You Must Know These 5 Tips to Help Your Dog’s Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety in dogs can be easily detected. When your dog starts to howl or bark non-stop, and may even destroy things and urinate on the floor, you should find a way to reassure her and restore the faith she has in you. The following tricks and ideas are some of the best possible ways of dealing with dog’s separation anxiety…

Change the “Going Away” Signals for Your Dog

Your dog suffers from separation anxiety because she is familiar with the way you say goodbye. You need to change your going away signal to prevent separation anxiety. You may want to consider using another exit door, or put on your coat but remain in sight for about 15 minutes or simply leave your shoes, keys and other items in another location that your dog is unfamiliar with. Your goal should be to break your dog’s familiarity with signs that you are leaving. This may help ensure that their separation anxiety symptoms are not triggered. When your dog is not aware of your going out, she will probably think you are around somewhere and may not become anxious. This strategy may not be the best when you are going out of the home for a long time but it can be combined with other strategies to make it achieved the desired objective.

Play Your Dog’s Favorite Soothing Music and Add a Treat

It may take a while for you to detect the kind of song your dog reacts to oftentimes. Any music that calms your dog will always be good music to help her deal with separation anxiety. You should know that the Dog is a music lover. You can add a treat while playing music for the dog. The treat can distract him from paying attention to when you are actually going out.

Calming treats alone will only work as a short-term remedy to deal with separation anxiety in a dog, but the addition of the dog’s favorite song while she deals with the treat or toy can make the total effect longer-lasting in preventing anxiety. Playing background music for your dog can make your dog fall asleep occasionally, which is very good at calming her nerves.

Train the Dog How to Survive Alone and Create a Personal Space for Her

You should learn to command your pooch to stay in a room while you go to another room, even when you are not going outside of the house. If your dog is suffering from severe anxiety, then you may want to start by training her to stay in a room for 10-15 second intervals and gradually work for several weeks to train the dog for between 25-30 minutes to get her to stay in her place while you leave the room or house.

Similarly, creating a personal space for the dog is one of the most effective ways of helping her deal with separation anxiety. Instead of always sleeping on the same bed with your dog, you could give her a separate bedroom where you can pet her and give her some treats. Helping your dog get used to her own space will eventually eliminate separation anxiety.

Don’t Leave the Dog for Too Long

Perhaps not leaving your dog for too long may be the best possible way for the animal to get used to your routine. Your dog will eventually learn to stay alone for some part of the day if you return home within a few hours. If you have to stay away for between 6 and 8 hours or even more, you may want to bring your dog to work occasionally. You may want to structure your daily routine in such a way that you can pop in to check on her. If you are traveling for several days, you can take the dog to a close friend or relative or simply take her to a dog daycare center. Make sure the dog is perfectly taken care of when you are not around.

Make Use of Dog Anxiety Treatment Supplies

If your dog is suffering from severe anxiety, you should consider applying recommended calming agents. Consider contacting a veterinary doctor for more information on this. A dog should only be placed on calming agents only if she suffers from severe symptoms of anxiety. Any treatment medication that triggers allergic reaction must be discontinued immediately and reported to your veterinarian.

In addition to anxiety treatment medicine, you could also consider getting entertainment toys for your dog. Entertainment toys such as treat dispensers will get your dog to work and search for his treat. Pet-cube bite is another toy that can fling treats to your dog and make the animal chase such treats.

Conclusion

There are several other ways through which you can eliminate anxiety disorders in your dog. For instance, expert veterinarians suggest that you should remove all devices or items that may create panic in the dog. These may include collars, chokes, crates, and chains, especially if your dog doesn’t like such items. You may also want to hide some treats around the house and particularly indoors so that the dog can hunt for them, occupying her mind while you are out of the home.

One psychological way to help your dog believe you are still around is to make her smell usual scents of you. Some items in the home that have your scent may include your laundry or your fragrance. If your dog can smell a familiar scent in the home, even when you are not around, then she may relax and think you are probably sleeping or busy around the house. Dogs have a very good sense of smell and if you leave your bedroom open, she may think you are somewhere around. Some animal experts suggest that you should time your dog’s meal to the period you are leaving the home, which will keep your dog busy for a while.