Not all naughty behavior stemming from your absence means a dog is suffering from separation anxiety. And suffering is what a dog with true separation anxiety does.
To put a sep anx dog’s feelings and reactions into perspective, imagine this. While on a walk alone in the wilderness, you trip and slip into an abandon shaft and land on your rump 20 feet further into the ground than where you’d started. Except for the light at the shaft’s opening, which will soon disappear as the sun sets, there is darkness. Something suddenly slithers across your feet, and you can’t get away from it. You feel pressure going back and forth across your feet, but it’s too dark to see the monster at your feet. You scream, but there’s no one around to hear or help you. You reach for your cell phone, but your pocket is empty. You’re alone in a deep, dark, dangerous, and very scary place. Would you panic? Would you claw, scratch, and scream for help?
This is the type of reaction a sep anx dog feels when the door shuts on him and he’s left alone. It’s real fear, real emotion, and not something he is doing out of spite or because he’s been spoiled. It’s a fear like none other.
The first step in treating this disorder is identifying whether or not your dog’s behavior IS from separation anxiety. From there, an appropriate training plan can be put into place to resolve the fear. This is not an easy fix, but with dedication and patience, a dog with separation anxiety can overcome his fear and live life more normally and pet parents will feel relief from guilt and stress as the process grows their dog’s stability.
Outside of separation anxiety, there are other reasons behind a dog becoming naughty when left alone and those can be treated, as well.
Nothing in behavior is a quick-fix, but there are solutions when pet parents are on board with following protocol. There is hope. Contact me.
Please visit the Investment in Dog Training page as well.
By Helen Verte
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed, Certified Trick Dog Instructor
