Not all dogs who exhibit destructive behavior when left
alone actually have separation anxiety.In order to determine whether or not a dog falls into the category of
having SA depends on a number of things.Many dogs will bark or destroy property as an outlet for sheer
boredom.SA is usually more
characterized by pacing, drooling, barking and crying and even trying to escape
from the house in the direction of the pursued owner.Dogs with SA often have problems in other areas related to
panicking when left alone.SA dogs
may also follow their human companion incessantly when at home.Behaviors are also most intense right
after being left alone.
While there is no easy cure for a dog suffering from SA there
are a number of things you can do to begin to make things easier for them.
The first rule you will want to apply is the 20-minute
rule.For the first 20 minutes you
are home and for twenty minutes before you leave you should not engage with
your dog.In other words, the
twenty minutes you spend before leaving home and after arriving home should be
spent ignoring your dog, avoiding even eye contact.
Why do we do this?See, what happens when we engage in emotional hellos and goodbyes is
that we give our dogs the idea that each time we leave is a reason for
concern.Instead, obey the
twenty-minute rule as well as ignoring any excitement your dog may exhibit as a
response to you returning home.Only give attention to your dog after the twenty minutes and only once
your dog becomes completely calm.
The next line of defense should be beginning to desensitize
your dog to your leaving.This
will be something you’ll want to do as much as possible but a little at a
time.Remember, your dog has a
threshold and any time your dog crosses that threshold and becomes upset he
enters a state where training becomes difficult, if not impossible.The idea is to keep him at a
comfortable level of stress, where training and desensitization are possible.
To start, use cues that may normally communicate to your dog
that you are getting ready to leave, examples would be putting on your coat and
grabbing your keys.The idea is to
teach your dog that just because you pick up your keys doesn’t necessarily mean
you are leaving. Start picking up
your keys several times daily, jingling them so your dog can hear them and
setting them back where they go.After a week of doing this the sound of your keys will have lost their
heir of impending doom.
Next, you’ll start picking up your keys and walking to the
door.Then walk back and put your
keys down.Soon your dog will
begin to ignore this as well.
The next step will be grabbing your keys, walking to the
door and opening it.Then, shut
the door and return the keys to where they go and go back to what you were
doing.
As your dog starts to begin handling these cues without stress you will begin
to build on it by actually stepping out the door.Then by adding one, two and then three minutes outside the
door.Finally you will go to your
car and shut the door so your dog can hear it.By the end of the week you may be able to start your car and
after a week or two of that maybe you will even be able to drive around the
block without evoking crippling stress in your dog.Continue gradually adding more time and variables,
practicing every day.
If you go through each of these steps gradually, ensuring
that your dog remains calm through each of the steps you will have come a long
way in reducing your dogs stress about being left alone.
