Before starting treatment for separation anxiety in dogs, it is important to first know for sure whether a dog has truly separation anxiety. This can often be determined by recording the dog’s behavior when left alone (if feasible) and then having the dog’s behavior evaluated by a professional. The evaluation often consists of detailed record taking (gathering info about the dog’s behavior history) and watching the recording and the dog’s overall behavior when around the owner. This is fundamental because other possible conditions that may mimic separation anxiety in dogs may require totally different protocols. This protocol for separation in dogs is divided into three tiers: protocol for dogs following room to room, protocol for uncoupling pre-departure cues, protocol for activities by the door.
What Will Be Needed
First of all, patience, determination and consistency. Helping a dog suffering from separation anxiety is not an easy task. Many dog owners wonder how long it will take and there’s no easy answer as each case is different.
One thing is almost for sure, the more a dog has been rehearsing the problem and the more severe it is, the more work may be needed. Severe cases may require the addition of medications and the assistance of a professional as some dogs are just anxious at any time of the day on top of during owner absences.
Interactive toys, treats, food, a mat, baby gates and some technological gadgets such as remote monitoring devices and/or automatic treat dispensers are used in the exercises. Although optional, the use of these technological gadgets come extra handy considering that they allow to monitor dogs remotely so to evaluate whether it’s a good time to raise criteria or whether a dog is being pushed too hard.
A safezone will also need to be established. This safezone is the dog’s confinement area where the exercises will be performed. For comfort, it is best to use an area that is central to family activities such as an office, kitchen or living room. Dogs who enjoy their crate, exercise pen or playpen and love to lounge in it, can have it placed in the safezone as long as these enclosures remain open. A safezone should be blocked out by a baby gate or in homes with open-plan layouts, a super wide gate may be needed.
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Management is crucial and often one the most difficult parts of behavior modification. Management means preventing dogs from rehearsing the problem behavior. In dogs with separation anxiety, this would entail avoiding absences during the behavior modification process.
In other words, if you are at the point in the process where your dog can successfully remain calm in a room for 15 minutes in your absence, you will need to hire a pet sitter, bring your dog to work or daycare or have a friend stay with your dog if you need to stay away for longer.
This is to protect your hard work and prevent costly setbacks that may potentially cause your dog to go over threshold and possibly become fearful of absences of any length. Setbacks are always possible during behavior modification no matter how well planned the program. To reduce the chances of setbacks, it is best to perform separation anxiety exercises with the help of a professional.
Tier 1: Protocol For Dogs Who Follow Owners Room- to- Room
One thing many dogs suffering from separation anxiety share is extra clingliness, so much so, that many dog owners have started to nickname their dogs “Velcro Dogs.“ These dogs follow their owners from one room to another and like to sleep by their owners’ feet so to be the first alerted when their owners are about to get up and walk around.
This component of treatment for separation anxiety in dogs needs its proper protocol since it would be non-productive starting practicing outdoor absences if these dogs aren’t even able to tolerate brief absences within the home. The goal of these exercises is to gradually build on distance until the dog can be left in a room while the owner is in another.
On top of these exercises, it’s ideal to encourage these dogs to sleep at night on their own bed or mat and sleep there as well during the day (rather than sleeping constantly on the owner’s lap, glued to the owner’s body or at the owner’s feet).
Note: some dogs are particularly attached to one person. To start the exercises easily, it is best to start with the person the dog is less attached to and then progress using the person the dog is attached to.
Step 1:
The first step entails having the dog to be able to relax and cope without following their owners everywhere. These dogs need to learn to perform brief sit/stays or down/stays on a mat or other comfy place while the owner walks around, but initially remains always in the dog’s sight.
Initially these sit/stays and down/stays should be very brief for just 1-2 seconds while the owner just takes a step or two away in various directions and then returns to reward. Criteria is then raised with the owner just walking a few steps away (3-4) and then returning to reward.
Gradually, distance and duration can be added, but it’s important to make sure to not make increases in time and distance predictable as dogs will soon come to predict this increase in difficulty and may grow incrementally anxious. To avoid this, mix in shorter (less time) stays and closer stays (less distance) frequently. For example, 2 second stay, then 4, then 3, then five, then 1, then 4, then 6, then 2 etc or 2 steps away, then 1, then 3, then 4, then 1, etc.
[adinserter block=”2″]Distractions at some point can be added as well. Clap your hands as you walk away, count to five out loud, turn your back to your dog, lift your arms, walk around your dog etc. If your dog ever breaks the stay just say a casual “oops” and send your dog back to the area where he was asked to stay. Resume the exercise, this time making it a bit less difficult before progressing to asking for more.
Many clingy dogs follow their owners every time they get up from sitting. If your dog gets ready to follow you every time you are sitting on a chair or couch, and you put your hand on the arm rest or put down the remote, practice sit/stays and down/stays as you repeat these actions over and over. Then increase criteria, and start to get up repeatedly from your chair/couch/. Then get up and take a few steps and may be even walk around your dog and go back to sitting.
These exercises should be done until fluent and the dog appears totally relaxed and no longer eager to follow. End the sessions with a jackpot of treats.
Step 2:
Gradually increase distance/duration. With longer duration, it’s best to request down/stays to prevent tiring. Take more steps away (from standing or sitting) and for gradually longer times and start going out of sight.
Ask your dog to down/stay on a mat as you briefly get out of view behind a wall or door for a split second, then return and reward. Repeat several times as you gradually mix in shorter absences and longer absences and shorter distances with farther distances, making sure to not allow you dog to detect an incremental pattern of difficulty.
You can mix in brief errands too such as opening/closing a closet, grabbing a beer from the fridge or closing a window as long as they don’t cause you to be out of sight for too long.
These exercises should be done until fluent and the dog appears totally relaxed. Always end the sessions with a jackpot of treats.
Step 3:
Increase more the distance and duration. Install a baby gate, hide several treats around the enclosed area, send your dog there and have your dog explore his new confinement area and find the goodies. Leave the baby gate open for a couple of days so that the dog can freely visit and discover goodies in there.
[adinserter block=”1″]Next, practice briefs stays as you get in and out of the baby gate and return. Stay always in sight. Gradually increase the time you stay out as always mixing in briefer stays with longer ones, but not more than a minute in length.
At some point, get out of the baby gate and start preparing a stuffed Kong that can be easily unstuffed in just a minute or so. Place the stuffed Kong behind the baby gate where your dog can see it and smell it and cannot get it. Your dog should try to get the Kong. Wait for a little bit of frustration to set in such as your dog trying to paw it or whine. Grab the Kong and give it to your dog as you remain in view at a distance behind the baby gate for 1 minute. Return inside.
Repeat, reloading the Kong again making it more challenging to unstuff and then less challenging, so that you can increase the the time you stay out as always mixing in briefer stays with longer ones. Try to return when you know your dog is just about to finish unstuffing his Kong.
Step 4:
Start incorporating the treasure hunt game, using a portion of your dog’s meals. Have your dog sit/stay or down/stay as you get a portion of your dog’s meal allowance and hide the kibble around. Have your dog watch you in anticipation and then as you leave the room and release your dog. Allow your dog to hunt as you are briefly out of sight.
Return and repeat the exercise hiding the remaining portion of your dog’s meal allowance and leaving as your dog goes on his hunt. As always, gradually increase the time you stay out of sight, mixing in briefer stays with longer ones, but not more than a minute in length.
Alternatively, in lieu of the treasure hunt game, you can stuff a slow food dispenser such as a Kong Wobbler, Buster Cube or regular Kong with the kibble and let your dog work on it while you are away.
At some point, start delaying your returns a bit so that your dog has finished hunting or eating from the Kong but doesn’t appear to anxious about running out of food and being alone.
Tier 2: Protocol for Uncoupling Pre-Departure Cues
Dogs are masters in reading body language and learning all the cues that culminate into our departures. It’s therefore not surprising when they start acting nervous when dog owners get up, have breakfast, and then put on makeup, shave, brush hair, put shoes on and grab the keys. These are all pre-departure cues that put dogs on high alarm, as these cues have been chained one to another and associated with departures.
Uncoupling these associations requires some work. The work encompasses desensitizing to the pre-departure cues and breaking up their associations with the departures. These exercises are done when not leaving the home. Make sure that you therefore have time set aside for this.
To start, compile a list of behaviors you perform normally when going to work or head out and identify the ones your dog seems to react to. Then, place them in order chronologically, starting with the one that is farthest away from leaving the house.
You will then work on exposing your dog to these behaviors starting with the first and then chaining them one by one until the dog becomes uninterested in them as they lose value due to them no longer leading to departures. For instance, if your list looks something like this: put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys and walk out the door, your exercises will look something like this: (please note, sit on the couch/watch TV is an example, you can do many other things that your dog associates with you being home like knitting, washing the dishes etc.)
Put on shoes, sit on the couch, watch TV (when you sit down and watch TV or read a book or go prepare a meal, do so for a few minutes each time)
Put on shoes, grab briefcase, sit on the couch, watch TV
Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, sit on the couch, watch TV
Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, sit on the couch, watch TV
[adinserter block=”1″]Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door slightly, close door, sit on the couch watch TV
Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, then back in, close door, return, sit on the couch watch TV
Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, sit on couch, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door (with you outside), quickly reopen door, close door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV.
Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, sit on couch, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door (with you outside), lock the door, unlock the door, return, sit on couch watch TV.
Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door (with you outside), and increase duration of staying outside gradually, but for no more than half a minute (always mixing in shorter absences in the midst of longer ones), then unlock the door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV.
Note: If your dog seems upset by any of these behaviors, you may need to split them further. For example, if your dog is doing well up until you start opening the door (like you catch your dog whining), then, you may want to split the action of walking to the door in further segments (e.g take a few steps towards the door, return, sit on couch, then, walk to the door and stand in front of it, return, sit on the couch, then, walk to the door and touch the knob for a split second, return, sit on the couch, then walk to the door and open the door a bit for a split second, return, sit on the couch. Do this until the door can be successfully opened without the dog worrying about it.
Tier 3: Exercises by the Door
These exercises are more difficult, and therefore, require dogs to be very well proficient at the previous tier level. Dogs should therefore have reached a point where they are fine with being left alone for up to half a minute as the owner stands behind the closed door.
Because these absences are longer and more distractions are added (car engine starting), it helps to provide some high-value long-lasting goodies for the dog to consume such as a strategically stuffed Kong with layers (e.g a layer of cookies stuck at the bottom, kibble mixed with peanut butter, a cookie stuck midway, canned food, another cookie at the top). For longer absences, on top of a Kong, an automatic treat-dispenser set to release treats at frequent intervals can turn helpful.
When providing goodies to consume for these absences, it’s important to provide them as well while you are at home to prevent them from turning into a pre-departure cue signaling to your dog you are about to leave.
At this point, it may also be important to use some form of remote monitoring so to assess how the dog is doing and keep tabs on progress and/or setbacks. Body language should be carefully assessed. Anytime a setback is noticed, it means that one must work more on a lower level until the dog is perfectly comfortable with that level.
For example, if the dog becomes anxious upon being left alone for 8 minutes, more time should be spent practicing at lower times. Increments should be done in seconds rather then chunks of minutes always mixing in briefer times to make the exercises as variable as possible. Build the time gradually up to 30 minutes if possible.
Arrivals should always be no big deal. Ignore your dog as you walk in and just go straight to the couch.
Example of exercises:
Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door, start car engine, then unlock the door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV.
Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door, start car engine, spend a bit of time in the car, then unlock the door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV.
Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door, start car engine, move the car a bit ahead and then back into parking space, then unlock the door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV.
Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door, start car engine, drive the car around the block and then back into parking space, then unlock the door return, sit on the couch watch TV and so forth. Gradually increase more time spent away, mixing in shorter absences.
A Word About Treatment For Separation in Anxiety in Dogs
It’s important to consider that slow and steady wins the race in behavior modification. It will take time, commitment and determination to attain results. The goal is to get a dog to be calm and reward that. Once the dog appears calm in the safezone, it’s time to generalize the behavior and practice in other areas of the house and even outdoors in the yard and with other family members.
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