Separation Anxiety and How to Fix It

Separation anxiety affects dogs and makes them appear stressed when the owner leaves home for some time. The phrase describes how the dog behaves when the owner is not around. The dog will exhibit symptoms such as excessive salivation, winning, barking and destroying items including scratching the walls, floors, doors and attempting to escape from the room.

Stimulated separation anxiety - The dog may exhibit and show a lack of self-control due to insufficient leadership. This dog may experience stress due to lack of attention from the owner. The dog becomes aware of the fact that it will attract attention if it behaves badly. When such a dog is reprimanded, it gets motivated because it knows that at least there is some form of attention. Negative attention can also be a reward if the owner is not aware of the needs of the dog. This kind of stress is easy to overcome especially where the owner increases the amount of time he spends with the dog by giving the dog proper exercise and leadership.

Fixing Anxiety

Take the Dog for a Walk

To reduce the anxiety, you can start by taking the dog for a walk. If you make the walk more rigorous, and give the dog enough food and water, the dog will spend enough time eating and resting. This leaves him in a quite or resting mode when you are away from home.

Avoid Touch or Eye Contact

Do not let the dog know when you are leaving or when you return. It makes the dog understand that there is nothing wrong when you disappear for some time. Disappearing for an hour before you leave or after your appear will effectively communicate this to the dog.

Say Goodbye Long Before Leaving

Before you leave the house, show the dog some affection. The dog will learn to associate the affection with leaving.

Remain Calm And Assertive

If you are ready to go to work, let the dog be aware of the fact that everything will be OK. This can be achieved if you project some level of confidence. Be assertive and reduce the separation anxiety.

Practice Leaving the Dog for Some Time

You can do this in a small manner. Leave the dog for some time then come back and leave again for a longer period of time. This should be practiced regularly until the dog learns that your absence does not mean anything.

Separation anxiety can be a huge problem however with some patients and the help of a professional you will hopefully solve the problem.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Separation-Anxiety-and-How-to-Fix-It&id=9055444