Separation anxiety

Separation anxiety

1. Medical contribution

   • Chronic medical conditions can lower anxiety threshold / increase human dependence
   • Medicines can alter behaviour

2. Treatment

   • Environmental management
     • Until dog is able to cope alone
     • Avoid leaving animal on its own - day boarding/ baby sitting etc
     • Mixing up/ eliminating cues that suggest owner departure
   • Behavioural management
     • Changing pet-owner interaction
       • Punishment is contra-indicated = causes more anxiety
       • Ignore attention seeking behaviour - reward with attention only when the dog is calm & quiet
       • Iniate and end all attention giving - signal to the dog when it is appropriate for attention to be given (eg no towel on lap), and when it is not (towel on lap)
       • Ignore the undesirable behaviour not the animal - increase pleasurable activities eg walking - increase exercise
       • Create periods of separation whilst the owner is home - teach the dog to settle
       • Aims to minimise the contrast between owner home and owner away - therefore decreasing anxiety when dog is alone
       • No longer allowed on beds, sofas bedrooms or treats etc
     • Structuring predictable routines and interactions
       • Promote routine formation - settles the dog
         • Create a "relaxation area"
       • Make the dog sit before recieving any resources - owner = more in control and makes life more predictable for the pet - reduces anxiety
     • Changing anxiety-based behaviour associated with departure
       • The predictive value of cues that suggest the owner is leaving (picking up keys etc) should be reduced
       • The owner should begin the "leaving routine" several times a day when the animal is relaxed - but never actually leave
         • The cues become no longer predictive of departure - reducing anxiety
       • Counter-conditioning
         • The owner should teach the dog to sit and stay near the door, and then gradually increase the distance and time they can stay away from the animal - rewarding for good responses
       • Classic conditioning
         • Giving the animal some tasty food/ toy when leaving to distract them and reduce anxiety
     • Changing the leave-return routine
       • Owner should ignore the dog for 15 mins prior to leaving and upon return - dog learns to remain calm upon departure and arrival
         • Simpson, 2000
     • Diminishing home-alone anxiety
       • Planned training departures - last stage = desensitises the animal from the owner being gone
     • Horwitz, 2009 In: BSAVA manual

3. Commonly confused factors

   • Destruction
     • Element of play / exploratory behaviour in young animals withuot sufficient exercise
       • Simpson, 2000
       • Can also occur in response to storm fears/ phobia
         • Will occur in the absence of the owner more often as obviously present owners will attempt to discourage/ prevent it
     • Can be due to dental issues - eruption therefore will occur both in front and in the absence of the owner
       • Horwitz, 2009 In: BSAVA manual
   • Elimination
     • Due to poor house training, medical issue with bladder/ intestines, excitement, endocrine disorder, fear or marking
     • Medical problems would elicit this response whether the owner was present of not
     • Excitement rarely occurs in the absence of the owner as they are usually the source of this behaviour
   • Vocalisation
     • Due to outside stimuli, socialisation with other dogs, play or territorial displays
       • Horwitz and Neilson, 2007
     • Occurs when owner is absent OR present
     • Video tape useful for determining inciting cause

4. True source

   • Can be an inherited disorder - parents selectivly bred for being very socially dependent - breeds a true lap dog
   • Early onset
     • Early experiences - ie being separated from mum too early
   • Middle-aged onset
     • Related to changes in social environment
     • "Learned behaviour" - dog associates actions with the departure of the owner = predicting an upsetting event
     • Can occasionally occur as a one off if something upsetting occured in the owners absence - loud noise etc however this can develop further to a full fear, phobia or dread of the owner leaving
   • Late onset
     • Can develop as a result of ageing / declining cognitive ability - anxiety threshold lowers therefore more easily experienced
       • Landsberg and Ruehl ,1997