Cure Separation Anxiety In Your Dog – Help for Senior Dog Owners
People who adopt rescue dogs rarely know the history of the dog. Was he completely abandoned? Has it ever bonded with its former owner? He was abused and therefore distrustful of humans? The point is, you’ll never know if your newly adopted friend will suffer from separation anxiety until he’s settled in and you start disappearing every day. Therefore, it is better to be prepared if he starts to show all the classic symptoms.
Most of us are creatures of habit. And, that attribute often shows up when we begin our morning “go to work” or “go to school” rituals. Make coffee, take a shower, collect our keys, our briefcase or backpack, coat, hat, maybe warm up the car. Then after all that, you walk out the door and walk away. And your dog wonders when, even if, you’ll walk through that door again. Panic takes over, leading to severe anxiety and some or all of the classic symptoms: panting, nervous pacing, chewing on anything in place, digging in the door to escape and reach it, incessant barking, whining, loss of control from the bladder.
It is not a good state for your dog to be in day after day. And, it may not be a good state of your home when you return from it.
I see no point in delving into the causes of separation anxiety, as the treatment that I have found successful and recommend you try would be the same regardless.
I suggest you combine crate training with desensitization training. Both will require some effort on your part, as well as your dog’s, but the rewards will be well worth the time it takes to get it right. I ask you to check out another article I posted on this website called: Rescue Dog Training: Crate Training Is Kind, Not Cruel. In that article, he explained the best methods to get your dog acclimated to his crate to the point where he actually looks forward to time in his safe haven.
But, perhaps you’d better spend a few words on the creation just to ease any guilt you may feel about “imprisoning” your dog in a steel wire crate. Remember, your dog’s ancestors and his modern relatives in the Canedae family — wolves and foxes: use caves and burrows for shelter from danger or when they just need a quiet place to relax. Make your dog’s “den” big enough to stand in and turn around in and you’ll find that he’ll eventually wander there alone just for some peaceful downtime. Hopefully, his hesitancy about crate training as part of the cure for separation anxiety has been reduced. So, let’s move on to desensitization or conditioning training.
Do you remember the rituals I listed above that you perform before leaving the house for a long absence? Well, your dog will most likely notice them to the point where he associates abandonment with those rituals. As soon as you notice the first morning ritual from him, he may start displaying the classic separation anxiety symptoms I mentioned earlier. Panting or barking, following you everywhere, or may even disappear, preferring to hide until the anticipated fear of him comes true. At that point panic will take over.
Our goal with desensitization training will be to reverse the association your dog makes with those morning rituals. We will turn negative associations into positive or at least neutral associations.[The techniques described below assume you have not yet gone through crate training, since its best to eliminate separation anxiety BEFORE crate training].
It starts next weekend. Get up like you’re doing your weekend routine. Go through all the rituals. Never make a big fuss when you leave. Don’t pamper the dog. He walks out the door like you would on weekdays. It even starts your car. But this time, instead of walking away, he’ll wait five minutes and walk back to the house.
Don’t make a big fuss, just go find a treat to give your dog (after “sit”) and some praise for being a good boy or girl. If time permits, do this several times each Saturday and Sunday until you start to see positive results. Each time increase the time by five or ten minutes. The purpose is to impress on your dog that his departure is not something forever and, in fact, is a positive event (he gets a treat and some praise upon his return, whether it’s five minutes or 8 hours).
Here’s another tip that will help you achieve the ultimate goal of peace of mind when you leave. Try making a morning walk with your canine routine. Dogs that are well exercised spend more time resting than panicking. A morning walk will do you a lot of good too, I bet.
As soon as you notice that your dog is handling his outings much better with less stress and anxiety, start his crate training. Once again, I ask you to refer to my article. Rescue Dog Training: Crate Training Is Kind, Not Cruel which will explain how to get your dog used to spending time in the crate.
It is recommended that you perform the same procedures as soon as you begin your crate training. Go about your normal morning routines, leave and come back 5 minutes later. Walk around the house for a bit before taking your dog out of the crate. DO NOT make a big fuss when he comes out of the cage or give him a treat at this time. Otherwise, he will perceive that being out of the cage is better than being in it. Wait a few moments before giving him a treat and some petting and even a few “good boys.” Do this routine on several consecutive weekends, making your absence a little longer each time.
Eventually, due to his persistent desensitization and crate training, you will be able to leave the cage door open and he will come and go as he pleases, knowing that he will eventually return.
A couple of final comments. If you are away for much more than eight hours each day, we recommend that you consider placing your dog in doggy daycare. This will be good for your dog, and good for you knowing that at the end of the day you will be picking up a happy, tired and well adjusted dog.
If you have an extreme case of separation anxiety, you may want to look into vet-prescribed medication. But I would make this a last resort. If you are consistent and patient with your training, you should be successful.
Make sure you are a knowledgeable dog owner who has excellent instruction available to you that will help correct any negative behaviors your dog may exhibit during its long and happy life. Please visit my site referenced below to review the two resources I found most helpful.