When Your Dog is Alone-Separation Anxiety

2009-10-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first installment of The Posh Pet Blog! This blog, as well as Posh Pet Boutique itself, were born out of a love for pets. Pets enrich our lives with their loyalty, entertaining antics, and unconditional love. Here at Posh, we are passionate about helping pet owners return the favor and enrich their pets’ lives right back. Through this blog, I look forward to providing pet owners with a better understanding of their pet’s needs and wants. I also hope to address common problems that pet owners face on a regular basis. I look forward to sharing my own personal experiences with pets as well. I’m fortunate enough to be surrounded by wonderful pets every day at work, including Posh’s two very own mascots, Ruby the French Bulldog, and Dare, the Chihuahua. Thanks to Ruby, Dare, my Boston Terrier Joey, my two cats Henry and Violet, our furry customers, and the many pets belonging to our friends and family, I will never be short of material for this blog!

This first installment will tackle a serious and all too familiar problem facing pets today: a destructive issue known as Separation Anxiety.

A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend Caitlyn called to inform me that she had gone to The Humane Society that day and adopted a beautiful dog named Cooper. Upon meeting him that day, I could tell that he was a laid-back, happy boy. I was shocked when a couple of days later I received a frantic phone call saying that Cooper had run away. Cooper broke through one of Caitlyn’s screened windows and left in search of his people. He clearly did not want to be left alone. After all, how was he supposed to know that they would come back for him? I believe that he may have been abandoned before, landed in the Humane Society, and was terrified that it was happening to him again. Cooper had jumped the fence in Caitlyn’s back yard once before when she was leaving to go to the bank. Luckily she caught him and opted to keep him inside the next time she had to leave. Cooper still managed to find a way out into the world. He was in a panicked state, experiencing Separation Anxiety. Thankfully, Cooper was found the next day. The whole event really got me thinking about this serious issue and I wanted to learn what we can do to make our pets happier and more comfortable when we leave the house.

All too often, dogs who suffer from Separation Anxiety are misunderstood and labeled as “bad dogs,” or “not trainable,” due to the frantic destruction that can take place as a result of this issue. These are the same dogs that end up without a home. In fact, studies have shown that Separation Anxiety is the second most common reason why dogs are given up by their owners or euthanized. Those are unfortunate findings, considering that roughly 10% of all puppies and older dogs suffer from Separation Anxiety. The problem itself should not come as a major surprise, after all, in the wild a dog would never be by themselves. They are pack animals. It’s not natural for them to be alone. When their owners are gone, members of their pack are gone, which can often lead them to feeling vulnerable, panicked, and upset. Your dog doesn’t know where you are going, why he can’t go with you, or if you plan on coming back. This confusion and distress can lead a dog to take on a complete personality change. You may notice behaviors such as:
-howling, crying, and barking loudly, in an attempt to call his people home
-defecating or urinating in the house
-diarrhea
-panic attacks
-excessive licking
-excessive salivation
-digging
-self mutilation-(the dog may obsessively chew on his paw or tail)
-loss of appetite
-panic attacks
-destructive behavior in the house-(ripping up pillows, unrolling and ripping up toilet
paper, dumping out garbage, etc.)
-scratching up doors and windows in an attempt to break free and find the rest of their
pack, which is what happened in Cooper’s case.

Animal behaviorists state that these behaviors occur within the first 30 minutes after the owner leaves. If a dog truly has Separation Anxiety, these behaviors occur consistently, not just every once in a while. This problem can be very frustrating for a pet owner, especially when they don’t know how to stop it from happening. It’s very important for pet parents to understand, however, that these behaviors are not an attempt on the dog’s part to punish their owner for leaving the house. According to The Humane Society of the United States, these behaviors are actually part of a “panic response” to their owner leaving.

If you have never established yourself as the pack leader in the house, the one who is in charge, often your dog will take on that role therefore causing him to feel more panicked when a member of his pack leaves. He becomes panicked in part because if something were to happen to his pack, such as one of the pack members never returning, as the pack leader he may feel responsible. Once you establish dominance and your dog understands that you are the pack leader, it becomes much easier to break the destructive behaviors and even eliminate the problem altogether.

Separation Anxiety can occur for many reasons. Animal behaviorists claim that the anxiety is often related to the dog’s history in which there was a traumatic event. That ‘event’ for many dogs is tied to when the dog was abandoned by a previous owner and is now afraid that it could happen again. Many of these dogs, like Cooper, end up at the Humane Society, are adopted, then showcase anxiety with their new family and are returned to the Humane Society once again, creating a devastating and vicious cycle for the dog. There are other traumatic events that can set this problem off. Going to a boarding kennel for days at a time can be very hard on a dog. Another event could be a change within the dog’s pack, such as a change in the owner’s work schedule, moving to a new home, a new person or pet is brought into the home, or a member of the pack moves away.

Even people who are able to have their dogs with them most of the time should prepare their dogs for when they must leave them alone. I’ve met a number of customers at Posh who are able to stay with their dogs much of the day everyday. This is a wonderful thing, but it could also cause severe Separation Anxiety during the few times when it is necessary for the dog to stay behind.

There are many things that you can do to prepare your dog for the instances when you leave the house and they must be alone. First and foremost, you should always remain calm when you are leaving, but also when you arrive home. When you act anxious or excited, your dog will begin to feed off of that energy. Keeping your dog’s anxiety and stress levels down is extremely important. Downplay emotions. This means not sharing any long, sad goodbyes or excited, dramatic hellos when returning. Before you leave, it also helps to make sure he has eaten. Having an empty stomach will make the dog more likely to feel unsettled. He may even feel like sleeping while you’re gone if he’s comfortably full.

Dogs can often sense when we are about to leave. They relate cues, such as grabbing the car keys out of the drawer or putting on our coat with being left alone. They begin to feel anxious. The Humane Society of the United States suggests establishing new “safety cues” with your dog. A safety cue can be any action that you consistently use to assure your dog that you will be back. A safety cue could be leaving some sort of stimulus turned on-such as a radio or television. These safety cues work best when you’re gone for a shorter period of time. If you’re gone for more than a couple of hours, the safety cue may lose some of its value to the dog. As I said earlier, dogs can sense when we are about to leave, and that’s when their anxiety levels start to rise. They read the cues: grabbing our car keys, putting on our shoes, opening the door. Desensitizing them to these actions is an excellent thing to do to relieve some of their initial anxiety. This means repeating the actions included in your normal routine of leaving the house without actually leaving. Instead come back into the house and sit down after each repetition until your dog seems more at ease with it all and less excitable. Eventually you can add the step of following through and leaving, but know that it will take a lot of initial repetition before you should feel that it will be ok to take that final step. After practicing this exercise, only leave for short periods of time at first. POSH PET CAN HELP!

At Posh Pet Boutique, we offer many products that will aid in making your dog more comfortable when you’re not at home! Keeping your dog’s attention wrapped up in something other than the fact that you’re gone is absolutely necessary. Here are some products that are designed to help:

Canine Genius toys are made to hold your dog’s attention. Fill the hollow inside of the toy with treats. While you’re gone, your dog will delight in the task of trying to get his treats out of the toy. He will roll it, bounce it, and shake it knowing that he will eventually be able to get to some of those treats that he smells! The treats will release, but only in small amounts, thanks to the design of the pronged openings in the toy, providing for long periods of mental stimulation and fun! The Canine Genius toys come in small, medium, and large sizes, as well as in multiple shapes. If your dog is just too smart, then you can increase the difficulty of retrieving the treats by connecting the different shapes together! This toy is made of hard rubber, so it can stand up to even the most aggressive chewers!

The Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble food and treat activity ball, made by Premier, is another excellent choice. This toy is clear so that your dog can actually see the treats that he’s trying to retrieve! The ball also has lines of rubber along the outside so that the dog can easily grip the ball and throw it or shake it! This toy is mentally and physically stimulating for your dog. It also has a treat meter that randomly distributes kibble and treats through prongs in the top and bottom openings of the ball! You can snip the prongs with scissors to control how heavily and frequently you’d like the treats to dispense!

Premier also makes the Busy Buddy Bouncy Bone. This toy is very popular and comes highly recommended! In Dog Fancy Magazine in 2007 it won Editor’s Choice as best toy! It is a refillable, durable nylon bone that is attached to a rubber ball. The bone/ball comes equipped with four “gnawhide” treat refills and two already attached to the toy. The bouncy ball is in the center of the bone and the treat rings are on each side of the ball. Even after the gnawhide treats are gone, the toy is still a lot of fun to bounce and throw! We sell refillable gnawhide treats here at Posh. The bouncy bone comes in three sizes and is a hit with dogs large and small!

We also carry a toy by Star Mark called the Everlasting Fire Plug. This is another popular toy that helps to stop destructive boredom or anxiety behaviors. This fireplug is virtually indestructible and also dishwasher safe. There is a treat ball that fits into the top of the toy but sticks out enough for the dog to work on chewing at it for hours! This not only supplies mental stimulation and keeps your dog busy, but it’s also great for dental hygiene purposes. It provides a way for your dog to scrape plague off of his teeth. This toy can hold two of these large treat balls-one in the top and one in the bottom and it’s also meant to be filled with smaller treats or kibble at the very same time. This toy definitely has the most options! We have many more treat dispenser toy options here in the store, enough to suit any dog’s personality! Come on in and check them out!

We carry an assortment of delicious, dog-approved treats which work great for filling these toys! The treats that seem to work best are Tricky Trainers, by Cloud Star, Busy Buddy buddy-ohs, by Premier, and Buddy Biscuits, (my dog’s favorite), by Cloud Star. My dog also loves Moo! Free-Range Dog Chews, also called bully sticks. They are considered a rawhide and provide hours of chewing distraction.

If you’ve tried everything and your dog still seems to be distressed, all-natural herbal remedies are a safe and effective tool you can use to lower his anxiety levels. Here at Posh we carry “Rescue Remedy” by Bach. It is a veterinarian-recommended, alcohol-free formula that is both safe and gentle. It is administered by a droplet into your dog’s food or water. It’s meant for crisis use, its purpose being to naturally calm your pet in all kinds of stressful situations. This particular formula can be used for dogs, cats, horses, even birds! Another great all-natural option is called Happy Traveler and is by Ark Naturals. Don’t let the name fool you- it isn’t just for traveling purposes. This formula is strongly recommended for dogs suffering from Separation Anxiety behaviors. It comes in capsule form, contains natural ingredients, and is veterinarian-recommended.

Posh Pet also carries a variety or soft, plush blankets and beds in various sizes. It is important to give your dog a comfortable place to be where he can calm himself and even drift off to sleep when you’re gone. My dog’s blanket has become so important to him that my husband and I must remember to have it laid out for him in the living room whenever we leave, or pack it whenever he comes with us!

I hope that this installment of The Posh Blog was helpful to all of you loving and concerned pet owners out there! Be sure to come back next week for a brand new topic!

Sources:

The Humane Society of the United States- www.hsus.org

Iams Pet Health- www.iams.com

Pet Library- www.petlibrary.co.uk