Preventing Separation Anxiety in Dogs
As a CSAT, I specialise in helping dogs with separation issues overcome their anxiety when they are left alone at home. As much as I love helping these pups get better, I often wish that my job was not necessary and that these dogs did not have separation issues in the first place. There are many things that an owner can do to help prevent the dog developing this disorder in the first place. That being said, I must warn you that prevention may not always be possible. Like many other behaviour issues, the onset of separation anxiety can be sudden and without warning and we do not really know what causes it in some dogs but not in others. For example, a sudden traumatic event such as being frightened by loud noises when home alone or a sudden change in routine may bring on separation anxiety in a dog who has never shown symptoms before, whereas another dog will just shrug it off and go back to sleep on the sofa. However, there are some steps we can take which leads to preventing separation anxiety in dogs.