Tips For Easing Your Dog’s Separation Anxiety

Dealing with dog anxiety can make me anxious!

Dog Anxiety

Do you have a dog that just freaks out every time you walk out the door? It is a very common behavior. There is a lot of traffic online on this topic. And the goal of this website is to research some of that information and help you find what you need to improve the lives of all the coolest dogs on the planet.

You can’t really blame them for being upset when you, their favorite person in the whole wide world, walk out the door and disappears. To most dogs, you have literally just disappeared forever. They are genuinely upset. There are all kinds of issues that come from this. I am going to give you a few tips to treat a dog with anxiety that can help improve this behavior.

Cure Dog Anxiety

I do not believe there is actually a cure for dog anxiety. It is a behavior that is very common. One can do some things to modify this behavior though. A lot of people go for the easy route and get dog anxiety medicine, even use things like Prozac for the dog’s anxiety.

I disagree with this method. First of you should not be giving any dog medication like this without consulting a vet. Second, it is not a medicative issue. It is just a behavioral issue and with a bit of effort, it can be improved. Next, I am going to give you some tips to try and help.

5 Things You Can Do To Modify Behavior

Keep Them Busy: If you know you are leaving, make sure you have something to keep them busy for the first bit you are gone. Some ideas might be leaving a food trail for them to follow or hide some treats in some easy spots for them to find. Maybe a favorite toy or a bully stick. You can get those from an affiliate link at Playing and Exercise For Dogs. Typically this behavior only lasts for the first few minutes immediately after you have left. If they have a distraction during that time it may not even happen at all.

Something With Your Sent: Most of the time the anxiety lies with separation. They are upset they can not see you. Sometimes just leaving them with a sweatshirt or a blanket you guys share when you are cuddling will give them the comfort that you are not totally gone.

Exercise: If you can make time to give them exercise before you are going to leave this can be a huge help. I mean really give them some exercise, lots of running. Something like fetching a ball can wear them out so they are ready to relax for a bit right as you leave. If you have the facility to set this up, you should check out the IFetch toy on this page, Playing and Exercise For Dogs.

Desensitize Leaving Signals: This and the next one are the ones that I recommend trying the most. This is what I have found has a real effect on actual behavior. I made this discovery when we would pack for vacation. All of the dogs would get anxious as we were packing. So we started packing bags at random where they could see us doing it. Then we would not go anywhere. This desensitized this signal. After doing it enough, they pretty much quit getting anxious when it happened. They can pick up on things like getting your keys, putting on shoes, and packing. Pay attention to the dog and see what gets them riled up as you are preparing to leave. Then use that act regularly and randomly to help them see it is not the end of the world.

Keep Greetings Relaxed: I still have trouble with this one with my two Golden Doodles. every day when I come home from work, they are so excited to see I am home again. It is hard to not greet them with just as much enthusiasm but it creates a bad habit. They do it to everyone that comes in the door. I have found that if when I get home, I regularly go in first and don’t acknowledge them when they are rowdy. Not even eye contact until I put my stuff down and maybe unpack my lunch box. wait for them to calm down a little before I give them some love. It is hard to not enjoy the fact they are so happy to see you but it really does help.

Dog Anxiety Medicine

There are some products out there that are ok to use for dogs. I do understand some pooches are really tough to deal with and it may really help to have something like this. Again, I will always recommend consulting your veterinary professional before using any medication on a dog. They do not metabolize things the same as humans. You can find more information on this topic on Safe OTC Medications For Dogs.

I Hope This Helps

If you have one of those dogs that just goes nuts when you leave, these are just a few of the top things I have found to help. I will always think that behavior modification is the best way to handle these situations but it does take a bit of work. It is not something you can just tell the dog to do or change. You have to empower them to behave the way you expect them to. Help them go down the right path. Once they have learned to behave this way it is normal and long-lasting.

If you are really interested in learning how to modify your dog’s behavior, I have two options for you. One, fill out the form for the free Airplane Game. If you do, I will send you a free copy of this Game from Adrienne Farricelli. Two, click on one of the banners on this post. Adrienne has, in my opinion, the absolute best outlook on how anyone can train their dog and get real results. Even if you don’t use any of these, understand the number one thing you need to teach your dog is to pay attention to you. This is something that can and needs to be taught.

Please keep loving your dogs! I hope this gets out and helps as many of the coolest dogs on the planet! If you have questions or would like to leave a comment please feel free to do so below.

Thanks,

Chad