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Avoiding Separation
Anxiety-”HOME ALONE!”
If you own a dog, you’re one of at
least 63 million Americans who share their lives with canines.
However, most of these households are also empty during the
day, leaving the family dog home alone.
Dogs are not naturally solitary animals,
so when they’re left alone, they may exhibit annoying or
destructive behaviors. If your dog becomes aggressive toward
you when you try to leave the house or if she chews, digs,
house soils, or barks excessively when you’re gone,
she’s suffering from separation anxiety. Obtaining
another companion animal to keep her company probably
won’t work. It’s your absence, not the lack of
another animal, that is causing her anxiety.
How can you help your dog? First,
don’t punish her. Dogs associate punishment with what
they are doing the instant it is administered. When you come
home and punish your dog (for something she did earlier), she
will think the punishment is for what she was doing the moment
you became angry, which was enthusiastically greeting you.
Second, change your behaviors or routine.
Your dog’s anxiety begins when you indicate through your
actions that you’re about to leave without her. To get
your dog accustomed to your leaving, pick up your keys and walk
towards the door, but don’t leave the house. Do this
several times until your dog no longer exhibits anxious
behavior.
The next step is to leave the house for a
few minutes at a time. Gradually increase these planned
absences so that your dog never has a chance to show any
separation anxiety. When you return, greet your dog briefly
(don’t gush) and return to normal activities. This
training may take some time, but it’s a worthwhile
effort.
This information is provided with
permission from American Humane Association,
63 Inverness Drive East, Englewood, CO
80112.
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