Monday, February 7, 2011

Do You Want To Find Out About Dog With Separation Anxiety?

By Alex Colin


Dogs, like people, suffer from separation anxiety. They don't like to be left alone. According to experts, separation anxiety is mostly panic reaction. The strange behavioral patterns demonstrated by some dogs when left alone at home for long periods, point towards separation anxiety.

If you feel you've got a dog with separation anxiety, check for the subsequent distress signals and behavioral patterns when left alone: dangerous behavior like chewing and scratching door frames, cushions etc, extreme salivation, howling or whining along with other similar reactions, some dogs display sadness when they know their owner is going away for a while, some dogs react anxiously when their owners return. You can be sure that your dog is suffering from separation anxiety if he shows any or all of the aforementioned symptoms.

Normally dogs won't display such patterns however the dogs that get a lot of love and care from their owner in the early stages are much more prone to display such symptoms when left alone. Dogs that were separated early from their litter, or treated badly when they were pup, etc also display distress and anxiety more often.

Dogs that are not allowed by their owners to associate, play and fight with other dogs are more prone to develop distress symptoms on being left alone. Dogs are pack animals, they have an intrinsic need for companions, with out which they feel lonely.

Confining your dog to your house is always a bad idea. It is imperative that you take your dog out for regular walks, let him loose in parks and let him play with other dogs. A lonely dog is a dog with separation anxiety.

You have to realize that symptoms of distress exhibited by dogs on being separated or left alone are sometimes similar to that of anger but what actually your dog is telling you is that it panics and feels anxious when left alone. It is helpful to tone down the smothering, let your dog be himself. Punishing the dog for its behavior doesn't really help, after all, your dog was anxious because he felt that you left him.




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