Understanding from Tricia Wills, Dog Trainer in Exeter, Devon and the South West
Separation Anxiety manifests itself in all sorts of guises, your dog’s behaviour may be triggered in a variety of ways and this can be brought on from one of the following: boredom, lack of physical and mental stimulation, anticipation of owner departing and recognition of routine when departing.
Living with the anticipation of this anxiety separation can be emotionally worrying and have a great impact on your day to day living and working domestic/lifestyle.
There are differing hallmarks of this behaviour and we must be mindful and intelligent enough and be open minded enough to delve deeper with someone who has the sympathy and empathy of what triggers this particular reaction.
Once they get into a pattern, it could be excessive panting, tail between legs, lip licking, ears pinned back, yawning and pacing and upon your departure. The worse case scenario it may be demonstrated by destructiveness, vocalisation, defecation and urination which can become ingrained and will be a deep rooted irretrievable situation for you.
It is critical to understand the patterns and triggers which make this behaviour occur, identifying these can be tricky as the majority of this behaviour is when they are on their own.
Some people monitor their dogs while they are away with cameras to report back patterns of behaviour, while slowly increasing separation time with your dog in the house may lessen the reliance of your company full time.
My 25 years+ experience and insight into various dog breeds and your lifestyle domestic interactions in these circumstances are essential to pinpoint the correct treatment plan to restructure the dog/owner relationship.
