Separation Anxiety In Dogs Part One: Coping With Separation Anxiety

November 1, 2009 · Filed Under Behavioral Problems

People do not see separation anxiety in dogs as a form of aggression; however if left untreated it can turn into aggression. Nothing is better than forming a tight relationship with your pet. As a matter of fact that is why most people become dog lovers; they love that tight bond that grows between them and their canine friend.

However what do you do when your dog becomes too dependant on you and when you leave to work or leave the house for any reason and they begin barking uncontrollably, digging at the bottom of the door or even soiling in the house? Some people tend to see it as cute because their dog loves them so much and misses them while they are gone; however this is not good behavior and separation anxiety in dogs should always be addressed and corrected right away.

Dogs are pack animals and they see you as the leader of their pack. Therefore when you leave the home they have absolutely no idea if you are coming back. This is what triggers separation anxiety in dogs and this unfortunately affects 10% of the household pets.

This links to behavioral problems in dogs and unfortunately many owners have no idea what to do with their dog so they end up giving them up to shelters. They usually make this decision once the dog has torn up the house from their aggressive behavior.

While this is not an easy dog problem to solve; however if you want to maintain a good relationship with your canine friend it is necessary to find out why they are experiencing this problem. The good that is that with the proper obedience training and love you can help you dog cope with this problem.

Once you help your dog understand that you are not leaving for good and that you will be back they will better understand that you are just leaving for a while. So you may be wondering how do you make your dog understand that you are coming back? Well I will be covering that in my next article; so make sure that you come back and find out how to solve separation anxiety in dogs and what you can begin doing to help your pet understand you are not abandoning them.