Many dogs cope well with being left alone for both short and extended periods of time. They will usually find a favourite spot and go to sleep. Others can find being left alone very stressful will show their stress through one or more behaviours. It is essential to remember that your dog is not being willful, destructive or naughty, so no matter how annoying it is to come home and find yet another puddle on the floor or your wallpaper shredded, remember he is simply performing behaviours that are his way of coping with the stress.
Behaviours may include chewing, barking, salivating, urinating, defecating, vomiting or even attempts to escape by chewing through walls, scratching through doors, breaking out of cages or trying to dig their way out. In extreme cases, the dog can become ill, stop eating, or suffer from depression or even hurt itself in its frenzy to escape.
Possible Causes
There are various reasons why a dog may develop separation anxiety. Factors include genetics, early learning, lack of training and owner behaviour.
Dogs are social, pack animal that rely on the others for individual protection by safety in numbers. This naturally sets them up to be worried about being left alone. Add to that the nature of the staffie – a breed that’s so human focussed, so needing of love and attention – and it’s not a surprise that separation anxiety is not uncommon.
Training is the key
Whether you have a dog who already suffers from separation anxiety or a puppy you would like to ensure doesn’t develop the problem, thoughtful training is the solution. He won’t just ‘grow out of it’ or ‘get used to it’. Separation anxiety only gets worse for being ignored.
Like any fear training, it can take time. Fear is a deep rooted part of the survival instinct, it can be hard to let it go. So above all, don’t rush it and be patient.
The ideal time to tackle separation anxiety is when you have some days ahead of you where you won’t leave your dog alone, as the fear felt when you leave may set things back (you told me it would be ok and now it isn’t). If you can’t take time off work, use a weekend and start training on the Friday evening to give yourselves two clear days.
1. Make sure your dog is settled. Pick a time like just after a walk but avoid getting your him excited with play. Just before a meal is good, as you’ll be using food and a hungry dog can be more motivated. As you will be using a lot of treats you may want to cut down on meals or even feed most of the meal during training.
2. Without making a big fuss, throw a small handful of the yummiest treats you can think of, walk out of the door and come straight back in. Don’t close the door or anything, just walk out and straight back in. The idea is that your dog goes for the treats and you’re back before he has time to react. Ignore your dog as you do so, regardless of what he does. No praise, no reassurance, just quietly ignore. Leaving = yummy treats, coming back = nothing to get excited about. Repeat that at least twice more but go no further. Do another session in a while, maybe half an hour later, exactly the same thing. Repeat this in quick, 5 minute sessions, until your dog is not worried that you’ve gone out of the room.
3. When step 2 is fine, then do exactly the same thing but count to 3 before you come back in. Again, don’t yet close the door, just go in and out as above but with a slight delay in coming back. You will know if your dog’s accepting because the door is open, he can come to you if he can’t cope.
4. Now it’s time to close the door but, as before, come straight back in again. Closing the door is can be a big signal to a dog and also you won’t now be able to see him, so it’s worth taking your time here. Repeat it until boredom rather than rush.
5. From this point you can start building up the time you leave, but very, very slowly. Leave for 3 seconds, then 5, then 10. Throw a bigger handful of treats as you leave for longer so it takes longer for him to find and eat them. Scatter them across the room maybe. You will be able to see if your dog is accepting by how many treats are left, if any. If food is a stronger motivator than worry, you’re doing ok.
6. If this is all going well, you just continue building it up, always keeping within the bounds of what your dog can just cope with and resisting the urge to push ahead too quickly. When it gets to the point that you’re leaving for longer than seconds, it might be an idea to switch from scattered treats to something that takes longer, such as a stuffed Kong.
It can sometimes help to leave a voice radio station or soothing music on. However, don’t only switch this on before you leave or your dog may start to associate it with you leaving. In fact, it’s a good idea to try and avoid patterns to your leaving while training is still in progress as these can trigger anxiety before you’ve even got to the door.
It might also be an idea to leave some sort of video recording going while training is in progress so that you can see how your dog is responding – just your phone would be enough. If he’s relaxed you may be able to push ahead a little more quickly, if he’s anxious you may need to slow things down.
Separation anxiety can resurface so even when you feel training is complete, do keep an eye out for tell-tale signs of its return. It’s also a good idea to keep up with food association for a while, just a few treats or a Kong, to help eliminate negative anticipation.
|
A Staffy-bull-terrier Frequently Asked Questions |
|
|
Status : 
