If you answered yes to any of these questions, then it’s possible your dog is exhibiting signs of separation anxiety.
Often times owners are frustrated with their dogs thinking they are acting in spite and misbehaving, but in reality it is a good chance your pup is suffering from separation anxiety and this is their method of getting your attention and desperately seeking your help. No owner wants to see their furry friend suffering through that.
Separation anxiety is one of the most common canine behavior problems and is diagnosed in 20% to 40% of dogs referred to animal behavior practices in North America. Separation anxiety has an increased presence in senior dogs, dogs who grow up in a home with children and suffer from anxiety when it is time for the kids to go back to school in the fall, and working dog-owners who are not present during the day.
Separation anxiety comes with many different symptoms ranging from:
- Urinating in the home – even though they have been house trained for years
- Barking and howling – which is disturbing your neighbors
- Chewing – furniture, stairwells, and anything else they can get their teeth on
- Escaping – the house or their cages
- Coprophagia – the consumption of their own or other animals feces
Watching our lovable canines go through this distress can be heartbreaking because they do not intentionally mean to be doing these acts.