Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Why Does My Dog Have Separation Anxiety

By Venice Marriott


Separation anxiety in dogs is a consequence of the way some dogs react to being left alone. While many dogs are happy to get left home alone, and will do nothing more than sleep the time away, a fairly significant number of dogs will experience anxiety resulting in lots of dog behaviour issues.

Recent research has demonstrated that separation anxiety in dogs affects at least 15% of our pooches and that number looks to be going up with a UK study indicating that up to 50% of dogs display some signals of separation anxiety behavior.

What Causes Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Opinion is split about what causes separation anxiety in dogs, although luckily , most dog experts seem to agree on the approach to curing it.

It is not always clear what triggers anxiety in dogs, as while some dogs are anxious from birth, others will all of a sudden become anxious after a major change in their lives such as moving home, or develop anxiousness as a consequence of a bad experience, like being deserted. It's certaily clear that many rescue dogs suffer with separation anxiety.

One of the most commonly held beliefs is that because of the tight bond we experience and promote with our dogs, our dogs becomes too needy or dependant on us, and therefore are distressed and anxious when they don't have accessibility to us all the time.

However in a study published by the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association, which compared attachment behavior of dogs who experienced anxiousness when left alone and dogs that did not, the study concluded the attachment behaviour just before leaving was no different in either set of dogs, which suggest that over attachment would possibly not be the reason for dog anxiety after all.

The other belief about dog separation anxiety is that it comes about as a result of your dog assuming that he is pack leader and therefore responsible for you.

This implies that when you go out and your dog neither knows where you are going or when you are going to be back, nor can come and find you, they experience intense anxiousness because they are worrying about your safety. This concept is based upon studies of the wolf pack which indicate that packs need a leader in place to function effectively.

Curing Dog Separation Anxiety

There's a gradually increasing belief among prominent dog professionals the technique to get a carefree dog is to make certain that they accept that you are the leader of the pack. This relates to curing dog anxiety too , so if you think your dog is afflicted by that problem, find yourself some good dog separation anxiety training, and make sure it includes showing you the proper way to demonstrate to your dog you are leader of the pack (note: no bullying or force needed)

Whatever way you choose to tackle the difficulty, please remember that punishing your dog for behaviour driven by anxiety, however bad it may be, will not help cure it. In truth is is probably going to worsen it.




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