Dealing With Dogs and Separation Anxiety When You Leave the House

Dogs that exhibit strong attachment to their owners and become distressed when alone may be suffering from separation anxiety. This includes whining when you leave and barking or chewing up shoes as they try to escape their owners’ presence.

Symptoms may include pacing, drooling, destructive behaviors such as vomiting and barking as well as self-mutilation. Treating this canine disorder can take time; treatment typically includes training your pet to accept being left alone over time.

How it happens

As babies mature into children, many will worry about missing loved ones when they’re away. While this is normal, such worries often fade as children mature into adults. If their fears continue despite age-appropriate treatment measures such as therapy or medications from healthcare professionals.

Children diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder become distressed whenever they are away from an attachment figure that they’ve formed a close bond with, including parents or guardians; other caregivers (grandparents etc) or friends/family can also cause distressing feelings in them.

Children suffering from separation anxiety disorder often struggle in school, either refusing to go or having difficulty sleeping alone at night due to fears. Some kids may even become irritable and angry or struggle in social settings.

Separation anxiety can affect individuals of any age, but is most prevalent during childhood. Significant life changes or events that strain relationships such as divorce, moving houses/cities/states/nations and death of loved ones may trigger it as well.

Fear and anxiety when being separated from loved ones are natural responses; however, allowing these emotions to hinder daily living should not be allowed. Speak to a healthcare provider immediately if your separation anxiety prevents you from fully enjoying life.

Causes

Children often exhibit anxiety or clinginess at transition times like school, work and play dates; however, if this becomes persistent and disrupts daily life significantly for your child, professional assistance might be beneficial in terms of diagnosis, therapy and medication options available to provide relief.

An anxiety specialist can assist you and your child in learning strategies to combat separation anxiety. Gradual exposure is usually the most successful approach; gradually increase the length of time he or she is apart from you until eventually all anxiety subsides. This can take time and be challenging at first but eventually it is generally successful.

Researchers don’t yet fully understand what causes separation anxiety disorder, but experts believe it may be caused by both genetics and environment. Certain gene mutations make certain people more prone to separation anxiety disorder while environmental factors like experiencing major life changes like divorce, moving house or losing someone loved, serious illness or natural disaster such as fire may exacerbate symptoms further.

As well, older kids, teens and adults often suffer from separation anxiety in conjunction with other mental health concerns. Some people may be more predisposed than others to anxiety; certain anxiety disorders (like panic disorder) may exacerbate separation anxiety symptoms further.

People living with separation anxiety disorder tend to worry unnecessarily about what might happen to their family if they’re away, an unrealistic fear compared to any real risks involved. Living with this condition often requires checking on loved ones regularly via calls or texts – an activity which may place significant strain on relationships.

If you or your child are experiencing severe separation anxiety, it’s essential that they seek professional assistance as soon as possible. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an established treatment for anxiety; your therapist can show how CBT can reframe negative thoughts and teach healthy coping mechanisms.

Treatment

A veterinarian can be invaluable when diagnosing and treating separation anxiety in dogs. A veterinarian should rule out other conditions that mimic separation anxiety such as medical issues, food allergies and behavioral problems such as dog training/obedience issues. They will then observe your dog during short absences from home to see what triggers this behavior as well as monitor progress of treatment; this may involve videoing your pup and consulting people who regularly spend time at your home such as neighbors, friends, family or pet sitters.

Treating separation anxiety effectively takes patience and should involve taking small steps over time to build up your dog’s trust in being left alone at home. Working with a trainer or veterinarian behaviorist to create and implement an effective treatment plan for your pup is also invaluable.

Establish a regular, predictable routine for your dog that’s consistent whether you are home or not. Exercise, meals, training sessions and object play sessions should help them adjust to being alone. Also creating safe environments such as crates or beds may aid them greatly. In extreme cases, a veterinarian may suggest medications such as Reconcile (fluoxetine) and Clomicalm (clomipramine) which take four to eight weeks to be fully effective and should always be used alongside behavioral modification techniques for maximum effect.

Other treatments for separation anxiety include desensitizing your dog to the environment in which they’re leaving and returning home, gradually increasing distance and length of absences from home, rewarding only when your pup remains quiet and obedient; rewarding excitement or excited greetings upon return could increase anxiety in future departures.

Other ways of alleviating separation anxiety for dogs include engaging in regular physical activity that burns energy and reduces stress hormones, restricting access to items or food which could trigger anxiety, providing plenty of objects for playing and resting purposes, using pheromone therapy or consulting a positive trainer or veterinarian behaviorist for assistance.

Prevention

Graduated absences, which involve gradually allowing your dog to adjust to you leaving for short periods and at a distance, can help ease separation anxiety in dogs. Be sure to practice when your pup is calm and relaxed rather than stressed or excited; also be wary of making too much of a fuss when leaving or returning; this could cause negative associations between departure and arrival that exacerbate his anxiety levels.

Some dogs with separation anxiety exhibit signs of distress before their guardians leave, such as dilated pupils, salivation, pacing and wanting to hide. After their guardians leave they become distressed immediately and begin barking or whining or other distress behaviors – in extreme cases this behavior escalates into house soiling, destructive behaviors or escape attempts.

Preventing aggression requires understanding what triggers it and having the willingness to work with your dog. Thankfully, this disorder is easily treatable with professional assistance; speak to your veterinarian, certified veterinary behaviorist or Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist about available solutions for your canine.

Experts often advise behavioral therapy as an alternative treatment option to medication when it comes to treating separation anxiety in dogs. One technique which has proven highly successful for reducing or even eliminating this disorder is counterconditioning; this involves associating the person, place, animal or object that causes your pup panic with something positive such as treats or playtime; slowly but surely over time your dog learns that any person or thing he fears anticipates something good – such as treats!

For best results in relieving stress for both of you, exercise regularly and introduce new people and places gradually. Be sure to give him enough opportunity to socialize with other dogs and humans during these outings; practicing his stay command is another great way of decreasing arousal levels before leaving home. Also make sure that he gets plenty of walks every day that allow him to interact with different people as this will introduce novel smells and sights that may help soothe anxiety when leaving the house.