DOG BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS
Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety is a catch-all term. Although a dog might have a very visible reaction to being left alone it’s the minority of cases where the dog is actually anxious.
Separation.
Dogs are pack animals, they prefer to be with the other animals they are socially bonded to, this is what makes the pack. Being with others is what you might call their “natural state”.
Setting a challenge.
We can challenge a dog to overcome this natural state by teaching it through rewards to remain calm when left alone.
Calmness is key.
This training is like teaching an obedience skill but we have to go about it carefully to keep the dog in a calm state of mind to set it up for success.
In the broadest sense, separation anxiety can be a big problem, whether for its nuisance value (for example, the neighbours are kept awake by barking when the owner leaves for the night shift) or because it can seriously damage the dog (such as if the dog self-harms because it is terrified of being left on its own). Whatever the undesirable consequence, we need to think about what the dog is experiencing and get it feeling comfortable being left on its own.