UNDERSTANDING CANINE SEPARATION ANXIETY

Dogs, as descendants of wolves, are social animals. As social animals they form cooperative groups through which they can increase survivability via more efficient hunting, defense, and rearing of offspring. In order to maintain group cohesion, canines have an innate need to form attachments to the other members of their group. For the wild or feral canine, a group consists of other canines, but for the domestic canine humans typically comprise the group. Thus, the formation of attachment between the domestic dog and its humans is a fundamental and essential part of its existence. In fact, the creation of this bond is one of the main reasons dogs have become domesticated.

To encourage and strengthen attachment, dogs experience distress when they are separated from all other members of the group. The distress response is characterized by increased vocalization, futile activity such as pacing, panting, salivating, destructive behavior, urination, and defecation. Often, a frantic attempt to return to the group by destroying perceived obstacles also occurs. This distress response is present from birth, as is evidenced in the response of a puppy taken away from its mother and littermates, and remains throughout life.

In the wild or feral state, dogs are never separated from every other member of the pack. They may divide into smaller groups or pairs or one may be left behind to care for the puppies, but never is a pack member not with at least one other member of the pack for any significant length of time. Unfortunately, modern human society necessitates in most households that dogs be left alone at least part, if not most, of the day. Many dogs adjust to this separation LEARNING to suppress the distress response. Independent breeds and independent individual dogs learn to do this more easily. Other dogs because of a more dependent inherent personality, prolonged human contact as a puppy with a subsequent sudden separation, a previous abandonment, a frightening experience when alone, etc., continue to display this NORMAL canine response to separation.

It is important to stress that the distress response to separation is a normal canine response. Dogs that do not express this response have learned to suppress it. A dog exhibiting distress upon separation is simply an untaught dog not an abnormal or behaviourally aberrant animal. Let me stress this again -- DOGS DISPLAYING DISTRESS UPON SEPARATION ARE NOT BEING DISOBEDIENT OR BEHAVING ABERRANTLY. THEY ARE DISPLAYING NORMAL CANINE REACTIONS TO BEING ALONE.

Even though it is a normal canine behavior, it is an unacceptable behavior in today's household because of the stress upon the dog , the risk of self-inflicted injury, the destruction to the dog's environment, and the impossibility in most situations for the dog to never be left alone. The behavior term that is given to this distress response in modern veterinary behaviour medicine is separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is characterized by a variety of behaviours that occur when the dog is alone or in the process of being left alone. There are also associated behavior that occur when the owner is with the dog. Some of the more common characteristics of separation anxiety are barking, whining, pacing, panting, salivating, inappropriate urination and defecation, depression, refusal to eat, and destructive behavior when left alone. Often the destruction occurs at windows and doors, ie, places of egress from the house. Oftentimes these behaviors will start as the owner prepares to leave -- the sound of keys, certain articles of clothing like shoes, picking up a briefcase, etc. are all signals that the dog has come to associate with the owner leaving and these events will initiate the behaviors. Some dogs even go so far as to try to prevent the owner from leaving even to the point of aggression. Typically, dogs experiencing separation anxiety will display excessive greeting behaviour as well as constant attention-seeking behaviours. The key to differentiating separation anxiety from the merely destructive, barking, or improperly housetrained pet is when the behaviours occur. Usually, dogs with separation anxiety are model dogs -- very obedient, housebroken, and nondestructive -- when not alone.

If constant companionship is not an option as is typically the case, then what can be done? Dogs must be taught that separation is a normal part of their life and that the distress response that accompanies separation needs to be suppressed. In addition, preventative measures can be taken to encourage independence and facilitate the suppression of the distress response when separated. The old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is very applicable with separation anxiety. Many times, households acquire a puppy or new dog at times when they will be home for extended periods of time such as summer vacation when children are out of school, holidays when adults are not at work, etc. The puppy or dog has constant companionship and then suddenly it is alone for 8-10 hours a day. It has not been prepared or taught how to be alone. Is it any wonder that the puppy or dog experiences distress? Therefore, starting the first day the puppy or dog is brought home it should spend time alone. The "time-out" preferably should involve something wonderful like a new toy, chew, or bone in order to equate being alone with something pleasant. The length of time and intervals between being left alone should be varied and gradually increased to the length of time that the puppy or dog will be routinely left alone. It is also imperative to resist the temptation of making a big production out of leaving and returning. A simple pat on the head and a treat is a sufficient good-bye and hello. In addition, constant attention-seeking is a sign that the individual dog is more prone to displaying separation anxiety. Extra care must be taken to teach these dogs to be more independent and tolerate being left alone.

Once separation anxiety has developed and become established, it is a very long and time-consuming process to eliminate the behaviour. The dog must be TAUGHT to suppress the normal distress response to separation. To do so, training exercises must be implemented to give the dog a default behaviour to do instead of exhibiting the distress response. The most common default behaviour is the sit-relax or down-relax behaviour. The goal is to teach the dog to relax, rewarding calm behaviour and thereby replacing the distress with relaxation. Once the dog has been taught to relax in a non-stress situation, the level of stress in the situation is gradually increased with the continued relaxed behaviour rewarded and reinforced. For example, initially the dog would sit-relax with the owner beside it, then the owner would move to the end of the leash, then across the room, then to the next room, then out the door and back inside, then out the door for 10 sec, 1 min, 5 min, etc. This slow, gradual training process continues until the dog can be left alone and remain relaxed for the desired period of time. To facilitate the process by relieving some of the anxiety, Clomicalm (drug name chlomipramine) is often given. The drug does not eliminate or cure the behavior it merely facilitates and enhances the real cure which is the training process. Like any behaviour, the longer and more intensely a dog exhibits separation anxiety the slower and more difficult will be the training process to eliminate the behavior. Treating separation anxiety is very time-consuming, labor-intensive, and often frustrating. But the reward of achieving a distress-free dog is well worth the time, energy, and effort.