Experts say dogs experience “separation anxiety” a lot like children
Have you ever seen a dog looking sad when their owner leaves the house? Lots of dogs are sad to be left alone. Experts say that dogs experience “separation anxiety” a lot like children. For some dogs, though, it’s much more intense, and that can cause serious headaches for their owners. What causes a dog to feel anxious to be left alone? We spoke to an expert as well as the owner of a dog who seriously struggles to be home alone.
Her owner leaves, and Nana the Shiba Inu starts to pace the living room. Before a minute has passed, she tries to open the door.
Where’s everyone gone? Nana is feeling anxious and tries desperately to break down the door, then bites at the lock. But this door won’t budge and her owner isn’t back yet.
But he does return, in less than five minutes. He finds Nana shaking all over and panting. It’s hard to see her in this state and he gives her lots of reassuring pats.
Whenever Nana’s owner is out, she tries to break the door, gnaws at the shoe rack and even chews holes in the walls. She broke this stainless-steel door mechanism – but it broke her tooth in the process. When the wall was damaged, nails were revealed, so her owner has covered it with tape to try to prevent her getting hurt.
Nana is four and a half years old and it’s been this way since she was about one. Her owner feels helpless. But when he went to an expert for advice, he learned that Nana has separation anxiety.
Owner of Nana the dog
She starts getting anxious before I go out. She bites the door, she might open the door, bite the wall or the shoe rack or anything at all. When it’s really bad, she pees and poos everywhere. One time, she appeared at the top of the balcony, and we were very worried she might jump down.
Hsiao-shan
Pet behavior trainer
If a dog moves house a lot as a puppy, that experience can make them feel insecure. Secondly, it’s very related to the personality of the dog. If they’re more dependent on their owner, and they’ve been together a long time, when the owner leaves, they’ll have a stronger feeling of anxiety. We ask owners to have a railing at the door, and separate it off. When the owner leaves, they have to go through a second door to finally leave, which means their dog won’t see them disappearing in front of them.
A dog’s separation anxiety can be related to their personality, environment, or life experiences. This expert says that a few techniques can help relieve it. But ultimately, dogs are a lot like children. It takes thoughtful attention to find ways to help them feel safe and happy.
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2024-08-06
