Separation Anxiety in Dogs

How to help a dog with separation anxiety

Dog-human relationship

How a dog separation anxiety cure can also cure your health problems

by 1 Comment

Did you know that curing your dogs separation anxiety can also have health benefits for you?

In a study, Professor Stephen Blair at the University of South Carolina found that low level of fitness was the strongest predictor of death, even more than smoking or hyper tension!

In his video lecture”23 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health” Dr. Mike Evans states that “a dog is a great walking coach” and that 67% of dog owners achieve the minimum requirement of 150 minutes of walking a week required to have positive effects on your health.

Not only can walking your dog have great health benifts for you, it can also really help your dog with his or her dog separation anxiety. Walks help your dog to get mental and physical exercise. This mental and physical stimulation will help your dog feel tired and may help them to feel more calm when you leave them home alone. So if you can plan to walk your dog for 30 minutes before you leave for work it can really improve both of your lives greatly!

Watch Dr. Evans quick video lecture on physical exercise and your health!

No, your dog is NOT getting back at your or mad… he has dog separation anxiety!

by Leave a Comment

I recently overheard a conversation that my owner was having with another dog owner. The person said if they come home and then leave right away their dog gets mad at them and decides to dig in his outside kennel or if he is inside he will tear things apart and chew on them just to get back at them. The person thinks that the dog is ‘getting back at him’ because he is mad that he came home and left right away.

This is an owner of a one year old dog who is used to a routine, when he finally gets a human around he is so happy and gets over-excited and then when they immediately leave him home alone again he has all of that balled up excited energy and no where to use it except destruction. The dog is not getting back at the owner or even mad at the owner he is exhibiting the signs of dog separation anxiety.

Just because a dog may not always have dog separation anxiety they can have it at times like this.

It may not be true separation anxiety but I would consider it a form of separation anxiety because the solution is the same. This person’s dog would have probably been less destructive if he had been let out of the kenel for five minutes to play ball to burn some energy and excitement and then given a stuffed Kong to give him something to mentally stimulate him and distract him from his owner leaving again so soon.

My owners did this just yesterday. They had to go out and run some errands, then they came home for only ten minutes. My sister and me were so excited to see them! They let us out to go to the bathroom and play a few mintues to burn our excitement off and then put us back in our safe room with a frozen Kong and left us home alone again. Guess what, we were fine!

Please don’t assume that your dog is feeling anger, spite or vengeance. These are human emotions and not animal emotions. It is more likely frustration and anxiety which is easy to help your dog cope with.

Woof!
Manchego the Anxious Dog

Four Steps to Help You Dog with Back to School Dog Separation Anxiety Blues

by 1 Comment

Dog separation anxiety can develop when kids go back to school.My owners don’t have kids (that is my cousin in the picture with me) but I’ve heard from other dogs that when their little friends go back to school the house gets really quiet and they don’t have anyone left to play with during the days. For some dogs this can cause a mild form of dog separation anxiety. The change in routine can make dogs feel depressed, lonely or maybe they feel like they just don’t know what to expect.

I doubt that your kids going back to school will cause massively destructive behavior but it still can effect sensitive dogs. If you have a dog with this problem there are a few things that you can do to get him or her through the dog separation anxiety that they might experience during the first few weeks that the kids are back to school.

Four Tips to Help Dog Separation Anxiety
Back to School Blues:

    1. Make extra time for your dog:

      Take him or her on an extra walk or take a few minutes a couple times throughout the day to play ball or frizbee. Your dog will appreciate the extra time you spend with him or her and will have less energy to worry about where the kids have gone.

    2. Add an extra activity to the schedule:

      Of course some of you have to work so why not drop your dog off at a doggie daycare while you are away or have a dog-walker come in for an extra walk while you are away. This will help break up the day and give your dog an exciting distraction from the fact that the kids are no longer home 24/7.

    3. Give your dog an extra treat:

      We all like an extra snack or treat, so why not give your dog a stuffed frozen KONG with his favorite recipe? Or maybe a raw bone to tire him or her out. When dog’s chew on bones they release endorphines that help them relax and what better way to distract them from the kids being away?

    4. Buy a new and exciting toy:

      Considder getting a new interactive toy for your dog. I really like toys that you can put treats in and then work on figuring out how to get them out.
      Two of my favorite toys are the Tug-A-Jug and the Busy Buddy toys from Primere Pet!

Remember, a change in routine can cause a dog’s separation anxiety to come back, even if you have helped him or her get over dog separation anxiety before. Try to give your dog some distractions to help them focus on things other than their separation anxiety and to build their confidence and sense of well-being.

Woof!
Manchego the Anxious Dog

3 Things Dogs Hate About Humans!

by 8 Comments

Hey Humans,

I am going to take a break from writing about separation anxiety in dogs and tell you about three things that most dogs HATE about humans! There are so many things that you guys do to us dogs that are so RUDE and I bet you don’t even realize it!

1. Hugs may make you feel good but boy are they RUDE in dog language!

Ok, I know you guys are primates and all but we are NOT. In fact you will probably notice that most dogs (especially fearful and anxious ones) will lean away from you or look away when you attempt go give them hugs. If your dog lets you give im or her hugs then count yourself lucky but chances are that they are only letting you do this because you feed them and give them a home… inside they are so annoyed that they are thinking about how they can annoy you just as much as you are annoying them. Maybe putting your shoes into the toilet or humping the leg of the next visitor that comes to your house?

Be conscious of how your dog reacts to your “affection”. Yes we like to be pet but we’d prefer that you pet us under our chin or on the shoulder that is next to you rather than having you reach over top of our heads.

2. Staring a dog in the eyes or bending over top of a dog are not friendly gestures!

Every time a new person meets a dog they always bend over top of us and look us straight into our eyes. This is by far the most confrontational and rude behavior! For a dog that is the equivalent of another human coming right up to you and trying to push you around to start a fight! It’s one thing to let our owners hug us and be rude but now we are expected to let total strangers stare us down and challenge us without even barking or growling? That’s not very nice!

Dogs prefer to be approached from the side and if you want to pet us then crouch down and don’t look us directly in the face! If you meet a fearful dog you might even have to put your back to him or her and let her come up to you while totally avoiding eye contact!

3. Every time we find a delicious scent to roll around in you give us a bath!

What the heck?! We finally find something to make us smell fabulous and roll around it it so we can smell GREAT for days to come and that very same day you ALWAYS decide to give us a bath in the stinkiest smelling soap you can find?! It’s bad enough that we have to live around you humans that wear that stinky stuff every day but do you REALLY have to bathe us in it too?

I hope you humans find this educational and informative! Maybe your dogs will write me letters thanking me for informing their owners of how they really feel about those hugs!

Woof!
Manchego the Anxious Dog

MQ4EM9JZUNKR