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Separation Anxiety And Your Dog
Your dog is behaving badly, inappropriately chewing items around the house, and your neighbor complains your dog barks obsessively while you’re away. So, obviously your dog suffers with separation anxiety. Can your dog spend the night away from you? Is your dog comfortable lying out of your sight in another room, or spending time sniffing around alone in the backyard? If yes to any of these situations, it is unlikely your dog has separation anxiety, and more likely has a case of severe boredom, and is inappropriately playing out a few bad habits. On the other hand, if your dog displays dramatic behavioral problems, and is overcome with extreme panic and fear within short periods of time (generally 20–40 minutes) from when left alone, then chances are your dog has true separation anxiety. It is important to be able to identify the signs and symptoms of this troubling fear response, because separation anxiety and the behaviors it provokes are extremely stressful not only for you and your neighbor, but even more so for your dog. True dog separation anxiety results from certain situations. Although its difficult to understand why some dogs suffer from separation anxiety and other dogs in similar situations don't, it is however important to realize the dog’s destructive behavior is not intended to punish or seek revenge for being left alone, but rather it is an involuntary panic responses brought on by fear and anxiety of being separated from you. There are also times when fear is the direct result of an event that a dog views as traumatic, such as an extended stay at a shelter or boarding kennel, or sudden changes in household routines or structure such as different work hours, moving into a new home, or the addition/loss of a pet or person in the house. Chewing, digging, and scratching at doors or windows are usually associated with a dog’s attempt to escape to find their owner. Dogs howling, barking, or whining usually are begging for their owners to return. If your dog is urinating and defecating (even housetrained dogs) these are signs of utter distress. Once the source of anxiety is properly identified, the factors that trigger the behavior can be addressed, making the dog feel safe and loved at home. Remember your dog only wants to please you, and wants to be happy. Happy dogs are behaved dogs, so the faster you can determine what is causing the unwanted behavior, the happier you and your dog will be. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Lexi Rutter writes for Calming Dog for more information on dogs check out: Dogs |
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