Treating Severe Separation Anxiety In Dogs

Causes of dog separation anxiety.

Treating severe separation anxiety in dogs.

It s done by associating the sight or presence of a feared or disliked person animal place object or situation with something really good something the. Here are some things you may want to try to help your dog s separation anxiety. This is accomplished by setting things up so that the dog experiences the situation that provokes his anxiety namely being alone without experiencing fear or anxiety. Counterconditioning is a treatment process that changes an animal s fearful anxious or aggressive reaction to a pleasant relaxed one instead.

How to help a dog with separation anxiety. When treating a dog with separation anxiety the goal is to resolve the dog s underlying anxiety by teaching him to enjoy or at least tolerate being left alone. Slowly increase the amount of time you spend behind the door. Patience is important as separation anxiety isn t something that ll go away after a few days.

Treatment for mild separation anxiety if your dog has a mild case of separation anxiety counterconditioning might reduce or resolve the problem. We like our dogs to be with us and when they are. However when a client came to me with a dog who had a moderate to severe case i would refer. Otherwise you will care for your dog at home and will need to provide protection from self inflicted physical injury until your dog calms down.

The best way to help your dog deal with separation anxiety is to permanently change his perception of what being alone means one second at a time. To treat severe separation anxiety in dogs consider calming medicine. I have helped hundreds of owners of dogs with mild separation anxiety sa. In fact most dogs with severe separation anxiety will be more relaxed if they re left outside of the crate.

If your dog has extreme panic and separation anxiety and needs to be protected until medications can become effective which can take days to weeks hospitalization may be the best choice. My own dog barley started suffering from some separation anxiety when we started living out of airbnbs instead of a regular apartment. It may take some time and training to wean your dog off of the crate but sometimes eliminating the crate entirely is the way to go. Contact your veterinarian to discuss your options.

If done correctly a crate should feel like a safe haven for your dog crates should not be used for punishment. If you want to knowhow to stop separation anxiety in puppies and dogs teach him to sit or stay down while you re at the end of the door in another room. I could probably recite in my sleep the steps that an owner needs to take in order to modify mild to moderate sa behaviors. Keep separation anxiety treatment slow and steady.

A dog trainer or a veterinary behaviorist will be your best resource in creating a behavior modification program that suits your dog s needs. We make a big fuss when we leave or come home and in doing so we reward the dog s concern with our absence provoking in him even more stress every time we leave. Severe cases of true separation anxiety impose a challenge to pack leaders. Contact your veterinarian to discuss your options.

Dog separation anxiety is often unknowingly encouraged by dog owners.