Separation Anxiety is a diagnosis given to dogs that exhibit severe panic when left alone. Usually this exhibition occurs twenty to forty-five minutes after the owner departs, and can include a variety of behaviors, including prolonged barking, whining and howling, house soiling, self-mutilation, compulsive licking, attempts to escape through doors and windows, destructive chewing of walls and doors, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.

When the owner is home, the dog that suffers from separation anxiety will often follow the owner from room to room, demand physical attention either by pawing at the owner or climbing into his or her lap, refuse to eat without the owner present and basically be unable to relax without some kind of physical contact.

Most often, these behaviors are allowed to persist for years, usually until an owner is compelled to do something about it by an outside force, such as a landlord threatening eviction. However, in treating a dog with separation anxiety it’s important to focus on the fact that a change is primarily necessary for the dog’s health, and only secondarily to solve external issues.

Alleviating Separation Anxiety:

The goal of treatment is to resolve a dog’s anxiety by teaching it to tolerate being alone, and this is a long process that is, realistically, time-consuming and stressful for both dog and owner.

Treatment begins with establishing a zone (dog bed, for example) where the dog will stay during exercises of increasing duration where the owner begins to walk away. The dog will also be asked to walk away from the owner. Distance is slowly built up until the owner is able to duck out of sight for one second. Then two seconds. Then three. Exercises continue with doors being opened and shut, and eventually the owner disappears behind them.

Big Apple Dog School uses a program designed by Dr. Roger Abrantes, a Danish behaviorist who studied Separation Anxiety in dogs. The program has a very high success rate; that being said, it usually takes eight to twelve weeks of diligent training by the owner with weekly sessions with a dog trainer.

However, complaining neighbors will notice an immediate change, as the first rule of the program is that a dog with Separation Anxiety cannot be left alone. Arrangements for day care or an in-home visitor must be made for the duration of the program.

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