Changing Your Dog’s Fear of Being Alone
Canine separation anxiety (more accurately, separation related problems) is a phobia of being left alone. There are a few other reasons your dog may exhibit problem behavior when left alone, like frustration. Frustration will be the subject of another post. What I want to talk about here is how fear and/or anxiety manifest in outward behaviors, and how you could be missing your dog’s early warning signs.
Here is a human scenario:
Two people are riding an elevator to the 30th floor. Between the 24th and 25th floors, the elevator grinds to a halt and the lights dim. Person A is terrified. They punch all the buttons, try to pull the doors apart, scream for help, and go into full panic when no one answers the emergency bell. Eventually, this person collapses on the floor and cries.
Meanwhile, Person B is staring at their cellphone, moving it around, trying to get a better signal.
Which person is “more upset?” Is Person A more upset because they are shaking and crying? Is Person B calm because they aren’t shaking or crying?
Ahhh, but is Person B calm? Look closer at Person B: their hands may be slightly trembling, beads of sweat are forming above their lip, they are clearing their throat and tapping a toe. If we interviewed Person B later, they might say, “I was totally panicked. My brain was going a mile a minute and I was trying to get a signal to call 911. I’ve never been so terrified in my life, but was willing myself to stay calm.”
Can you guess this dog’s emotional state?
Some dogs experiencing fear may behave like Person A: when their owner leaves they begin to bark, race back and forth, scratch at the door, urinate, and shake until the owner returns. Dogs like Person B may appear relatively calm. Maybe they stand at the door and stare for minutes…and then suddenly explode into barking and howling. There are no degrees of severity. Both dogs are terrified of being alone.
So, how do we work with these different types of dogs? By reading their body language and, in particular, reading their micro-behaviors. What are micro-behaviors? They are tiny behaviors (usually, facial) that indicate a dog may be becoming uncomfortable. Some of these behaviors are: wide and/or blinking eyes, yawning, tongue flicks, ear placement, furrowed brow. By working in very small steps, always paying close attention to the dog’s comfort levels via body language, we are able to desensitize dogs to pre-departure cues and the owner leaving, without ever going over-threshold.
There’s one more point I want to make, so let’s go back to our two friends trapped in the elevator. After 20 minutes, a technician shows up and opens the elevator doors. Both are flooded with relief. It is likely that both have developed an uneasy feeling about elevators. They may avoid elevators for a while and, at least, will feel a spike in anxiety if riding an elevator and it stops (even briefly). What they probably don’t think is, “Everything is OK. The technician will be here in 20 minutes, I can relax.” Your dog is the same. Your dog is not thinking “Well, my human always comes back, so I’m OK. I don’t need to be afraid.” Fear and anxiety usually get worse without addressing the issue, and can harm your dog’s overall health and wellbeing.
The most effective strategies for treating your dog’s separation related behaviors:
Make sure the dog’s needs are met
Make arrangements for your dog to not be left alone while working on their SA
Learn to read your dog’s micro-behaviors that indicate stress
Use systematic desensitization to train your dog
Hire a trainer/behaviorist/veterinary behaviorist that specializes in SA to help you create a training plan, and avoid/overcome obstacles and regressions
If you have any questions or comments about any of the above, please leave a comment below, or email us at jennifer@separationanxietyspecialists.com We’d love to hear from you!
