The issue of separation anxiety affects more then 20% of the dogs that live with humans. How many of you have a dog which is a perfect loving and well behaved pet but which, as soon as you leave the house, turns from cute doggie into a monster, barks incessantly or pees on your brand new sofa, even in some extreme cases turns your house upside down?  Does Rambo severely damage the property, especially around doors and windows? Or maybe destroys your personal belongings?

If your dog behaves in this way he is suffering from full blown separation anxiety. Do not fret; with a little bit of intelligence and patience this problem can be successfully cured. The only bad news is: it is not the dog’s fault, it is yours. Unless you are prepared to radically change your interactions with the dog this problem will never go away.

Tennyson wrote that it is better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all. Try explaining that to a dog with separation anxiety that is toughing it out alone following departure of beloved owners. In this condition dogs become so closely bonded to their owners that they virtually have to be pried off them, and parting is not such sweet sorrow, but more of a living hell.

Affected dogs are often gentle and sweet natured, but the anxiety-related havoc they wreak in the owners' absence is sometimes misconstrued by the owners as malicious and vindictive behaviour. Some owners even spank their dogs on their return to punish them for bad behavior. This is both inappropriate and ineffective. With dogs, punishment never works if delivered more than a few seconds after an event. Rather, it simply serves to confuse already distraught and bewildered dog.

I have encountered many owners who swear that the dog knows what it has done, because it looks “guilty”. But what owner interprets as guilt is simply anticipation of the punishment that the dog has learned to associate with simultaneous the presence of damaged property.

What would cause the dog to behave in this way? Is separation anxiety innate or acquired? The vets and animal behaviorists cannot agree.

I tend to believe it is completely acquired. And I have a dog to prove it. Recently I adopted an ex-racer. This is a dog that had spent most of his time in kennels and racing tracks. The person who took care of him prior to his arrival to my home kept him in a garden shed most of the day and walked him for 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening.  He would run him once a week.  This lovely guy is a typical English old-school greyhound fancier.

He uttered in a heavy Geordie accent: “He’ll be fine as long as you don’t baby him too much!” The greyhounds, whippets and most of the sight hounds are very happy when they can spend three quarters of their life sleeping or lounging  on the soft furnishings. They don’t call them 40 mph couch potatoes for nothing.

I was very impressed when the dog finally arrived. He seemed to be the perfect pet.  Already house trained, sensible, gentle and quiet.  Greyhounds don’t bark, they moan and squeal. The dog settled into my routine immediately. I would go to work and leave him alone for hours; this didn’t seem to bother him. But then I noticed gradual change. It seemed more I showered this dog with attention and affection more unstable he was becoming. I took him everywhere with me, but this seemed to have very bad effect on the dog.  In the matter of only few weeks I watched him deteriorating from perfectly balanced and chilled animal into a complete wreck whenever I leave home.  Every time I returned I would found a big puddle of pee on the floor and I could see that he was distressed. Luckily he didn’t get into a habit of destroying things. Only collecting my shoes, socks and other personal items and hording them in his bed. This was his way of saying that he suffers when I leave. And it was high time for me to do something.

This I did. I revised everything I knew about separation anxiety and started applying it.  First order of the business was to start completely ignoring the dog whenever at home. Meet all his physiological needs, but no more cuddling, no more baby talk – he simply doesn’t exist. I was always against animals and humans sleeping in the same bed; so I didn’t have to change anything with regards to sleeping habits.  Those of you, who practice this routine please, reconsider it. Apart from giving your dog clear message that you are not a true pack leader (pack leader never sleeps together with other dogs) you are doing nothing for your dog’s independence.  Besides, this is very unhygienic.

I know this may sound harsh to you, but ignoring your dog is the best thing you can do for it. Trust me. Dogs don’t thrive on niceties, baby talk and constant petting. It’s us who need this, not dogs. This is indeed good for us; it lowers our blood pressure and heart rate.   I am not saying you should completely stop petting your dog, but you should pet your dog only as a reward for obedience. And keep it brief. Don’t cuddle on the couch, mindlessly petting your dog while you watch a movie.  If you want to initiate petting call your dog to you, don’t go to her.

After work on my dog’s independence,  the second order of the business was to work on desensitizing and counter conditioning.  For example if you always grab the keys before leaving make a point to grab the keys multitude of times while you are staying in the house, same goes for any other action that you automatically perform shortly before you leave .  This way the dog will not react to cues of your departure and emotional buildup will be avoided.

Also try to make multitude of short outings. In and out of the house, no fuss just go out, come back and then go out somewhere again in short period of time. This can be tiring but if you do it for several days you will quickly desensitize the dog. In addition, you have to completely ignore the dog 20 minutes to prior your departure and 20 minutes after your arrival. Don’t talk to it. Don’t even look at it. Just get up and leave. This is very important.

Finally always leave the dog some sustained release food (stuffed Kong toy, or some chewy treat) just before your departure. Most of the accidents happen within first 15 minutes, distracting the dog during this time really helps.

In fact all of this worked like a charm and I got back my perfectly balanced dog in mater of few days. Of course, this was as easy as walk in the park, since my dog suffered only from very mild form of separation anxiety. Those dogs who suffer from severe forms of this disorder will require more intense approach and sometimes even some medical or homeopathic therapy.

I will end today’s blog entry with the quote from Patricia McConnell’s book – How to be the leader of the pack:

“I know you love your dog. But if you love your dog you will do him no favors by catering to him, continually cooing over him and providing him with no boundaries.  Dogs need to feel secure to be truly happy; that means they need to feel secure that you will be the leader, and that they can count on you to take charge.”

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Dr. Zoran Jankovic is a homeopath and naturopath vet practicing in Malta.

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