Separation anxiety in dogs is very common and most of them absolutely hate being left on their own without their owners. For dogs you are the center of their universe and when you leave to go to work or to go out, they will spend the day crying, and waiting for you to come home, and their anxiety will increase all the while until you walk through the door. This separation anxiety can’t be ignored and whilst it may be difficult to find a way around it, you have to at least try. I got some great tips from the team t the AV Veterinary Center, and this is what they told me about the importance of trying to help you dog.
Injuries
For intelligent creatures dogs sometimes don’t act very clever and this can result in them getting themselves injured. To give you an example my little pooch learned that he could open the door if he jumped and bit down on the door handle. When we put him in the bedroom he would try and do this and we would come home to see some blood on the door handle. Eventually we took the handle off becasue we were worried that he was going to lose a tooth! The pint is that when dogs get really anxious becasue they are missing you, they could easily do something which causes them damage, which is of course the last thing that anyone wants.
Damage to The Home
Dogs have no sense of value and that is why when they get anxious they can start to find ways to really cause chaos in the home, this could be scratching at doors, biting handles, chewing up cushions and clothing or even taking on larger items. I have personally lost at least 3 handbags thanks to my little monster, handbags which were not cheap I may add. The point is that it is not just about the dog but also about your home, and that deserves to be protected as well.
Going Away
It is impossible to be with your dog at all times and when you go on vacation they are going to find it to be very traumatic. This is why separation anxiety should be addressed as soon as you can because at some stage you are going to have to leave them alone for an extended period of time, and the last thing that you want is them gong crazy with anxiety for 2 weeks.
There are many ways in which you can try to reduce the amount of anxiety which your dog feels when they are not there and whilst some may not work, there are numerous options which you can keep trying that will have the effect of reducing how bad they feel when their owners are not there for a while. Give whatever you can a try in order to reduce their anxiety.
