The manifestation of dog separation anxiety does not often appear in one household to the other. There are vocalising dogs, there are door frame wrecking dogs and there are more subtle forms of distress such as lack of appetite or pacing which can be overlooked unless one is watching.
Development can be stalled by a mere reason: the good intentions of routine are unintentionally taught to the dog, he can no longer be left alone. These errors tend to be unspoken since they occur during normal departures, and not during a formal training session.
1. Waiting to address the problem until the dog is in full panic
The condition of the treatment of separation anxiety is based on maintaining the dog below the threshold so that the dog is calm enough to learn. Doing the training when the dog is already barking, trembling, drooling or trying to get out of it will only serve to entrench the fear rather than to eliminate it. One of the fundamental tenets of behavior change is gradual exposure coupled with comfort and going too intensively may lead to sensitization, in which the stimulus leads to an even stronger response in future. The dog will no longer accept treats or the dog is unable to settle and the session has already gone out of the productive learning zone.
2. Leaving for long stretches “to help the dog get used to it”
Frequent reexposure of a dog to extended, untrained absences may reverse good work. Separation plans will usually accumulate alone-time in small increments, rejoining prior to the onset of anxiety progressively. When a dog feels at ease during a brief time span, only to realize that the absence will be much longer, the dog will learn that the moments when there is calmness cannot always be depended upon to lead to a safe event.
Dogs must be monitored to not be outside alone during the retraining period without someone to assist them, as absences must be controlled in training programs, through family, neighbors assistance or by hiring a sitter.
3. Practicing “departure cues” so often that they become louder triggers
Separation is a deeper concern to most dogs, as keys, shoes and bags are sometimes important. Repeating a message, such as retrieving keys, the keys, repeat, repeat, etc. may be counterproductive as it helps the dog to maintain alertness but does not generate the actual trust in being alone. Other trainers say that cue-drilling in repetitions may do more to make the dog more reactive than to make the dog less reactive, in the situation where the dog remains unsafe during separation. The education by focusing on brief, effective absences teaches relaxation in a more direct manner than the constant cue practice can.
4. Returning when the dog is escalating, then accidentally rewarding the panic
When a dog learns that the behavior of barking, scratching or franticity provides a guaranteed way to get the person back, the behavior may become even stronger and more stubborn. Quiet is not the more practical goal, but an emotional stability: brief absences that should be terminated when the dog remains calm. As stress sets in, pacing, trembling, or nagging on, the plan usually must retreat to less challenging periods, restore sanity, and work at a slower pace instead of repeating the same stressful level.
5. Using punishment or visible disapproval after the fact
Punishing a dog after finding a mess when he is back does not help to understand what has already happened. Something can be learned as well: reunions are erratic and dangerous. Welfare agencies warn that displaying anger would make the next exit and return more anxiety-inducing and worsen the general cycle. It is particularly true in the case of the dogs whose distress begins within minutes of separation, in which case the behavior is already motivated by fear, and no longer by bad manners.
6. Assuming food toys will “fix it,” even when the dog cannot eat when alone
Some dogs, particularly mild ones can be helped using food puzzles because they associate something good with the alone-time. Nevertheless, the very anxious dogs might deny food altogether when absent. It is not a bad idea that a refusal to eat may be used as the demonstration of the distress and that the anxiety level of the dog is too much to allow such strategy to be used as the main support. In such instances, systematic desensitization and counterconditioning is still the basis, not an extended chew on its own.
7. Skipping medical rule-outs and mislabeling the behavior
Vocalizing, work on houses, and chewing may be caused in a variety of ways. Prior to enrolling in a separation anxiety plan, caregivers would advantage themselves by eliminating medical causes, including urinary difficulties and others that may cause accidents, and behavioral patterns, including lack of housetraining and boredom. Information on medical issues that must be ruled out first assists in the process of managing medical problems and avoid frustration associated with treating the wrong issue in the first place.
When there is an improvement in the separation anxiety, it normally occurs due to the use of peaceful and repeatable training which modifies the dog on how he feels when alone. That will be based on minor achievements, close monitoring, and regular handling of live absences. In the case of dogs whose distress is severe, professional assistance by a trained expert can be used to make the plan humane, measurable, and of a pace suitable.
