Pets Can Suffer From Separation Anxiety Too

It is not unusual for pets to experience anxiety under certain circumstances, such as a visit to the veterinarian or when exposed to a new environment. However, when a pet is left alone and exhibits excessive anxiety or distress, the condition is called separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is the most common anxiety in dogs.

In all cases of separation anxiety, your veterinarian should be consulted. Separation anxiety can usually be treated successfully with a combination of behaviour modification and anti-anxiety medication. Your veterinarian will want to gather a thorough medical and behavioural history, as well as perform a thorough physical examination, to ensure that all possible factors are considered.

To correct separation anxiety, one should recruit the help of a dog sitter who can interact with the patient and provide the necessary distractions whenever the owner leaves the house. In this way, the dog will be unable to focus on destructive behaviour and will gradually become desensitized to the owner's absence.

Dogs that suffer from separation anxiety should also be enrolled in an obedience-training course so that their level of confidence both in themselves and their owner is increased. Punishment must be avoided. However, many owners inadvertently reward separation anxiety by comforting and reassuring their dogs when they return home. This should be avoided and homecomings should be kept low key.

The amount of time spent with the dog by the owner should also be decreased to a level where the dog can become less dependent on the owner for stimulation. This can be accomplished by involving friends and neighbours in the day-to-day activities of the dog. Increased play time, more frequent walks away from home, and increased personal interaction can be done by friends in order to decrease the dog's dependence on the owner.

Finally, the dog with separation anxiety must be trained to be able to relax in a variety of environmental settings, both with and without the owner. By desensitizing the dog to new situations, he or she can be trained to accept new situations that should occur in the absence of the owner.

If all else fails, certain anxiety-reducing drugs are available from your veterinarian and can be used concurrently with behaviour modification. The aim of behaviour modification is to eventually allow reduction or cessation of the medication once the pet's abnormal behaviour has been corrected.