separation anxiety | The Cognitive Canine

Tags

counter conditioning, desensitization, dog training, patricia mcconnell, positive reinforcement, separation anxiety

I’ve had a recent surge in contacts regarding separation anxiety (SA).  If you’ve followed me for a long time you probably remember my post on SA in my personal blog.  Warning: my personal blog is personal for a reason.  If you’re easily offended, I would skip it if I were you.  In that blog, I covered what the disorder is and what it isn’t, and in this post I will hit on some basics for treatment. If you believe your dog is experiencing SA please find a qualified professional to help you.

What is Separation Anxiety?  The briefest way for me to describe this disorder is this:  it’s an anxiety disorder centered on departures/being alone.  What happens is the dog experiences an anxiety attack (if you’ve ever had one yourself, you can sympathize with these poor animals–if you haven’t, just count yourself lucky) when he is left alone.  After a few of these (or just one) the dog begins to experience anxiety surrounding departures and triggered by departure cues because he is anticipating the horrendous anxiety attack he experiences once left alone.  It’s a vicious cycle because the actual event that caused the first few anxiety attacks (being left) is no longer even relevant because the dog’s anxiety is building long before that happens.

First, identify your dog’s “triggers.”  As mentioned above, dogs with SA begin to experience anxiety surrounding departure cues.  These departure cues are referred to as “triggers” and the first stage of treatment is identifying all triggers.  You must become an avid student of your dog’s behavior and figure out what the specific triggers are that begin the spiral of anxiety that starts with involuntary stress signals and escalates into life-threatening destructive acts.  If your dog has SA, at one point every morning he is calm, and at some point he begins to panic because he knows you are leaving.  It is up to you to identify what that point is.  Some sample triggers are:

• Owner’s alarm goes off (if you don’t use an alarm on days when you stick around, this can be the first trigger–unfortunate because it is how the day begins).


• Owner puts on makeup


• Owner puts on shoes


• Owner picks up keys


• Owner puts on jacket


• Owner puts coffee into travel cup


• Owner loads car

Now that you’ve identified possible triggers for your dog, list them out in order so that you aware of the order of operations.  Each trigger causes more anxiety than the trigger before it, so it is important that we list and rank these triggers.

Then, randomly desensitize your dog to his triggers.  That means repeating the triggers at random times throughout the day when you have no intention of leaving.  If your dog’s first trigger is when your alarm goes off, set your alarm to go off multiple times a day.  If it is you picking up your keys, pick them up and put them down all day long.  Get the point?

Finally, plan a system for counter-conditioning your dog’s triggers.  That means giving your dog something amazing (raw marrow bone, hollow bone stuffed with liverwurst, Kong stuffed with crack chicken*, it has to be AMAZING), waiting for him to get really into it, then engaging a trigger.  Then take away the good stuff and wait a few minutes before repeating the whole scenario again.  Practice this with all triggers until the triggers become less and less anxiety-inducing and more and more pleasant.

The bad news is that while you go about this process you need to keep your dog somewhere else where he doesn’t experience anxiety while you have to be away.  This means hiring a dog sitter, taking him to daycare or a boarding kennel, or taking him with you while you modify how he feels about being alone.  If you go through the process of treating his disorder while simultaneously leaving him alone every day, causing anxiety attacks, your progress will be slowed dramatically.

The good news is that SA can be treated successfully.  Most dogs can learn how to hang out alone if the treatment is done correctly.

*”Crack chicken” is my very special treat for dogs that is chicken breast boiled in sweetened water (I use honey).  Most dogs will do backflips for it.

I would not know what I know about SA if not for the work of Dr. Patricia McConnell.  I highly recommend her book “I’ll Be Home Soon!” on the topic.

Tags

apdt, choosing a dog trainer, clicker training, cpdt-ka, dog behavior, dog trainer, how to pick a dog trainer, iacp, karen pryor, patricia mcconnell, separation anxiety

It’s pretty great that this is a topic of discussion at all.  More and more dog owners are deciding to bring a professional into their lives; and some are even choosing to do so before there is a problem (rejoice!).  I wish the days of deciding whether or not to have a dog trainer at all were irrevocably “over,” but they are not.  So, for discussion’s sake, let’s just say that if you’re reading this blog you have or want to have a dog trainer in your life. If you’ve browsed the dog shelf at the book store or tried searching the internet you’ve undoubtedly noticed that there’s a confusing mess of information out there regarding dog training, and it really is not surprising that so many people wind up dissatisfied with their choice. The following list is what I hope you use to guide your decision.

• 
  Credentials.  Yeah, all professionals should have them, but you’d be amazed at how rarely I am asked about mine.  There are currently no laws or regulations governing this field, so you have to do your homework when you are picking a dog trainer.  Specifically, your chosen professional should hold a legitimate certification (like those offered by the CCPDT or the IAABC, for example), and should be able to tell you about the last continuing education seminar he/she attended.  Your dog trainer should be a member of a dog training association, like the APDT, as well. As a sidenote on this whole membership and certification thing, if I were you I would look into the organizations your prospective trainer is associated with.  Just being associated with something doesn’t mean much, and if your trainer is associated with two organizations that have pretty different mission statements (for example, if your trainer is both a member of the APDT and the IACP), then you need to dig deeper to find out which kind of training this person actually endorses. 


• 
  Experience.  The only way to know what kind of experience a dog trainer has is to ask. Notice I said what kind and not how much.  I am asked about this more often than about my credentials, but still not often enough.  The tricky thing here is that “X number of years” is not necessarily a good answer, and more questions are warranted if that is the kind of answer you receive.  For instance, a dog trainer who has been working in the field for more than 10 years is much more likely to have an “old-school” approach to training than one who was certified in the past 5.  The longer a person has been training dogs, the more likely that person is to have used aversive or even abusive methods. If a person has been training dogs for decades then you should expect that she has changed what she is doing significantly since the beginning of her career.  A better question than “how long have you been training?” is “where/how did you learn to train dogs?”  There are no hard and fast rules regarding what is a good answer and what isn’t, so use your judgement and check on the rest of the things in this bullet list.


• 
  Influences.  This might be a tricky question, but I encourage you to ask your potential dog trainer who her biggest influence is. Then I encourage you to Google (or Bing, or whatever) that name and read up.  Patricia McConnell and Karen Pryor are both great answers, but they are totally different answers.  If the influence rhymes with Schmezar Schmillan, look elsewhere.
  


• 
  Equipment.  This is pretty telling.  Ask a trainer what equipment she uses, and ask for specific examples if she says “every dog is different” or any other non-commital answer like that.  Front connection harness, head halter, clicker, and food are all good answers.  Flat buckle collar is a good answer too.  If I were you I would avoid trainers that use choke, prong, or electronic collars.  There’s just no place for that garbage anymore.    
  


• 
  The trainer’s own dogs.  Ask about them.  Meet them, if you can.  I have met trainers who didn’t have dogs of their own, and I have to say that freaked me out. In between dogs, I understand, if the person is actively seeking a new furry friend. But no dogs at all? RED FLAG! If the trainer seems reluctant to talk about her own dogs, that might be a red flag as well.  A great specific question to ask is “what kind of behavior issues have you faced with your own dogs?”  Any trainer who tells you her dogs have no problems is lying, and I personally think we learn more from our own dogs than from any other.  A person who has lived with, loved, and healed a dog with a serious problem will be able to bring much more compassion and wisdom to the table than a trainer who hasn’t, period.
  


• 
  And the question that isn’t as relevant as you might think:  Have you worked with my breed? Working with a variety of breeds is a great thing to have under your belt, but a better question to ask is whether or not the trainer has successfully helped a dog with the same issue yours has.  If you have a Shiba Inu with separation anxiety go for the trainer with the experience in separation anxiety, not the one that has experience with Shibas.

There you have it.  Of course, I could write a whole book on this topic alone, but this should get you started.  What about you? How did you pick your trainer, and were you happy? 

February | 2012 | The Cognitive Canine

Tags

counter conditioning, desensitization, dog training, patricia mcconnell, positive reinforcement, separation anxiety

I’ve had a recent surge in contacts regarding separation anxiety (SA).  If you’ve followed me for a long time you probably remember my post on SA in my personal blog.  Warning: my personal blog is personal for a reason.  If you’re easily offended, I would skip it if I were you.  In that blog, I covered what the disorder is and what it isn’t, and in this post I will hit on some basics for treatment. If you believe your dog is experiencing SA please find a qualified professional to help you.

What is Separation Anxiety?  The briefest way for me to describe this disorder is this:  it’s an anxiety disorder centered on departures/being alone.  What happens is the dog experiences an anxiety attack (if you’ve ever had one yourself, you can sympathize with these poor animals–if you haven’t, just count yourself lucky) when he is left alone.  After a few of these (or just one) the dog begins to experience anxiety surrounding departures and triggered by departure cues because he is anticipating the horrendous anxiety attack he experiences once left alone.  It’s a vicious cycle because the actual event that caused the first few anxiety attacks (being left) is no longer even relevant because the dog’s anxiety is building long before that happens.

First, identify your dog’s “triggers.”  As mentioned above, dogs with SA begin to experience anxiety surrounding departure cues.  These departure cues are referred to as “triggers” and the first stage of treatment is identifying all triggers.  You must become an avid student of your dog’s behavior and figure out what the specific triggers are that begin the spiral of anxiety that starts with involuntary stress signals and escalates into life-threatening destructive acts.  If your dog has SA, at one point every morning he is calm, and at some point he begins to panic because he knows you are leaving.  It is up to you to identify what that point is.  Some sample triggers are:

• Owner’s alarm goes off (if you don’t use an alarm on days when you stick around, this can be the first trigger–unfortunate because it is how the day begins).


• Owner puts on makeup


• Owner puts on shoes


• Owner picks up keys


• Owner puts on jacket


• Owner puts coffee into travel cup


• Owner loads car

Now that you’ve identified possible triggers for your dog, list them out in order so that you aware of the order of operations.  Each trigger causes more anxiety than the trigger before it, so it is important that we list and rank these triggers.

Then, randomly desensitize your dog to his triggers.  That means repeating the triggers at random times throughout the day when you have no intention of leaving.  If your dog’s first trigger is when your alarm goes off, set your alarm to go off multiple times a day.  If it is you picking up your keys, pick them up and put them down all day long.  Get the point?

Finally, plan a system for counter-conditioning your dog’s triggers.  That means giving your dog something amazing (raw marrow bone, hollow bone stuffed with liverwurst, Kong stuffed with crack chicken*, it has to be AMAZING), waiting for him to get really into it, then engaging a trigger.  Then take away the good stuff and wait a few minutes before repeating the whole scenario again.  Practice this with all triggers until the triggers become less and less anxiety-inducing and more and more pleasant.

The bad news is that while you go about this process you need to keep your dog somewhere else where he doesn’t experience anxiety while you have to be away.  This means hiring a dog sitter, taking him to daycare or a boarding kennel, or taking him with you while you modify how he feels about being alone.  If you go through the process of treating his disorder while simultaneously leaving him alone every day, causing anxiety attacks, your progress will be slowed dramatically.

The good news is that SA can be treated successfully.  Most dogs can learn how to hang out alone if the treatment is done correctly.

*”Crack chicken” is my very special treat for dogs that is chicken breast boiled in sweetened water (I use honey).  Most dogs will do backflips for it.

I would not know what I know about SA if not for the work of Dr. Patricia McConnell.  I highly recommend her book “I’ll Be Home Soon!” on the topic.

Tags

agility, conformation, denver dog show, dog show, dog show spectator, obedience, rally

Most people have never seen the spectacle that is a dog show.  But if you’d like to, and you’re on the Front Range, this weekend is the show you’ll want to see.

I like it because it’s got it all; agility, conformation, obedience, rally, and shopping (the best dog stuff shopping all year!).  I compete in agility every year, because conformation’s not my thing for many reasons, and agility always trumps obedience for me.  My dogs and I always enjoy this agility trial because the arena is big and luxurious with ample crating, and it’s four days of playing in the dirt, not just two or three which is standard.  Lots of competitors from out of state come out to this show and I really enjoy watching all the teams we don’t normally see.

If you want to attend as a spectator, check out this link for information.  They have a list of guidelines to follow at dog shows, but here’s mine:

• If you’re bringing children, keep a CLOSE watch on them.  Talk to them about never touching a dog without permission before you get to the show, and if they are too young to follow these directions, be sure that you are really watching them at all times around the dogs.  A lot of conformation dogs are not socialized to children, and a lot of them are just plain not interested in visiting with you, so look out for your kids’ safety.


• Don’t touch a dog without asking.  This should go without saying, but you’d be surprised!  So, just ask before you pet any dog.


• When visitng the agility arena, stay off the dirt.  As a spectator, you belong in the stands.  The agility dogs are hyped and so are the handlers, so stay out of their way, and enjoy the sport from the stands.


• Hit the Meet the Breeds booth if you want to meeet dogs.  That’s what they’re there for!


• Feel free to ask people questions, but try to only do so when they are not waiting to go in the ring or grooming a dog.

Also, if you go to the show, be sure to say hi to my friend Sasha Foster at her Canine Fitness Zone booth!

As promised, I am going to deliver something important today; a few thoughts on what I feel is one of the most important skills to teach a dog–how to respect the space of others.

Dogs that have no respect for the body space of others (humans or other dogs) are no fun to live with, yet they are everywhere.  I am convinced there are breed tendencies involved, with herding and toy breeds being the most aware of body space (for different reasons–herding dogs deal with body space in their job of moving stock around, and toy dogs work hard to avoid being stepped on) and retrievers being the least aware of it.  There are exceptions, of course, to everything, so please don’t write me a comment about how YOUR golden has more respect for space than your beardie.

First, let’s talk about what I mean by “respect for body space.”  Think of it this way: everyone has an invisible “bubble” surrounding them.  When I move toward my dog and bump my bubble up against his, he should “feel” that and move back.  He should not come into my bubble without permission.  Intrusions of the bubble include; jumping up uninvited, pushing you over on the couch or in the bed, nudging your elbow when you are eating/typing/reading/etc., and it extends into stealing anything (toy, food, etc.) out of your hands.

The trouble starts when people do not understand that all of these things are connected.  If you pet your dog when he nudges your arm but get upset when he jumps on you upon arrival, you are contradicting yourself.  Understand that you must either tolerate physical pushiness across the board, or you must be the “pushiness” police and never allow any form of it to occur.

On the topic of police, using physical corrections on your dog to try to eliminate body space issues is the most counter-productive thing you can do.  Dogs that are manhandled are the pushiest of all the dogs I have met.  I can instantly tell upon meeting a new dog is he is being physically corrected at home, and almost all cases I see of over-the-top body space issues (this usually looks like this: dog not only jumps on the person but bites at her and gets wildy–but aggressively–playful without solicitation) the dog is being physically, sometimes harshly, corrected.  I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: getting physical with your dog only invites him to become physical with you.

So how do you deal with this?  First, take a good manners class that focuses on impulse control.  Most dog training classes do not teach any sort of impulse control, so the ones that are focusing on it will advertise it up front.  When your dog learns how to control himself around things he wants (like food and toys) he can start to learn to respect your space, too.  But this won’t happen overnight.  This is a video of Patricia McConnell (one of my earliest influences in dog training) teaching “stay” using body blocking.  I do not teach the stay cue this way, but this is how I introduce dogs to body-blocking.  I do exactly what you see in the video, I just don’t ask for a sit or a stay, in fact I don’t use any words at all.  Once your dog gets the concept you can start to use body blocking when your dog pushes into your space in any way.  As soon as he backs out of your space, reward him with praise or, preferably, the thing he was seeking in the first place (like attention).

This was just the tip of the iceberg on body space.  For a deeper understanding of body space and dogs, sign up for my Fido Focus class at Loveland Dog Club.  Not sure how to sign up but want to?  Leave me a comment and I will contact you privately!

NEW APPROACHES TO TREATING CANINE SEPARATION ANXIETY

While destructive behaviour can sometimes be a normal outlet for dogs, some destructive behaviours may be due to underlying anxiety.  For example, when destruction is directed at doorways, windows, and exit points, rather than garbage cans, food cupboards, or a pair of leather shoes, further assessment is needed to confirm whether this may be due to separation anxiety.

 A diagnosis of separation anxiety typically includes one or more of these symptoms:  destructiveness, distress vocalization, house-soiling or other signs of anxiety such as salivation.  Signs usually arise immediately following the owner’s departure.  If any of these behaviours are seen when family members are present, other causes should be considered.  Evidence of destructive behaviours or house soiling should be easy to identify when family members return home, but vocalization ranging from whining to howling may often go undetected except when severe enough to disturb neighbours.  Video monitoring is useful to verify the diagnosis as well as to monitor the efficacy of a treatment program.  Dogs with separation anxiety often have hyper attachment and begin to show anxiety as the owner prepares to leave. 

Dogs suffering from separation anxiety are panicked, fearful, and traumatized when left alone.  Successful resolution of separation anxiety usually requires a combination of behavioural management and medication.   The behaviour program should focus on teaching the dog acceptable and alternative behaviours in which to engage when alone.  Provided the dog’s daily needs are adequately met, training should focus on encouraging the dog to find a safe retreat to rest or play with its favourite toys, so it can learn to settle and occupy itself away from the owners. During these sessions, attention seeking behaviour must be ignored, while settled behaviours should gradually be increased and positively reinforced.  Some dogs may be less anxious when crated or confined as they find some comfort from this routine; others are more panicked.  Since pre-departure anxiety is often associated with the handling of keys, mobile phones or shoes, desensitization and counter-conditioning can be as simple as picking up keys or a briefcase, giving a favoured treat or toy, and setting them back down without leaving. Repetition teaches the dog that departure cues may be pleasant and not always associated with actual departures.  Family members should practice non-emotional departures and greetings.  Punishment never alleviates anxiety and has no place in the treatment of separation anxiety. 

At actual departure times, food puzzle toys, chews and favoured treats can be provided to distract and occupy the dog.  However, in the short term it may be necessary to find day care until the behaviour program and medication can be effectively implemented.  Another option in the short term is to give benzodiazepines such as alprazolam prior to departure to reduce anxiety for a few hours.

Since dogs with separation anxiety are highly anxious when left alone, behaviour modification should be combined with drug therapy both for the well-being of the dog and to improve treatment success.  Clomipramine (Clomicalm, Novartis Animal Health), is currently licensed for the treatment of separation anxiety and a chewable fluoxetine tablet (Reconcile, Elanco) will be also be available this fall.  The primary action of both drugs is to enhance serotonin transmission, but peak effect may not be achieved for three to four weeks.  The advantage of using veterinary approved drugs is their proven efficacy, predictable bioavailability, palatability, access to technical support as well as the client education material that you and your staff can use to help guide the owner through the behaviour program.  Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP, Intervet Schering Plough) has also been shown to be effective alone or in combination with medication.

Often families attribute their dog’s misbehaviours when left alone to vengeance or spite. However, dog owners need to understand that the behavioural signs are due to anxiety and distress and that medication can help alleviate their dog’s suffering. 

Product information and client support is available from recondile.com, dap-pheromone.com, or request client education material from your local industry representative.

This article was co-authored by Drs. Colleen Wilson and Theresa DePorter.  This article was first published in the OVMA’s September/October 2010 issue of Focus magazine.

Canine Behavior Training: Separation Anxiety Protocol

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Separation Anxiety Protocol

4:03 PM | Posted by Canine Behavior Training | | Edit Post

Protocol

Day 1

hour 1: in the house, go into a room, close the door – dog outside the room. Count to 10 open the door, walk to the next room (do not interact with the dog). Repeat in every room in the house that can be closed off with a door and every closet in the house until you can be in a room/closet for 5 minutes.

hour 2: Do exactly the same as hour one except when you come out of the room, provided the dog is not going nuts and is calm, play WITH the dog (push a war, smack it, tug, something interactive IT MUST INVOLVE PLAYING WITH YOU). You should be able to get to 10 minutes separated from the dog in a room or closet by the end of this hour. The play session should not last more then 1 minute. You can do more then one play session each time with a break of 30 seconds between 1 minute sessions.

hour 3: repeat hour 2, this time with food instead of play. Food should be accompanied by the HUMAN getting really excited about giving the food to the door. Get to 15 minutes. Obviously that means only 4 or 5 rooms will be used in an hour.

Take a break until evening, do not feed the dog dinner.

Hour 4: time to start heading outside, use every door in the house, start at the count of 10 again, NOT at 15 minutes. This is to the dog a totally different game. It will go faster however since the rules of the game have already been established in the first 3 hours.

Hour 5: Write down every routine you go through when you are about to leave the house. It doesn’t matter whether the routine is for going to get the mail, or going shopping, or going to work. Humans are creatures of habit and routine and if you think about it, you can write down every step you take in each type of routine. Put each step in those routines EACH on a 3X5 card and shuffle them. Then grab 5 cards, do the actions in those 5 cards (even if it means putting on your shoes and then taking a shower). At the end of each 5 card routine, go outside rotating doors each time, and continue your counts until you can get to 10 minutes outside with no reaction from the dog.

Hour 6: Do hour 2’s actions of play, but instead of room and closets, go outside. Try and get to 15 minutes.

Day 2

Hours 1,2,3 Do the actions from hour 6 on day one alternating play with food. Get to 20 minutes separation time. The play sessions should be longer now – 1 minute play, 1 minute no play repeated 5 times. The concept that dog gets here is that play always restarts. If you make it one long play session, the dog is left feeling like you’re never going to come back and play again.

Hours 4,5,6 Continue what you were doing in the morning, get to 30 minutes separation time and 2 minutes between 1 minute play sessions.

Day 3

This is the day for the long separation times. When you get up, shuffle your cards and pick out 10 to do, then leave the house for 30 minutes, actually driving away – you can run some errands if you wish so you come home with a bag or two of stuff. When you get home, walk in, ignore the dog no matter what he is doing. Wait until he is calm and then have a 10 minute play sessions (30 seconds on, 30 seconds off).

Wait two hours and repeat with a new set of 10 cards. Leave for 45 minutes, make sure to come back with dog goodies. Again wait until the dog is calm if necessary and have a 15 minute play session.

Wait two hours and just leave, no routine, just pickup the necessities and leave. Be gone for an hour, don’t bring anything back but do have the play session once your dog is calm – 15 minutes is good.

Wait 3 hours, do a normal leaving routine for going to work and then leave for 90 minutes. Everything should be fine by this time. The dog should have the concept that you will always come back and that if he is calm you will play with him for a long time. 15 minutes is a long time for a dog.

———————————————————————————————

Notice that you don’t need to take your dog for a walk during these three days. Your dog will be really tired from the mental exercise and the play sessions.

On play, if your dog doesn’t tug or have much interest in toys at all, there are two games you can play with him. Push-a-war: push lightly at the dog and run away making silly sounds. Game of Deke: with a squeaky toy in your hands, start bouncing back and forth squeaking the toy, your dog will start bouncing with you. There is never a need to give the toy to the dog, just keep bouncing and occasionally run away. Once your dog is playing these two games, you can add one called Smack It. Sit on the ground with the squeaky toy in your hands, smack the toy on the ground to your left saying “smack it”, then to your right and back and forth until your dog is diving to each spot trying to get the toy.

The intention with these three games is to put so much value into playing WITH you, that anything you have is also valuable. The toy you are squeaking becomes valuable to the dog and he wants it Then you can start with tug, drop, run (wait til your dog bites the toy, drop it and run – he should run after you with the toy in his mouth).

Make this whole routine fun for both you and the dog. You can enthusiastically charge out of closets and rooms to start the play sessions or throwing a handful of treats (or his dinner). Really get into the card shuffle game and realize how silly humans are with their routines and habits and laugh at yourself. Your emotions and energy level will affect how well your dog does with this.

Canine Separation Anxiety

Canine Separation Anxiety

In a natural environment the dog is a pack animal.  A pack acts much like a family and there is constant interaction among its members.  Arguments may break out between members of the pack especially concerning dominance but there is constant companionship between members.  Pack members are never alone and will travel in groups especially to hunt.

When we bring a puppy into a human family the puppy naturally becomes part of a new pack comprised of the new family members. Unfortunately, the modern family is always on the go, often in many different directions with the members becoming completely separated for much of the day.  The new puppy is often left alone for long periods of time.  It is an unnatural situation for a dog to be isolated from the pack.  The stress associated with isolation from the nuclear family can lead to a syndrome described as “Separation Anxiety.”

The most common clinical sign of separation anxiety is vocalization.  Additional symptoms include trembling, destructive behavior such as chewing or digging, house soiling, salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia and depression.  The dog is often so stressed that they will be unable to settle down. Symptoms are often most severe during the first 15 to 20 minutes of separation.

Separation anxiety may be acquired when the pet is stressed and unable to cope after major changes in his or her life.  Many dogs are resistant to change.  Stress situations for a dog may involve moving to a new environment, having a family member no longer in their life such as a student leaving home and going to college or a family member becoming deceased.  Changes in family routine may also induce stress for example, family members that are home for the summer leaving in the fall for greater periods of time to attend school or a stay at home caretaker taking a job outside the home.  Stress may also be induced by a companion pet suddenly being absent.

Current research indicates a direct association between thunderstorm and noise associated phobias and separation anxiety.  Fireworks and thunder may cause clinical signs of separation anxiety to be exhibited.

A dog may be confined to a kennel to minimize destructive behavior but this does not address the core problem. Having dogs or other pets in the home will often reduce the incidence of separation anxiety due to the companionship of other pack members.  Since the response is anxiety produced, punishment will not be effective and may further aggravate the problem eventually disrupting the human-animal bond. Various drugs are now available for the treatment of separation anxiety; Novartis markets a tricyclic antidepressant Clomicalm® and Lilly has recently released Reconcile® which is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor.  Both of these drugs are specifically marketed for use in the treatment of separation anxiety and are often used to treat noise phobias as well.  Lilly Animal Health estimates the up to 17 percent of the dogs in the United States suffer from separation anxiety.

Chemical treatment of separation anxiety is most effective when combined with behavior modification.  The dog needs something to do while the family is absent.  Dogs are happiest when they are given a job or have something to occupy their time.  Kong toys stuffed with treats and peanut butter or flavored Kong paste will give a dog a pacifier of sorts.  Other dogs may show less signs of anxiety when allowed to patrol the yard rather than being confined to a kennel.  Separation anxiety is unheard of in a Border Collie that herds sheep for a living but may commonly be seen in a lone Golden Retriever that lives in a small city apartment or condo.

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