Intense periods of togetherness can sometimes lead to an increase in dog behaviour issues. Whether you’ve just brought a new puppy home, fostered a dog from a shelter, or simply spent more time with your existing companion, a sudden change in routine can be confusing for a dog. This can lead to overstimulation and, in some cases, the development of problem behaviours, especially when you begin to spend more time away from home.
The good news is that most problematic dog behaviours can be addressed with a little understanding of how a dog sees the world, along with a few simple daily strategies – even if they don’t look connected to begin with, you’ll find that everything in dog behaviour is connected to everything else. You can start working on these strategies right away to help your dog remain calm and avoid separation anxiety in the future.
Start the Day Peacefully
Begin your day by not acknowledging any overly excited behaviour. Instead, only acknowledge your dog when they are calm. If you want a gentle cuddle, you should be the one to initiate it by calling your dog to you. If your dog is too excitable at first, simply have your breakfast without acknowledging them and try again once they have settled.
Work on Calm Walking
A dog that pulls on the lead is a dog that feels responsible for leading the walk, rather than enjoying the walk with you. Work on walking calmly together on a loose lead. This helps reinforce that you are in charge of the direction and pace, which can reduce your dog’s overall feeling of responsibility.
Encourage Rest and Relaxation
When at home, make sure the balance of activity and rest is appropriate. Without our intervention, canines would naturally choose to rest and relax most of the time, with short bursts of activity like hunting or playing. Any dog that struggles to settle down needs calm and consistent reminders that resting is a healthy and happy way to live.
The Art of the “Gesture Leave”
Once you’ve established a more peaceful routine, you can begin to directly and effectively ensure your dog does not suffer from separation anxiety. You need to build times into your day when you and your dog are not in the same room.
The goal is to teach your dog that your absence is not a reason to panic. Start this process by building up a tolerance to being left alone. Without looking at your dog or saying goodbye, simply walk out of the room and close the door behind you. To prevent distress, walk back in after a few moments and resume what you were doing without making eye contact with the dog. This is a crucial step.
This is a ritual known as a Gesture Leave. Continue to practice these short episodes, gradually making them a little longer. Use different rooms and areas. For example, walk out the back door and come back in, or do the same with the front door. Even if you live in a small apartment or an open-plan house, there is always a door somewhere, like the bathroom. There are no excuses for not practicing this essential ritual.
As you both become more proficient, you can add potential triggers like jingling your keys, locking/unlocking the door, or putting on a coat or different shoes – all without looking at or speaking to your dog. This shows them that these actions are not a cause for concern.
A Note on Food
Never leave your dog with food in the hopes that they won’t notice you’re leaving. From a safety perspective, this is a bad idea – think of choking hazards or damage to furniture if the dog tries to get a treat that has rolled under something. It is also important to understand the symbolic nature of food in canine behavior. We should always be in charge of the food, not leaving them to decide what to do with it and when… ever left your dog with food and he/she only eats it when you come back in?
Understanding Separation Anxiety
Understanding why a dog suffers from separation anxiety will help you resolve the issue. Canines are a group-living species, and like all pack animals, they instinctively recognise and require a level of structure within that group. When they become confused about their role, they often feel responsible for looking after everyone else.
This feeling of responsibility is key to understanding most problem behaviours, including separation anxiety. If a dog feels responsible for you, yet is prevented from coming with you, they panic. Separation anxiety is not due to boredom or protesting. It comes from the dog feeling so out of control of the group they believe they should be looking after that they chew to relieve stress or bark and howl to try and bring you back. In some cases, a dog may urinate or defecate to scent-mark the domain so that it’s easier for the “pack” to find their way home.
By seeing the situation from the canine perspective, you can ultimately resolve this problem and remove the feeling of responsibility from their shoulders. We owe it to our incredible family members to show them, through rituals like the Gesture Leave, that they have nothing to panic about.
