Dog Separation Anxiety Cures

Separation anxiety can take some time to cure

Of all the questions that get asked about dog separation anxiety, here’s a very common one from a dog owner in Holland that is probably on the minds of just about everyone trying to cure separation anxiety in dogs. It goes as follows:

My question is how much time it will take before the anxiety problem of the dog is solved and is it true that I can’t leave my dog alone at home at all while I am working on this problem?

Actually there are two questions here, so I’ll answer part one – how much time will it take to solve my dog’s separation anxiety – by quoting the famous English phrase:

“How long is a piece of string?”

How quickly or slowly a dog overcomes separation anxiety depends on it’s personality, the opportunities for learning and of course the owner. These three variables mean that there is no definite time, which actually is a good thing.

Now I realise that everyone wants dog behaviour problems gone as soon as possible, but it’s all too common for people to put themselves under undue pressure, believing that there should be a time limit. This has an adverse effect in that it will make the owner feels more anxious, not less. Please don’t torture yourself with questions like “why hasn’t this worked yet?” You’ll feel a failure, decide that the training doesn’t work and give up easily.

The problems of dog separation anxiety probably developed over a long period of time – so equally it might take a little time for them to disappear.

Time Pressure Will Increase Your Stress and Your Dogs Anxiety

Another downside of putting yourself under time pressure is that the dog will pick up on your stress and it will inevitably take more time to sort out because they will react badly to the added stress factor. In short, relax and know that there is no pressure, but trust that it will happen. Ironically, it could help shorten the training time needed.

And it will work, as long as you are consistent and persistent, and give your dog the right messages because there are examples of many cases where it has.

Can You Leave Dog Alone?

To answer the secondly part of the question, we must be practical here. Although I understand it is not easy to leave a dog in distress, if it was the case that you cannot leave your dog alone until it has overcome its separation anxiety, you may get fired from work!

The main thing to remember here is to make a start on reducing the anxiety and start creating an environment for the dog to learn, so when you do have some free time (i.e. an evening or weekend), then you can put in some extra time to showing your dog the right information.

If you need to find out more about dog anxiety, sign up for the report on dog anxiety symptoms by entering your details in the box on the right. If you’re looking for a training programme specifically aimed at getting rid of separation anxiety in dogs, click on the link.