SEPARATION ANXIETY IN CANINES–CAUSES AND TREATMENTS

“My dog has never enjoyed being left alone and has had a tendency to whine and make a fuss when I leave the house, but over the last year, her anxiety seems to have become unmanageable for her. I often come home to find that she’s destroyed some thing, chewed a cushion or shoes to pieces. I get an almost hysterical welcome when I come in. She doesn’t have to be left a lot, because I work at home, so my absences tend to be for two or three hours in the evening. Can I make things easier for her and why has this anxiety arisen?” Separation anxiety is common and there is a range of theories as to its underlying cause. Some behavioralists believe that it’s a sign that a dog aspires to be the leader of your pack and finds the fact that she has no control over your movements when you go out…difficult. The rationale goes that the dog becomes anxious because she doesn’t even know where her human is, much less being able to manage him or her. Others think it is just that a dog finds it lonely and boring to be without any company. How easy it is to ease a pet’s anxiety depends on their personality. And remember–they are PACK animals, and by nature were meant to have company (so a second pet c...