Does your dog have separation anxiety?
Quarantining has provided the perfect time to bond with your dog, but what happens when you have to go back to work and leave your pup home alone?
Separation anxiety may set in, when your pup isn’t seeing you as often, especially if you got them during quarantine.
How to identify separation anxiety and fix it
Howling, barking, using the carpet as their toilet or any other area they shouldn’t be going in, or destroying your furniture or shoes are signs that your dog is experiencing separation anxiety. But no fear, these behaviors can be fixed!
This may be hard to do but the first step is to ignore your pup’s excitement when you come home for at least a few minutes. This will avoid reinforcing bad habits, like jumping up.
The next step is to counter condition the behavior. This means you’re replacing a bad stimulus (you leaving) with a positive stimulus. Each time you leave, give a cue that lets your dog know you’re leaving. This could be a specific word you say, or you could play music, or turn on the tv. When you give that cue, give your dog something of high value, like a puzzle toy stuffed with their favorite treat. This helps your dog understand that when you leave, something good will actually happen. This can often be enough for dogs with mild separation anxiety.
For Severe Anxiety
If your dog has more severe anxiety, there’s another step you can try. Get your dog used to you leaving without becoming anxious.
Start by playing out your normal leaving routine, without actually leaving. If your dog behaves calmly, reward them with a treat and praise.
Repeat this multiple times.
Then go a step further and open the door, and reward them if they’re calm. Bring it a step further and leave the house, then immediately go back inside. Keep increasing how long you go without returning, but make sure that your dog is completely calm each time you come back.
If he isn’t calm, keep repeating, or go back a step and try to further reinforce it. Increase how long you’re gone by only a couple minutes each time.
Do this until you can leave for around an hour. Then, increase by thirty minutes, or an hour, or longer. It gets easier to leave for longer as you keep working.
If none of this works, consider a consultation with a dog trainer or behavior consultant for separation anxiety. You should also speak to your veterinarian to see if there are other reasons that your dog is anxious.
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