Separation Anxiety

If the telephone calls and Email that I receive are any indication, separation anxiety is becoming an increasing problem with many dogs and therefore with many dog owners. This is probably more a question of how we acquire dogs than a new outbreak or discovery in canine behavior.

With more people working and fewer staying at home, there is a growing trend of people wanting adult dogs rather than puppies. Most people think that puppies take far more time and effort and in the majority of cases they are right. Puppies have to be socialized, housebroken, trained and gotten through their destructive chewing period. Adult dogs come socialized (what you see is what you get), housebroken, trained and ready to serve. Not so fast, they too can come with bad habits and can be far more destructive than a puppy.

It all depends upon from where the dog came. If the dog spent most of its life in a kennel or came from a highly abusive environment, it may be a prime candidate for separation anxiety. This is especially true for some of the dogs that come from rescue organizations.

The usual case history is something similar to this. You see the dog and it seems to have a great personality, friendly, outgoing, just the pet that you want. The people at the kennel, foster home or humane society tell you that the dog has no problems, gets along well with people and other dogs, and has always been quiet and well behaved. Great, just what you wanted.

After bringing the dog home, you agree with them. The dog is well behaved and seems to have no bad habits. You leave the dog alone in the house all day while you go to work and when you return in the evening, everything is just as it should be.

But, then it happens. You return one evening and to your horror, a pillow is torn to shreds, the molding around a doorway is chewed to bits, or worse yet, your favorite easy chair is in tatters. And, in addition to all of this, the dog has soiled the house, in your bedroom no less, possibly even on your bed. What has gotten into this dog? Before you even begin to clean up, you scold the dog severely and it cringes in the corner.

Next day, before you leave for work, you tell the dog in a harsh voice not to be bad again. The dog puts its ears back in a submissive position and tucks its tail. When you return, more damage is done.

What is going on here? For one thing, the dog loves you. A while ago, I had a terribly abused dog brought to me for evaluation. No one was able to touch the dog. It took two people to capture the dog, put it into a car and the same two to get it out of the car and bring it to the area where I usually do evaluations. There were scars on the dog's back and sides where it had been beaten. After an hour of laying on the ground with the dog standing, I finally got to pet it under its chin. The owner told me that she did not want to euthanize the dog and she was willing to do whatever was necessary to work the dog out of this. I placed the dog on a behavior modification program and told the owner that it would probably be somewhere between six and eight weeks before she started to see any results. Three weeks later she called me and elatedly told me that she was now seeing major results.

After about another four weeks, she called me again, not so elatedly this time, to tell me that she had just arrived home from work to find that the dog had completely destroyed her couch. I told her that I thought that was great. At first, she didn't appreciate my reaction. However, after I explained that this meant that she was probably the first person that the dog had ever missed and that we could cure this problem, she agreed that aspect was great.

When a dog becomes destructive in the owner's absence, it is saying, "I miss you." To cure separation anxiety, the owner must do several things. First, establish a set routine, saying the same thing every time that you leave the house. My routine is to tell my dogs that the answering machine is on, but if they want to answer the telephone, it's all right, that there is a pad and pencil next to the telephone and please make sure to get the correct spelling of the name of the caller. Sounds strange, but what I am really saying is, "Remember yesterday I left and last night I came home." If the dog did do something bad the day before, forget it. Don't scold the dog before you leave because you will then be making the dog anxious and setting up another period of anxiety.

Next, choose a period of at least two consecutive days, three would be better, when you will be at home. Then, decide what the dog's favorite type of toy is, a squeaky toy, a ball, something, and buy the dog a new one. Don't let the dog have it. During the two or three days that you will be home, take the toy out every two hours and play with the dog for about ten to fifteen minutes. Then immediately put the toy away. The dog only has the toy when you are playing with it.

After this, whenever you leave, give the toy to the dog, and when you return take it from the dog and put it away. The dog either has you or the toy. In your absence, the toy becomes a surrogate for you, relieving the dogs anxiety.

Anthony Cherubini