What is Separation Anxiety?

Separation anxiety in dogs can be a complex, debilitating issue. It can make you feel trapped in your own home, put strain on your relationships with your neighbours or landlords, cost a fortune in property damage, or even cause you to need to rehome your dog. To best address a problem of this magnitude, we need to understand it; what is separation anxiety, and what does it look like?

Separation anxiety is a clinical diagnosis, which means only a veterinarian is qualified to diagnose. For convenience and ease of understanding, we use ‘separation anxiety’ as an umbrella term to refer to dogs who experience distress when left alone and exhibit a number of problematic behaviours.

These behaviours may consist of any or all of the following: barking, howling, or whining; having accidents despite being housetrained; excessive pacing, panting, or drooling; destructive behaviour; attempts to escape confinement or even the house; shaking or trembling; and even self-harming behaviours. Not only can these behaviours be costly, frustrating, and disruptive, but they are also indicative of a dog who is experiencing significant distress, which is the last thing that you want for a beloved family member.

Separation anxiety is a panic disorder. The behaviours we see are a result of a dog who is not in control of their own behaviour; they are experiencing a fear that is as real and debilitating to them as any human phobia, and are just trying to find a way to cope. While some of these behaviours such as destructivity and housetraining accidents could be due to another reason that is not separation anxiety, dogs never engage in these behaviours out of spite, anger, or revenge.

It’s so important to be able to recognize what separation anxiety could look like and what it truly is and is not. Once we understand the underlying processes of our dogs’ behaviour, we can address it with an effective, compassionate, evidence-based approach.

Does your dog experience distress when left alone? Do you want your freedom back and to stop wasting time and money on techniques that won’t work? The training protocol that all CSATs use is based on principles that have been proven effective for decades, and has helped thousands of dogs overcome isolation distress. You can book a free call today to discuss your dog and learn more about the protocol!