If your dog stresses out every time you leave him at home alone, you may find this insightful article on separation anxiety in dogs, originally published on The Pet Blog, helpful.
In nature dogs are sociable pack animals that live in large social groups. Domesticated dogs consider their human family to be their pack, and generally don’t like to be left alone for long periods of time. Some dogs take this to the extreme, and can suffer from separation anxiety when the owner is out of sight. Separation anxiety causes a dog to become severely stressed when their owner goes out and leaves them behind. This anxiety can manifest itself in nuisance behavior, including soiling the house, incessant barking or whining, or destructive behavior. While dogs from multi-pet households are not immune from separation anxiety, having another pet in the home to provide company will often prevent or alleviate some of the stress.
Separation anxiety in dogs is not uncommon, as the following statistics will illustrate:
Separation anxiety can occur when a dog’s safety net is suddenly removed, and can stem from a number of different causes. A young puppy that may have been removed from its mother to early may be very insecure in its new surroundings, and attach itself to the new owner. When the owner leaves the pup alone it may become insecure and show symptoms of separation anxiety. Other changes in a dog’s daily routine or surroundings may trigger separation anxiety, including the following:
There are a number of tactics that can be employed to help alleviate separation anxiety in dogs, and to prevent unsociable behavior associated with the anxiety the dog is feeling, including:
Separation anxiety can affect the bond between owner and dog. An owner that comes home and finds his house wrecked on a regular basis, may eventually become despondent and relinquish the dog to an animal shelter or decide to have it euthanized. Pressure from neighbors who are fed up with the constant whining and barking of a distressed dog may cause an owner to do the same. It is therefore imperative that dog owners address separation anxiety as soon as a dog shows symptoms, seeking the help of an expert dog trainer to help them solve their pets psychological problem.
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