Anxiety In Dogs And How To Overcome It

Dogs are very sensitive animals and some may have separation anxiety. If you don't subscribe to that opinion, try leaving one alone in a room for a few minutes. They don't accept that you are capable of carrying out such an insensitive act and will do damage to your property to punish you and make sure that you won't do it again. To add weight to that argument, you can sit in the same room as your dog for days on end, and the thought will not rise in its head to commit any form of damage.

So why does your dog bark and cry when left alone? What makes it howl and moan and chew up your favorite books and clothes?

Don't be fooled into believing that you dog is just behaving badly or looking for attention. The case may be that your dog is suffering from an anxiety problem, as many dogs do. The condition, known as dog separation anxiety, affects dogs around the World and can be an ongoing problem that is very difficult to solve.

People, who own domestic animals within an urban environment, often have to leave their dogs alone for long periods of time, either in their home or apartment, or in their fenced yard.

Dogs, from the largest to the smallest, and not according to scale, can become very high-strung when separated from their owner, whom they still recognize as their pack leader. They may feel a sense of betrayal, especially if the dog is used to traveling in the car with is owners or walking with them. If they are "not invited" to accompany their owner on a journey their fears and their frustrations may manifest themselves in considerable damage to property. An interesting point is that owners have reported that they have left their dog alone for less than a few minutes, and have come back to find mayhem and destruction. This goes to prove that dogs feel these anxieties immediately and it does not take an accumulation of time before the panic attacks begin to set in.

Additionally, some dogs are afraid of loud and unusual noises in their environment. Dogs that handle your absense well under normal conditions might exhibit anxiety symptions during thunderstorms or when there is construction noises in the neighborhood. Celebrations like New Years and the 4th of July are notorious for having dogs break out of yards while their owners are off at fireworks displays.

To overcome dog anxiety problems, the owner has to embark on a specific program to prepare their dog to be alone and to accept the fact that this may happen.

These are a few tips on how to build a program to lessen and maybe avoid the traumas of separation for your dog and damage traumas for the owner.
  • If the dog does damage when you are gone, don't punish physically punish it. The dog will be unhappy enough, and physical punishment will only traumatize it more.
  • This is a genuine problem which will recur. So don't ignore it
  • Dog separation anxiety is a known problem, and there are reams of information on the subject available, both on the internet and in print. Read as much as you can, and try some of the ideas out till you find the ideal formula that suits your pet.
  • Don't spoil your dog if you have to leave it alone. The dog will sense you anxiety and guilt and will begin to react to it, even before you walk out the door. Owners have to train themselves to get up and leave, without giving the dog too much warning. That way it will gradually begin to realize that it is common practice, and that you will come back.
  • In the early days of training make sure that the dog has only access to certain parts of your house or yard. Make it a point to have any items of value out of its reach, Also phone wires, electric cables and anything that if chewed can cause damage to the dog or the family home should be well out of reach.
  • Some people leave a radio or television playing as it gives the dog the impression that there are still some people around. Others, who have taken this theory to an extreme, have actually made recordings of their own voice and leave it playing whilst they are out of the house.

There are many other suggestions to help dogs overcome their fear of being alone, as well as any other anxieties that they may develop. The trick is for the owner to recognize and understand the dog's behavior and to do their best to set out a program of behavior modification to correct it. Patience is a major virtue in these situations and you may require the last drop of it to get it right. But it will be worth it in the end, for you, your dog and your collection of CD's.