Top Three Things to Do if Your Dog Has Separation Anxiety
Finding out your dog is suffering from separation anxiety can be overwhelming. There is already an existing emotional toll on the guardian, who knows their dog is suffering and doesn’t know how to help. These existing feelings become more overwhelming when you realize how much advice exists for this behavior, and don’t know where to even begin.
We recently did a live with DogKind Training on the three things we recommend prioritizing if your dog has separation anxiety. If you implement these changes immediately, you’re well on your way to helping your dog feel better about being left home alone. You can catch our tips, plus a short Q&A, in this video.
REDUCE AND MANAGE STRESS
At it’s core, separation-related behaviors stem from emotional regulation challenges. Improving our dog’s emotional well-being starts with reducing their every day stress levels. To recognize stress in your dog, you need to learn how to speak their language. There are so many resources on learning how to listen to your dog, but we particularly love:
Doggie Language by Lili Chin
The Basics of Dog Body Language - Free Course by Bravo Dog Behaviour
Understanding the environments and triggers that create stress for your dog is the first step toward reducing and managing that stress. When our dogs experience less daily stress, they have more of their emotional regulation skills available for other stressors, like alone time.
Separation anxiety dogs experience toxic stress when they are left home alone. Managing absences is imperative if you want them to develop coping skills for alone time. You can read all about the importance of absence suspension here.
Reducing and managing stress is the best first step you can take if your dog is suffering with separation-related behaviors. Once stress is reduced, learning can take place.
GO AT YOUR DOG’S PACE
When you do start exposing your dog to alone time, you have to start small and go at their pace. What version of being left alone is your dog currently able to cope with? Strip the absence down into its smallest parts. If your dog’s stress starts before you even get out the door, get rid of the things that are cueing your departure - like keys, shoes, purses, and sunglasses.
Many dogs begin training with simple door interaction exercises. Simply approaching, touching, and/or opening the door can begin to start the stress response in some dogs with separation anxiety. Go slow, and if your dog is uncomfortable, go even slower. It should feel like your dog is bored when you begin re-introducing alone time at a pace they can handle.
LEAN ON YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM
Build up a community of reliable sitters, friends, family members, daycare, and/or medical specialists to get you and your dog through this. This is not going to be easy, or fast. You’re going to need help. The more people you can get involved in your dog’s care, the better. While managing absences is important, so is your own well-being. Throughout this process it is important you can still do the things that fulfill you, like going to the gym, to concerts, and out to dinner. It’s even better knowing your dog is having an absolute blast with whoever you leave them with.
To keep living your life, you need a variety of options to help manage absences for your dog. Having multiple people that are willing to hang out with your dog makes it so much easier to keep doing all the things you love, even while you’re working on alone time comfort. We can’t put a timeline on your dog’s recovery from separation anxiety, so it’s important that you make this sustainable for the long-term.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Sharing your life with a dog who struggles with separation-related behavior is incredibly hard. You’re going to embark on a pretty incredible journey with lots of up and downs. We hope these three tips can provide you with the foundation that your future success gets built upon.