Separation Anxiety for Pets

Your pet has been overly joyed having you home to provide the cuddles and attention they thrive off of. They begin to noticing, walks around the neighborhood are down, the extra treats that they've been getting are decreasing and seeing that your walking out the door and they are alone more often.

 Separation Anxiety or Distress, even if your dog has never had a problem with this before, your pet may begin to show signs. Here are some pointers to avoid separation issues while still enjoying this extra time with your dog.

-The key to prevention is to make sure that you are not always available to your dog now. This may mean artificially creating distance at the moment.

-Discourage your dog from following you around the house (as long as you are sure they are not already suffering from separation distress).

-Leave your dog in one room while you go to another. Leave your dog in the house while you go into the garden. Leave your dog at home while you go to the shop.

-If your dog struggles with any of this then go back a few steps. Start by leaving them for literally a few seconds and building it up gradually.

-Make sure some of your leaving involves going out of the house and out of sight, getting in the car and driving away (even if just along the road).

-Give them independent activities to do: chewing, a stuffed kong, puzzle toys (if they are safe and familiar). You don't always have to be part of what they are doing.

-It is easy when we are unexpectedly home with our dog to throw ourselves into lots of fun activities with them but make sure they still get plenty of down time and on their own time. They do not have to be entertained all the time!

With a little thought we can prevent new separation issues from arising. If you have existing issues it is of course more complex and I recommend you consult a trainer/behaviourist for a full program.

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