9coach.dog/guides-protocols

Not local to North Myrtle Beach — no worries — I can help you with separation anxiety training virtually.