Does my dog have Separation Anxiety?

If your dog destroys your home when he’s left alone or soils in the house, it’s tempting to believe that he has Separation Anxiety.  While these two behaviors are often attributed to Separation Anxiety, they can also be signs of countless other conditions.  Separation Anxiety is an extremely rare condition. This article is designed to help owners identify true Separation Anxiety so that they may seek appropriate help for their beloved pet.

What is Separation Anxiety?

Separation Anxiety is a psychological disorder.   It is a very rare condition, which produces significant anxiety and stress-related behaviors in dogs when they are left alone.  Separation Anxiety is a serious disorder that can cause extreme suffering for the dog.  

It is virtually impossible for a layperson to solve this problem alone.  If you think your dog has Separation Anxiety seek the council of a veterinarian, animal behaviorist or qualified trainer immediately to confirm your suspected diagnosis.  Destruction in the home and house soiling may be signs of Separation Anxiety but they can also be signs of behavioral problems such as boredom, inappropriate house training or simply inappropriate chewing.  If the root of the problem isn’t properly diagnosed, the behaviors will not change and you will not be able to help your dog or save your home from destruction.
A key differentiating feature between anxious or destructive behaviors and Separation Anxiety is that the dog begins to display stress behaviors BEFORE you leave home. 

Symptoms of Separation Anxiety

Many dogs will become anxious when you leave the home and may follow you to the door, bark, whine or scratch at the door.  While these are symptoms of being anxious and may eventually lead to Separation Anxiety, these behaviors alone do not mean that your dog has Separation Anxiety.  Additionally, if you come home to destruction or accidents in the house, this does not prove that your dog is suffering from Separation Anxiety.

The symptoms of true Separation Anxiety begin to present BEFORE you walk out the door.  The dog becomes anxious when he knows you’re getting ready to leave.  Your dog naturally knows the routine you follow as you prepare to leave and starts to react immediately.  For example, you begin to get dressed and your dog watches with eyes as wide as saucers. When you put on shoes, the dog gets more distressed and may start to whine, pace or vocalize. When you get up to get your briefcase or handbag, the dog follows.  By the time you pick up your car keys the dog is most likely in full panic mode and may be trembling, panting, salivating or showing other high stress behaviors. Specific symptoms include:

While you’re preparing to leave:

• Vocalizing (barking, whining, howling, crying.)
• Refusal of water and food, even high value food such as steak or chicken.
• Watching you (staring really) with eyes as big as saucers and following you.
• Shaking or trembling.
• Drooling/excessive salivation.
• Panic behaviors which may include manic racing toward owners, body blocking of doors, repeated jumping on owners or grabbing and holding the clothing of their owners.

In addition, when you come home you find:

• Inappropriate chewing.  Your dog has chewed furniture, rugs or other objects.
• Destruction of entry and exit doors and windows.  Dogs may dig through floors, scratch or eat through doors, trim, walls, and window trim.  In severe cases, the dog may fling himself through windows. These are all attempts to escape and reunite with their owner.
• Bloody or broken teeth, scraped snouts or noses, broken nails or other bodily damage. 
• The dog has not eaten (even the delicious treats you left for him) and the water bowl clearly has not been touched.
• Urinating and/or defecating inside the house.  This is typically performed immediately upon the owner’s departure or within 30 minutes thereafter.  The dog may have also vomited.
• Excessive salivation resulting in a wet dog, wet crate or puddles on the floors.
• Shaking and trembling.
• A note from the neighbors telling you that your dog howled/cried or barked…the entire time you were gone.

Frequent Causes of Separation Anxiety

Separation Anxiety is rooted in the relationship the dog has with its owner.  In the simplest terms, the dog cannot cope in his environment when he is away from his owner and panics.  The response is similar to a panic attack in humans; it is very real, very painful and emotionally crippling.  Many people think that their dog is trying to punish them for leaving them alone.  He isn’t, he simply cannot cope when he’s away from you.  His whole world and sense of safety begins with your presence and ends immediately upon your departure.

Below are several factors that can trigger Separation Anxiety:

• Genetic disposition to stress or fear.
• Not being properly socialized and/or never being left alone.  Show dogs and retired greyhounds are classic examples.
• The dog has had several homes and owners.
• Environmental changes in the household including the death or divorce of an owner or the addition of new people in the household. 
• A physical move to a new house, even if the family moves with the dog.
• Changes in the household routine resulting in a dramatic difference in the amount of time you are absent.  For example, transitioning from working from home to leaving the home for work.
• The dog experienced a stressful or frightening event (from the dog’s perspective) while he was home alone.

Treating Separation Anxiety

It’s tempting for owners to reach for Prozac or other anti-anxiety drugs when their dog is destroying their home or soiling it when left alone.  However, medication alone will not work.  Treating Separation Anxiety requires behavioral training and in most cases, a combination of behavior modification and anti-anxiety medications are required.  Why? Because a dog which is overly stressed and panicked cannot focus, cannot learn and therefore cannot change his behavior.  A properly prescribed medication can help the dog relax enough to participate in a behavior modification program so that effective change can take place.

What Won't Help

• Misdiagnosis.  Many destructive or anxious behaviors are improperly attributed to “Separation Anxiety.” Just as you wouldn’t start Chemo treatments for a suspected but non-diagnosed case of Cancer, you can’t successfully treat your dog if you don’t know what’s creating the problem in the first place.  Don’t guess, seek professional assistance.
• Punishment. Punishment will increase the dog’s stress level and make the behaviors worse. Trust us, if your dog truly has Separation Anxiety, he’s suffering enough!
• Crating. Your dog will still engage in anxiety responses inside a crate, and he may injure himself in an attempt to escape.  If your dog is panicking inside his crate, place him in a safe room that has been dog proofed.
• Taking an obedience class.  Separation Anxiety is a psychological disorder, it is not the lack of obedience training.

Recovering from Separation Anxiety takes time and hard work.  Fortunately, it has a high success rate. Remember that the dog is not trying to punish you.  He is panicked about his own survival without you.  If you make the commitment to modify his behavior and help him become confident on his own, the quality of his life, and yours will be significantly improved. 

© Paws in Training, Inc.  2008

 

 

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