Pet Diseases, Pets Care

Separation Anxiety in Dogs – Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Separation anxiety in dogs is hysterical, distressed and regularly destructive behaviors related with separation from their pet guardians. Does your doggo get apprehensive when they see you preparing to leave from the house? Do they go crazy with bliss when you get back home? Did they annihilate your shoes or bite the corner off a nightstand while you were no more? – Your dog could have separation anxiety.

While separation anxiety has been broadly discussed throughout the most recent quite a few years, it’s turned into a more sultry theme of late. As a worldwide pandemic has changed our day by day living and working propensities, numerous specialists and dog owners raise the chance of a spike in paces of separation anxiety when typical routines are continued.

Here, we’ll investigate the confounded issue of separation anxiety and give some tips on the best way to identify, prevent, and treat this condition.

What is Separation Anxiety in dogs?

Separation anxiety is a behavioral condition that dogs show when they are separated from their owner. This commonly occurs not long after the owner leaving the dog. While this condition is more normal in youthful dogs, more established dogs might foster separation anxiety also, which is the reason all dog owners must know about this issue.

Causes of Separation Anxiety

Identifying triggers for separation related behaviors can be troublesome, as most of behavior occurs while your dog is all alone. If conceivable, set up a camera that permits you to see what your doggo is doing when you’re not with them. This recording will permit you to all the more precisely identify a particular environmental triggers that might be adding to your dog’s behavior, for example, the sound of individuals passing the house, clearly vehicles and trucks or perhaps the neighbor’s dog barking.

Separation related issues regularly introduce themselves as a wide range of behaviors relying upon the reason, so it is critical to know precisely what to pay special attention to.

Boredom

Dogs need both mental and physical feeling to remain blissful and solid. On the off chance that your dog isn’t getting enough physical or potentially mental exercise this may be adding to their behavior. On the off chance that your dog has bunches of energy left to go through, being left alone will presumably be extremely challenging for them, similar as it would for a human! As your dog runs out of useful activities you will start to see that this energy is coordinated somewhere else and will frequently appear as destructive behaviors like digging and biting.

Frustration

Frustration in dogs can be trying to identify yet is regularly set off by a dog’s powerlessness to get at something they need or need. To check whether this may be the reason, watch out for things that might be making your dog become frustrated. At times, your dog may be frustrated by getting a quick look at natural life or felines strutting outside the window that they frantically need to get to yet can’t. In different doggos, on the off chance that they feel like they unexpectedly don’t stand out enough to be noticed and solace they could wildly attempt to find and reproduce that solace in another manner.

Fear And Anxiety

Previous negative encounters can frequently immensely affect future behavior in dogs. For certain dogs, in the event that they’ve encountered something negative when left alone previously, this can cause fear and anxiety later on while investing energy without anyone else. With these sorts of separation related issues, you might see your dog show various stress related behaviors as well as yelling, barking and now and again going to the latrine in the house. Most of these behaviors will doubtlessly be seen while you’re not there, in any case, you might see that your dog starts to show them as you plan to leave. Activities like placing your jacket on, or your shoes, and getting keys can come to go about as signs to your dog and may set off a similar reaction.

Symptoms of Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Getting back to a blissful dog’s to see you doesn’t imply that the individual hasn’t been enduring quietly while you’ve been out. You might know the conspicuous signs of separation anxiety in doggos, for example, obliterating furniture or barking, however did you had at least some idea that there are different signs that you might miss?

The most well-known signs of separation anxiety in dogs are:

Destructive behaviour – often targeted at the door you left the house from, as well as chewing and destroying furniture
Noise – such as howling and barking
Toileting – weeing or pooing in the house
Trembling, whining or pacing
Excessive salivation
Self-mutilation
Repetitive behaviour
Vomiting

How to Stop Separation Anxiety in Dogs?

As a pet parent, you want to track down the best quieting anxiety treatments for your pet. Treating separation anxiety in dogs doesn’t need a medical expert, and you can prevail all alone with tenacious work and commitment. Dog anxiety treatment incorporates behavioral changes that will assist your little guy with discovering that being separated from everyone else isn’t alarming. Here is a list of dog calming treatments:

Change Your Leaving Signals

For a different entryway, set your jacket on yet don’t leave for 15 minutes, leave your keys/handbag/shoes in a different area. The objective is to break your dog’s relationship of these activities with your flight and not let them trigger separation anxiety.

Downplay Goodbyes and Hellos

Try not to get passionate while leaving your doggo and overexcited when you return. By giving an excessive amount of consideration to your flight and return, you hazard building up the dog’s fear of your nonattendance. Smoothly bid farewell and leave.

Practice Your Dog Before Leave

A drained dog is a quiet dog. Practicing no less than 30 minutes before flight will loosen up your dog and redirect its consideration regarding food and rest.

Train Your Dog to Be Alone

Advise your dog to remain in a room without anyone else while you go to a different piece of the house. If your dog has serious separation anxiety, begin with little 5-10 second spans and work up to 20-30 minutes more than half a month.

Make Personal Space for Your Dog

Rather than laying down with your puppy, get them a separate dog bed where you can likewise pet them and give quieting treats. This will train your dog to appreciate having their own space and be free of you, which will assist with facilitating their anxiety when you’re away.

Leave Comfort Items

Things that have your fragrance, for example, grimy clothing can help your dog unwind and recall that you will return. Eliminate stress factors like chokers, collars, chains, or cases if your dog tries to avoid them. Hide treats around the house so they can chase them while you’re away.

Don’t Leave Your Dog Alone for A long time

Your dog can figure out how to be distant from everyone else for part of the day, however if you should be away for longer than 6-8 hours, carry them to work if conceivable. You can likewise structure your tasks so you are just away for brief timeframes.

Medication and Natural Supplements

Some of the time training and counter-conditioning are sufficiently not. A few vets suggest medication, for example, amitriptyline, which is utilized to treat sadness, or alprazolam, which is recommended for anxiety and frenzy disorders. These require a med and are alright for most pets, however you’ll have to talk with your vet, and be extra persistent regarding the utilization of medication with a youthful doggo.

Don’t punish or scold your dog. This Anxious behavior is on the grounds that they are distressed, not done in a spirit of meanness or disobedience. Your dog is upset or scared and their separation anxiety is the means by which they are attempting to adapt to the circumstance. By punishing your dog you will just make them more furious and the issue will settle the score more terrible. Tracking down sure ways of diverting this behavior will bring about everybody being more joyful eventually.

Separation anxiety is a treatable condition. At times, it’s preventable with training and behavioral modification. Likewise with most conditions, the sooner you seek an analysis and start treatment, the better the guess.

Causes of separation anxiety, Separation Anxiety in Dogs, Signs of Separation Anxiety

Riya Agarwal

Riya Agarwal is an experienced content writer who loves animals. She is the proud owner of a Labrador, who she loves to take on long walks. Riya works hard to bring fresh and creative content to her clients, blending her knowledge and experience with her passion for animals. Riya is committed to creating content that sparks conversations and encourages readers to think more deeply about the world around them.