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My Pet World: Some problems are mistakenly labeled as separation anxiety

By Steve Dale, Tribune Content Agency on

Recently, Merrick Pet Foods conducted a contest via Facebook, asking readers to ask me: "Why does my dog...?" The first 20 responders received a copy of "Decoding Your Dog: The Ultimate Experts Explain Common Dog Behaviors and Reveal How to Prevent or Change Unwanted Ones" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, NY, 2014; $27) authored by members of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, co-edited by myself, and veterinary behaviorists Dr. Debra Horwitz and Dr. John Ciribassi.

Here is a second batch of my replies:

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Q: Why is my puppy so anxious when we put her in her crate, then leave the house? -- S.G., via cyberspace

Q: Why does my dog piddle on the rug when I'm gone? We had him checked out and there's no medical explanation. -- N.D., via cyberspace

A: In "Decoding Your Dog" there's an entire chapter on separation anxiety written by veterinary behaviorists Dr. E'Lise Christensen, of New York City, and Dr. Karen Overall, of Philadelphia, PA.

 

First things first: Always get a diagnosis from a veterinarian. Sometimes, separation anxiety is mistaken for lack of house-training. A dog who piddles when its owners leave the house may simply not be properly house-trained, or the dog may never have learned how to behave when people depart, and isn't anxious so much as having a good old time chewing on pillows. There may also be a medical explanation, such as a urinary tract infection or diabetes.

Often, dogs with separation anxiety drool excessively (so much so that owners find a puddle when they return home), destroy furniture and/or chew on inedible objects, bark, yelp, whine and/or forget house-training, and won't eat even yummy treats while their people are away. Videotaping your dog shortly after you depart is the best way to show your veterinarian exactly what's going on.

Another sign of separation anxiety is that a dog begins to get "stressed out," picking up cues as you prepare to leave the house.

While, overall, I'm a proponent of crate training, putting an anxious or panicked dog in a crate is not always a good idea. Dogs can hurt themselves attempting to break out of the crate.

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