Dog suffering from separation anxiety are unbalanced dog who experience high level of stress in addition to causing emotional distress for their owners. While there are many possible reasons as to which some dogs display this behavior, personally I believe that it is because the dog was not taught how to handle such a situation. And more often than not, it is a result of human intervention that prevent the dog from learning. It could be that the dog was removed too early from his litter and mother's care, typically a mother dog will nurse her pups up until 4 to 5 weeks after birth, or could be us giving affection immediately after a dog had a traumatic experience and the list goes on.
The symptoms of separation anxiety includes:
- inappropriate urination and defecation
- excessive barking, whining or even howling
- destructive chewing
- trembling
- aggression during departure
- vomiting
- drooling
The above are just some of the symptoms commonly observed in dogs experiencing separation anxiety. And as their owners, it is imperative that we display the leadership that they need to help them learn the correct behavior. It is important to appreciate the fact that dogs live in a pack and must have a pack leader that he can always look up to for leadership and direction. A dog living with a human pack who does not provide leadership will place it upon himself to take the lead. A house with such a dog will eventually find themselves being own by the dog and behavioral problems will also begin to emerge.
Back to separation anxiety, a technique that many dog owners used is systematic desensitization. The aim of this method is to work on his discomfort of his owner leaving him a little bit at a time and gradually desensitize him to the absence of his owner.
The steps are as follows:
1. Designate a safe spot and get your dog to rest there.
2. Get a chair and sit next to your dog and give him a treat. In my opinion it is better to give him something that requires him to focus and takes some time to chew. Repeat a few times with a short pause in between.
3. Stand up for a brief moment while your dog is focusing on his treat. Repeat a couple of times until he is totally focus on his activity and not you while you are standing.
4. Give your dog his treat again and in addition to the sit and stand up routine, move a step or a few steps away from the chair and stay for a brief moment before returning to sit on the chair. Your dog should be totally focus on his activity at all times. If he show any sign of anxiety or gets up, you will have to correct it immediately by bringing him back to his spot and repeat from the previous step.
5. Gradually increase the distance you take away from your dog. In the steady state you should be able to move around the room without your dog getting anxious or away from his position without your permission.
6. Once you are able to move around the room freely, move out of the room for a brief moment and return. As before, your dog should be focus on his activity and not move away from his position without your permission.
7. Gradually increase the time out of the room.
This is a time taking process as some dogs requires daily practice with their owners to condition and change their behavior. Patience and commitment is the key to success. Other things to take note is, always start with the end in mind, you have to believe in it first before you can materialize it. Be confident and always project a calm and assertive aura so that your dog can be influence by your aura and be induced into a calm state too. When he sense your leadership, he will most probably follow your directions.
Recommended resources:
Don't Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog's Separation Anxiety
I'll be Home Soon: How to Prevent and Treat Separation Anxiety.
The symptoms of separation anxiety includes:
- inappropriate urination and defecation
- excessive barking, whining or even howling
- destructive chewing
- trembling
- aggression during departure
- vomiting
- drooling
The above are just some of the symptoms commonly observed in dogs experiencing separation anxiety. And as their owners, it is imperative that we display the leadership that they need to help them learn the correct behavior. It is important to appreciate the fact that dogs live in a pack and must have a pack leader that he can always look up to for leadership and direction. A dog living with a human pack who does not provide leadership will place it upon himself to take the lead. A house with such a dog will eventually find themselves being own by the dog and behavioral problems will also begin to emerge.
Back to separation anxiety, a technique that many dog owners used is systematic desensitization. The aim of this method is to work on his discomfort of his owner leaving him a little bit at a time and gradually desensitize him to the absence of his owner.
The steps are as follows:
1. Designate a safe spot and get your dog to rest there.
2. Get a chair and sit next to your dog and give him a treat. In my opinion it is better to give him something that requires him to focus and takes some time to chew. Repeat a few times with a short pause in between.
3. Stand up for a brief moment while your dog is focusing on his treat. Repeat a couple of times until he is totally focus on his activity and not you while you are standing.
4. Give your dog his treat again and in addition to the sit and stand up routine, move a step or a few steps away from the chair and stay for a brief moment before returning to sit on the chair. Your dog should be totally focus on his activity at all times. If he show any sign of anxiety or gets up, you will have to correct it immediately by bringing him back to his spot and repeat from the previous step.
5. Gradually increase the distance you take away from your dog. In the steady state you should be able to move around the room without your dog getting anxious or away from his position without your permission.
6. Once you are able to move around the room freely, move out of the room for a brief moment and return. As before, your dog should be focus on his activity and not move away from his position without your permission.
7. Gradually increase the time out of the room.
This is a time taking process as some dogs requires daily practice with their owners to condition and change their behavior. Patience and commitment is the key to success. Other things to take note is, always start with the end in mind, you have to believe in it first before you can materialize it. Be confident and always project a calm and assertive aura so that your dog can be influence by your aura and be induced into a calm state too. When he sense your leadership, he will most probably follow your directions.
Recommended resources:
Don't Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog's Separation Anxiety
I'll be Home Soon: How to Prevent and Treat Separation Anxiety.
No comments:
Post a Comment