Separation anxiety in dogs

Many dogs suffer from separation anxiety when their owners leave the house. Some dogs can’t even cope with their human companions leaving the room! Toileting in the house, destruction, barking, howling and whining, are all signs that a dog is struggling when he is left home alone!

As with any problem behaviour, it’s important to understand what is really going on for your dog when he is suffering from separation distress, and there can be a number of different triggers. However, the underlying cause is always the same; general anxiety caused by confusion about who is actually responsible for who, in the pack. More often than not, a dog suffering from separation anxiety is a dog who believes that he must take care of you and not the other way around!

This is why some dogs will go to such extremes, to try and get to their owners. I have known of dogs who have jumped out of first floor windows, tried to dig through walls, destroyed doors and crates and dug up floors all in an attempt to get to their loved-ones. These are the actions of a mother/father searching for their child – not the other way round.

If I needed any further evidence, it has come in the form of all the dogs and owners that I have been able to help with this problem. Time after time, by changing the way that they interact with their dogs so as to calmly and consistently reinforce their own leadership, my clients have been able to relieve their dogs of separation anxiety. Sometimes I’m amazed at how quickly this issue can be resolved just by making some simple changes. On other occasions it  requires some targeted work on the specific problem and plenty of time and patience.

If your dog is suffering from separation anxiety and you would like to find out more about how I can help you, please contact me on one of the numbers below or email [email protected].

Telephone – 01603 881626

Mobile – 07951 328163

Email – [email protected]