2013年9月17日星期二

Dog Separation Anxiety Symptoms | Dog Training Blog




How to Spot Symptoms of Separation Anxiety in Dogs




November 27, 2011 by Venice Marriott  
Filed under Pets






While as much as 50% of dogs appear to be exhibiting signs of separation anxiety according to a recent survey, few dog owners are aware of what the symptoms of separation anxiety in dogs are, let alone how to spot them early on.


Of the many forms that dog anxiety can take, the hardest symptoms to miss are the extreme ones such as your dog being destructive while you’re out. If they’ve chewed up your furniture or scratched your paintwork to pieces, its difficult to miss! Yet more subtle symptoms, such as your dog following you around the house all day like your permanent shadow may go unnoticed.


Don’t Dismiss Symptoms of Separation Anxiety As Bad Dog Behaviour


Lots of dogs suffering from separation anxiety are just labelled as badly behaved by their owners who aren’t aware of how many different ways that anxiety can show itself in dogs.


A dog that chews up the owners belongings, or pees or poops in the house is often thought to be doing it deliberately so that the owners will think twice before leaving them home alone again. This results in them being thought of as badly behaved dogs rather than dogs suffering from separation anxiety.


With the root cause of anxiety undiagnosed, dog owners are unlike to approach the behaviour problems in the right way and could easily end up making the situation worse.


Desperate dog owners, unable to solve their dogs behaviour problems are increasingly handing their dogs in to rescue centres because they cannot work out how to bring the situation under control.


Don’t Confuse Your Dogs Attention Seeking Behavior with Anxiety


One of the problems that owners face when trying to identify symptoms of dog anxiety arises from the fact that the dogs attention seeking behaviour can look identical to separation anxiety behaviour. The differences are very subtle.


For instance, a dog urinating in the house could mean one of 3 things:


*A clear sign of anxiety


*Attention seeking bit of behaviour


*A direct challenge to your leadership and status with the dog


The clue here is whether the dog does this behaviour while you’re in the house, or out. If the dog is peeing in the house while the owner is around, it is most likely to be attention seeking, or a gesture of dominance. However if it only does it while you’re out and is clean while you’re in, you’re looking at a symptom of anxiety.


All dogs are different, which means the kind of behaviour they show will differ too, so the only way to correctly identify anxiety is to watch your dog carefully for a while. For example, notice whether they are chewing your favourite shoes while you’re around and can see them, or only when you’ve left them alone. Remember that even negative attention like you being cross is still attention to your dog.


Symptoms to watch out for include excessive barking, whining or howling while you’re out, destructive behaviour such as scratching at doors and furniture, chewing everything in sight, or peeing and pooping in the house.


Arm Yourself with the Correct Information About Dog Anxiety and Make A Big Difference to Your Dog


Don’t stop here. Learn more about the most widely recognised symptoms of separation anxiety in dogs, and understand why your dog is behaving as he does and what the behaviour means, then you’ll be able to start sorting out this problem – and your dogs behaviour – from a firm basis.


Unfortunately, dog separation anxiety is not a problem that will disappear on its own, even if you give it plenty of time, so you need to take action now. The encouraging news is that with the right training this problem is not a difficult one to solve.


Tony Knight has been training dogs for over 10 years and has used his recogniseing of achievements helping many dogs and their owners, to create a free report to help you recognise dog anxiety symptoms. Get your copy by visiting his blog which is all about Dog Anxiety


categories:







没有评论:

发表评论