Why do dogs develop separation anxiety?

"Separation anxiety disorder" is a behavioral problem that can cause great emotional distress to both pets and owners. Why do pets suffer from "separation anxiety"? To solve the problem, we must first find out the cause:
1.Change of guardian or residence:A dog being abandoned, handed over to a new guardian, or moved to a new environment will cause the dog to develop symptoms. "Separation Anxiety Disorder."
2. The routine of life is disrupted: Dogs, like humans, don’t like the routine of life to be disrupted. Once daily life is disrupted, they will feel a lot of pressure, which will lead to "Separation Anxiety Disorder." For example, if a dog owner usually works from home and spends all day with his dog, but finds a new job that requires his dog to be alone for seven or eight hours or longer.
3. Changes in family members: The sudden increase or decrease in family members or the arrival of other pets.
4. Causes of diseases:Many diseases such as urinary tract infection, bladder sphincter weakness, digestive disorders, cognitive impairment in the elderly, etc. can cause "separation anxiety disorder".

Common symptoms of separation anxiety

When dogs are with their owners, we will find that dogs usually behave well. Once their owners go out, they may think Methods can be used to prevent or even do some very destructive things, such as:
Pooping: Dogs will defecate everywhere when they are alone or separated from their owners.
Barking: A dog with "separation anxiety" may bark or howl when alone or separated from its owner. And the barking or howling is often continuous.
Chewing, digging and destroying: Dogs suffering from "separation anxiety" will chew on objects such as door frames, windows, furniture, etc. when they are alone, which may cause them to Self-injury such as broken teeth, cuts on claws, damaged nails, etc.
Escape: When a dog is alone at home or separated from its owner, a dog with "separation anxiety" may try to escape from the room, chewing on door frames and windows, etc.
Abnormal walking: When a dog is home alone or separated from its owner, it may pace back and forth in a fixed pattern.Or trot back and forth, while some dogs will walk in circles or in a straight line.
Swallowing feces: When dogs are left alone or separated from their owners, some dogs will defecate and then eat all or part of their feces.

How to deal with dog separation?

In life, we often hear many dog ​​owners complain that their dogs will cause havoc when they are alone at home, such as urinating everywhere, barking, destroying household items, and pooping on walls, doors and floors. Scratch etc. In fact, these phenomena may indicate that your dog is suffering from "separation anxiety disorder." When faced with a dog with "separation anxiety", as poop handlers, we should learn to do some things to solve its underlying anxiety problem.

How to solve dog separation anxiety?

1) For those dogs with mild separation anxiety, it is a good way to establish a connection between the lonely dog ​​and delicious food. For example, after you have trained with your dog for 5 to 10 seconds, give your dog a stuffed food toy (such as a puzzle toy filled with peanut butter) before you go outside. These food stuffed toys can serve as safety cues to tell the dog that This is a "safe" separation for the dog. This method only works with mild separation anxiety, as highly anxious dogs often won't eat when their guardian is not home.

2) When the owner comes in and out of the house, remember to behave calmly. Especially when you come back, you should be calm in the first few minutes and don't pay too much attention to your dog, let alone be affectionate.

3) Leave some clothes that you have worn out recently because they have your smell on them, which can also help your dog relieve "separation anxiety".

4) Make sure your dog gets plenty of exercise before going outside. When you're ready to leave, you can play training games and fetch with your dog. A tired, happy dog ​​will also moderate "separation anxiety".

5) Since dogs are social animals, you can also find a companion for them, which can greatly alleviate their longing for their owners. Many cases show that in addition to finding another dog as a companion, cats will also make them Cheer up.

Generally speaking, dogs become anxious within 40 minutes of their owner leaving

Most of your dog’s anxiety reactions will occur within the first 40 minutes of being alone. Once your dog can tolerate 40 minutes of separation, you can add more time away (initially in 5-minute increments, then in 15-minute increments). Once your dog can be left alone for 90 minutes without feeling upset or anxious, he can probably be left alone for 4 to 8 hours. (To be safe, try leaving it alone for four hours first, then slowly increase it to eight hours.) This trainingThe process takes several weeks to complete.