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Treating Separation Anxiety (Long Version)
I. Introduction Separation anxiety or separation distress, as it is often called, can prompt affected dogs to:
 Separation distress can severely reduce the quality of life for both you and your dog and is a common rationale for owners abandoning dogs at shelters. Ethologists believe separation anxiety is caused or exacerbated by congenital factors, excessive isolation from the dam or littermates during early developmental periods, a lack of preparatory isolation from the dam or littermates during early developmental periods, and traumatic experiences that occur when a predisposed dog is isolated and/or confined, or any combination of the preceding. In addition, rescue dogs, dogs exhibiting other forms of anxious or phobic behavior, and excessively “clingy” dogs are more predisposed toward developing separation distress behavior. To a lesser degree, dogs owned by clingy or cloying owners and dogs that lack training or structure are also more predisposed toward developing separation distress behavior. II. Solutions  Separation anxiety/distress can be a difficult behavior to resolve. Nevertheless, there are solutions that often provide significant improvement. To maximize effectiveness, the solutions need to be implemented conjunctively, which provides synergies that raise the probability of successful behavior modification. The goal of the solutions is to increase predictability where a lack of predictability creates an anxious emotional state, to create unpredictability where predictability creates an anxious emotional state, to create diversionary and displacement behaviors that reduce the severity of the anxious behavior and/or the dog’s focus on the owner’s departure, and to psychologically, physically, and physiologically create a state of relaxation. A comprehensive multi-level separation anxiety solution plan includes:
Re-ordering the departure routine Most owners are very ritualistic in performing the order of activities that comprise their departure routine. Moreover, dogs are very adept at developing classically conditioned associations between events and outcomes. Consequently, if you own a pet exhibiting separation distress, when you systematically perform your departure ritual, your dog accurately predicts that the activities will conclude with your departure. Therefore, we wish to create entropy that reduces the predictability of your dog’s assumptions. Activities that can be restructured include when or in what order you:
 When re-ordering your departure routine, take some of the more important trigger activities that occur later in the ritual and move those activities earlier in the process. For instance, open the garage door and move your car onto the driveway, then again close the garage door before eating breakfast or showering, instead of saving those activities until your actual departure. In addition, you can get dressed in work clothes when taking your dog for his morning walk, instead of saving formal dress and makeup until immediately prior to your departure. Desensitization to key elements of the departure routine Often there are key components of your departure routine that particularly trigger the onset of distress behavior. Typically, the key provocative activities are behaviors that occur exclusively when you depart, such as providing your dog a bone or chew toy, crating or enclosing your dog, applying makeup, getting dressed in specific work clothing or footwear, placing briefcases or purses in your car, grabbing car keys, starting your car, opening the garage door, or typing onto a burglar alarm keypad. Again, we wish to destroy your dog’s assumptions of predictability by creating randomness to the actions. Therefore, if you own a dog exhibiting separation distress, perform any of the preceding actions spontaneously and randomly throughout the day, regardless of whether you depart. In addition, you may wish to perform some or all of your workday departure ritual on a weekend or holiday when you don’t plan to leave your dog isolated in the house. Subsequently, the departure activities will reduce in predictive quality and your dog may become less distressed when observing the events. Modifying the sensory environment  Modifying the visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, and taste sensory environments prior to or upon departure can create an emotional state of relaxation in an otherwise distressed dog. Some dogs relax and nap when placed in a dark room with no lighting and closed curtains. However, other dogs realize that darkness during daylight is an unnatural state and become more distressed when placed in a darkened room. Such dogs will often do better in a well-lit room that has an uncovered window with access to the outdoors, where they can observe people and wildlife. We recommend videotaping your dog with each lighting variation to ascertain which visual environment is most productive. Altering the auditory environment by incorporating a white noise machine that can produce either technical white noise or “pink noise,” such as sylvan or oceanic sounds, can provide great benefit. The white/pink noise machine can assist in diverting your dog when you depart, as the device will create ambient noise that may reduce the impact of potentially distress inducing external noise, such as the garage door opening/closing, and the repetitive low volume sounds emitted will likely assist in relaxing your dog during the period that he/she is isolated. The olfactory nerve is connected directly to the limbic system, which affects impulse behavior and emotions. Therefore, aromatherapy can have a tangible effect when reducing or converting an anxious emotional state to one composed principally of relaxation and confidence. Natural lavender and citrus potpourri, diffusers, oils, or sprays can help to relax animals when applied several minutes prior to departure. Alternatively, commercial pheromone products, such as DAP® or Comfort Zone®, may provide an aromatherapy solution. However, CPT’s anecdotal data leads us to conclude that lavender is usually the most productive olfactory solution. Tactile sensory solutions may include changing the floor surface where your dog is confined, providing play toys for your isolated dog, providing chew toys, or changing the temperature of the room where your dog is maintained. Some dogs do better on a soft surface, such as carpet, a towel, or a blanket. In contrast, other dogs relax better on cool surfaces such as an air conditioning vent, tile, or a metal crate pan. Play toys, such as large balls they can roll, Buster Cubes® or similar toys that randomly disperse food, squeaky toys, or tennis balls, may provide tactile and taste sensory solutions that displace anxious behavior and reduce focus on the owner’s departure. Likewise, chew toys, especially sterilized bones (which can be stuffed with food), compressed rawhide, tug ropes, nylabones®, gumabones®, or natural deer antlers can divert focus on the owner’s departure and create a dopamine release that contributes to an emotional state of relaxation. When selecting a chew toy ensure that your dog enjoys the selected toy, that your dog will use the toy even when aroused by developing levels of anxiety, and that the toy is safe for your dog- some dogs may break teeth on overly hard toys, ingest shards from crushed hard toys, swallow squeakies, ingest incompletely chewed rawhide strips or bones, ingest strands from rope tugs, or develop diarrhea from consuming rawhide or nylon toys. From a room temperature standpoint, some thin, short-coated dogs prefer a warm room and a warm surface area. Therefore, during winter months, you may wish to turn up the heat, provide a space heater, and confine your dog near a HVAC vent. Likewise, during summer months, turn down air conditioning and turn off ceiling fans. Conversely, if you own a thick double-coated dog, you may wish to reduce the heat during winter months, keep them away from hot windows where the sun fully shines, and provide a room fan or ceiling fan, and similarly turn up the air conditioner during summer months. Evaluating the enclosure/containment environment  Determining the optimal enclosure/containment environment is an important part of the behavior modification process. If your isolated dog is likely to chew parts of your home, expensive loose items, or items that are potentially hazardous, then your dog needs to be confined for financial and safety reasons. Similarly, if your distressed dog regularly becomes incontinent, you may wish to confine your dog to a room that is easily cleaned. On the other hand, many times isolation itself or the specific isolation environment exacerbates existing stress and may result in greater levels of separation distress symptoms or greater risk of injury to your animal, due to broken teeth or nails that emanate from escape attempts or increased destruction to your dog’s skin/hair arising from self-mutilation. Some dogs become safe and relaxed in a wire crate that provides ample 360-degree visibility. However, other dogs feel more secure in a more enveloping enclosure, such as a plastic Vari-kennel. Short-coated dogs may feel more comfortable with the hotter ambient temperature provided by the Vari-kennel. Alternatively, some dogs prefer the cooler temperature and circulation available via the aforementioned more open wire kennel. Nevertheless, a certain percentage of distressed dogs exhibit severe crate anxiety or outright claustrophobia and become distressed when placed in either type of crate. Alternatively, an exercise pen that provides more room, is taller, and does not have a top may become a superior solution. However, if your dog exhibits confinement anxiety inside an exercise pen, the exercise pen costs more than you wish to spend, or the exercise pen is too bulky for your household, you may wish to tether your dog with a chain leash to a piece of furniture in an area of the house where your dog is most comfortable, can not inflict much damage, and is safe from hazards. If your dog resists tethering, gets trapped in the tether, chokes himself by pulling on the tether, or exhibits barrier frustration, then consider confining your dog to a baby-gated bathroom, bedroom, or kitchen, where your dog is comfortable, can not inflict severe damage, and is safe from hazards. On the other hand, if your dog manifests his/her separation distress by behaviors other than chewing, incontinence, or property damaging escape behavior, then confinement may not be necessary. By videotaping and collecting data regarding the frequency and severity of pertinent separation behaviors when your dog is placed in various enclosure alternatives, you can determine which enclosure solution is optimal- or whether freedom is optimal. Developing a diversionary and bland departure strategy Often owners inadvertently exacerbate separation distress by providing excessive communication immediately prior to departure. Rather than communicate, “Bye, bye,” or “Mommy will miss you; I will be home soon,” leave silently. Make departures as uneventful as possible. In addition, divert your dog via a play toy, a chew toy, a treat, or background noise, so that your dog does not immediately notice your departure. Similarly, make arrivals as uneventful as possible. Discourage arrival barking, restlessness, running, or jumping. Upon arrival, ignore your dog until he can sit calmly. Then, provide attention and affection. Do your best to control your dog’s impulsive, excitable, anxious behavior by exclusively rewarding calm, relaxed behavior.  Proactive stimulation We believe in the maxim that “a tired dog is a happy dog and belongs to a happy owner.” Proactive stimulation is designed to productively fatigue your dog 24/7 and especially immediately prior to departure, so that your dog is naturally diverted and more inclined to assume a relaxed emotional state. There are three types of proactive stimulation: sensory, physical, and mental. Proactive sensory stimulation can occur via more frequent and/or lengthy walks, whereby your dog gets to see, hear, smell, and touch novel stimuli. A long walk within an hour of departure can serve to relax a normally separation distressed animal. Proactive physical stimulation consists of rigorous exercise, such as running, bicycling, roller-blading, swimming, ball sprints, or Frisbee. In addition to getting your dog physically tired, rigorous exercise can favorably alter brain serotonin levels to the same degree observed with SSRI medications. Select the exercise activity that your dog most enjoys and that best fits with your schedule and abilities. Rigorous exercise for 20 minutes completed immediately prior to departure can be highly effective in reducing separation distress behavior. When exercising, consider water replacement afterward, provide a bathroom opportunity afterward, and to reduce the risk of stomach torsion/bloat (a potentially life threatening condition), do not feed until one hour after exercise and do not exercise until two hours after feeding. Please note that exercise must consist of a high intensity activity. Unless the temperature is very hot, your dog is of senior age, or your dog is obese, walking is not exercise- it is only sensory stimulation. Proactive mental stimulation consists of obedience training. For 10 to 30 minutes per day, practice basic commands with your dog, so that he/she performs the commands more reliably and responsively, and/or teach your dog new commands, agility, scent detection, or tricks. Challenge your dog mentally to productively tire your dog and to provide yourself tools that better enable you to manage your dog’s behavior.  Impulse Control Training Separation distress is an impulsive behavior. Your distressed dog impulsively assumes a highly anxious emotional state without cognitively evaluating that you tend to return at about the same time each day, that you need to leave to earn the money that buys the dog food, and that the isolated environment is safe. Impulse Control Training (ICT) is designed to teach general impulse control, so that your dog may become more cognitive and less impulsive, both in your presence and upon your departure. ICT consists of teaching your dog:
 Dominance Training Many ethologists believe that certain types of separation distress behaviors emanate from puppyhood, where a young dog will normally whine to inform his/her mother that he/she is lost, to call his mother back to the den, or to communicate hunger. These normal behaviors usually disappear as the puppy matures. However, in the case of separation anxious/distressed dogs, the preceding behaviors are abnormally continued into adulthood. Moreover, some ethologists believe that certain types of separation behaviors (especially barking, whining, howling, racing the owner to the doorway, blocking the owner from departing, or biting the owner) are in fact dominance behaviors where the dog is in essence commanding that the owner not depart or immediately return. In such cases, Dominance Training (DT) is also advised. To complete DT, you should be highly consistent with all the ICT protocols. In addition, you should remove your dog from all positions of height, such as beds or doorways, highly control and structure all play and exercise activities through the implementation of a leash and/or commands (e.g., “take, bring, give” to sequence stages of a retrieve game), teach your dog to down stay for at least 5 minutes, and teach your dog more intensive and higher levels of obedience, whereby you assume a strong, but benevolent and mutually enjoyable leadership position. Moreover, you may wish to implement appropriate modulations in your command, praise, and rebuking voice and you may wish to emphasize proper physical postures and communication over verbal communication (we believe “silence can be golden”). CPT teaches effective leadership communication skills in a targeted private behavior modification lesson. Random departure behavior modification drills Random departure behavior modification drills create beneficial unpredictability regarding the length of your departure. Set your dog up as if you are going to depart. Then, leave for only 15 seconds. Do not return unless your dog is calm and quiet. If you cannot easily determine whether your dog is calm, you may consider using a closed circuit camera that you can obtain from a spy store or you can discreetly place a spotter with a cell phone inside your house. Once your dog is regularly calm with you departing for no greater than 15 seconds, lengthen the duration to 30 seconds. However, consider 30 seconds as a maximum duration. Randomize the length of your departure so that some departures are less than 30 seconds. Again, do not return unless your dog is calm and quiet. Once your dog is regularly comfortable with a 30-second departure, gradually increase the duration of the maximum departure to 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour, and longer, being careful to intersperse many random shorter intervals between repetitions extended to the maximum duration. Homeopathic remedies and/or pharmaceutical anti-anxiety medication 
Homeopathic remedies, such as Bach Flower Remedies, Bach Rescue Remedy, or melatonin, may reduce your dog’s general or immediate anxious state. You can purchase homeopathic products online without a prescription. In addition, various pharmaceutical products work well to reduce the anxious state of distressed dogs. Novartis completed FDA approval of its tricyclic antidepressant/anti-anxiety medication clomipramine for the specific veterinary purpose of reducing the effects of separation anxiety in dogs. Novartis markets and packages the drug for dogs as “Clomicalm,” which sounds much nicer than clomipramine. Clomicalm is available by prescription from veterinarians. Since dogs have the same neurotransmitters as humans, many other human anti-depressants and anxiolytics have also been found helpful in reducing anxious behavior in canids. Therefore, if Clomicalm is unsuccessful, speak to your veterinarian about adjusting the dosage, switching to an alternative anxiolytic medication, or combining a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) with a benzodiazepine, such as valium. If the latter strategy is used, you will administer the TCA daily and administer the valium prn only on the days you depart, about a half-hour before you depart. The role of the TCA is to revise general systemic neurotransmitter levels so that your dog remains less anxious at all times. The role of the benzodiazepine is to reduce sensory inputs and relax your dog immediately before departure, during departure, and for the first hour or two after departure, when distress symptoms are usually most pronounced. Please note that homeopathic remedies and pharmaceutical medications work best when combined with the behavior modification protocols described in the above paragraphs. The role of homeopathic or pharmaceutical products is to reduce your dog’s general anxiety level, so that your dog is better able to relax and can concomitantly cognitively process the information inculcated during the behavior modification procedures. Consequently, if all works according to plan, your dog can intrinsically and cognitively overcome his/her separation distress, whereby the remedy or medication can be weaned and eventually eliminated from the solution plan. Nevertheless, if your dog has a severe or highly refractory case of separation distress, to maximize the probability that symptoms do not recur or remain reduced in severity, both behavior modification protocols and medication may need to remain implemented for the remainder of your dog’s lifetime. Videotaping  Lastly, as part of the solution plan, we recommend videotaping to ascertain which solution alternatives provide therapeutic outcomes. Many parts of the above solution plan involve choices, as there is no universally effective one-solution-fits-all plan. To determine which choices are optimal or whether solutions are working effectively (e.g., dark or light room; crate, x-pen, gated room, or freedom; which play toys or chew toys interest your dog; how long he whines, barks, or howls) videotaping provides an excellent resource. After reviewing the tape, you can judiciously revise choices and productively tweak the plan. III. Conclusion The above article is written principally for informational purposes. Since separation anxiety is often a complex condition that is difficult to resolve, significantly lowers the quality of life of both the human and pet, causes notable financial damages, dramatically reduces the joy of pet ownership, has owners often feeling shackled to the house, and prompts owners to abandon dogs to animal control or a humane society where there is a high probability of euthanasia, we highly recommend the services of a skilled CPT trainer/behaviorist when diagnosing the condition and implementing a customized solution plan. To schedule a CPT behavior modification session, please contact the CPT office by phone at 770-396-6433 or contact us by e-mail at info@cpt-training.com. © Copyright Mark Spivak and Comprehensive Pet Therapy, Inc., May 2010, All rights reserved. Dog Training Brochure | Agility Training | DayCare | Locations | Newsroom | Grooming | Retail | Dog Training Resources Copyright ©2002 (Rev May 2009) Comprehensive Pet Therapy, Inc. All rights reserved. |
