Looking After Pets

Technically speaking, when we talk about dog anxiety, it isn’t actually dog anxiety . Now that might seem like a bit of a riddle, but it’ll make sense when you check out the dictionary’s definition of anxiety.

“Anxiety is a generalized mood condition that can often arise without a recognisable causing stimulus. As such, it is different from fear, which is an emotional response to a perceived threat. Additionally, fear is related to the known behaviours of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is related to scenarios thought of as uncontrollable or unavoidable”.

Dog’s adverse reactions are almost always caused by a perceived threat; it may be as innocent as someone walking into a room, a clap of thunder, or the sound of the postman approaching the front door. We may not be in a position to hear the threat ourselves (they have better hearing than us), or understand what is scary, but a dog will respond in one of the three ways they know how – freeze, flight or fight. Our problems start when they make the wrong choices and react in an unsuitable way.

Dog Fears

Some dog fears are understandable, eg a dog afraid of thunder or a storm, but when a dog is frightened by the ring of a telephone or the noise of the washer, it’s harder to appreciate the danger they pose to a dog. But we live in a world that a dog regularly does not understand. From cars that rush past them, the regular visit of the postman, to televisions and cell telephones, a dog can often find themselves out of their depth and reacting inappropriately.

If we understand that dogs are programmed first and foremost to survive, we can begin to understand why they often react with fear to the things they don’t understand. The items may seem completely harmless to us, but to a dog, safety is paramount and they will treat it as a genuine threat to their safety until proved otherwise.

Why Being Pack Leader Can Increase Dog Fear

Expecting our dogs to be the decision maker for the pack in a world they don’t understand is only likely to increase their fears. The trouble is that a dog naturally needs to know who pack leader is – and if they do not think you are – they are going to take on the job.

It is said that the issue of pack leadership this is what lies behind much of dog separation anxiety. Imagine if a member of your family went out leaving you locked in the house and you didn’t know where they had gone or if they were going to be able to find their way back. At the very least you’d be anxious and rather more likely be desperately attempting to get out of the house to go and find them.

Knowing this, the best thing we are able to do is take on the role of pack leader ourselves and show our dogs that their job is to follow our lead. If they look to us to make decisions then when we don’t show fear around potentially threatening situations (like switching the hoover on, or answering the ring on the front door to the delivery man) it should immediately reduce their fear or anxiousness.

Author Venice Marriott is a writer and dog owner and runs a website which provides help and information for dog owners dealing with dog anxiety. Get more information about dog anxiety or dog fear when you visit the site.

Dog barking is a contentious issue and regularly a big source of stress between neighbors. For any of us, a dog barking is a horrible noise to listen to for even the shortest length of time and you can understand that when the dog next door barks off and on all day like a defective vehicle alarm, it will try anyone’s patience. What we often overlook is that the dog will be barking for an perfectly good reason (as far as they are concerned) and it is potentially just as unsettling for the dog who is experiencing the fear or anxiety.

Discovering what sets off your dogs barking could be the toughest part of the issue as dogs can bark at the tiniest of things. External noise, such as somebody walking past the house will start some dogs barking , however, even in the house, some dog owners discover they can’t leave their dog in a room on their own without them becoming manic and barking the place down, and the door bell or telefone is frequently the cue for an outburst of barking.

Anxiety frequently lies behind a dogs excessive barking, even though on the face of it, it can look more like aggression. So to stop dog barking we need to commenceby handling any anxiety problems, which will automatically reduce our dogs need to bark.

Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Separation anxiety is said to affect more than fifteen percent of dogs (and some reports indicates as much as 50%). The anxiety creates a number of behavioural symptoms from a dog pacing the floor, to chewing everything in sight as well as other destructive behavior. Dog separation anxiety is almost always the cause of a dog barking excessively when left home on their own.

Reducing anxiety in dogs can be a lengthy process, dependent on how acute the symptoms are and will require both time and patience on your part. When you have worked out the triggers that set off the anxiety you will be able to use desensitization training to help your dog.

Leading the Pack

Closely connected to separation anxiety is pack leadership. As a pack animal, dogs instinctively know there should be a pack leader, one who is responsible for the safety of the remainder of its clan. If one of its charges goes missing, barking is one way of helping them to find their way back. Clever stuff, but then if we stop and realise that the dog could believe itself to be the responsible member of the pack, what does it feel when everybody goes out, locks the door and leaves them home alone?

Excessive barking in dogs is much like any anxious parents reaction to a child which has disappeared. In our anxiety we’d scream at the top of our voice in they hope that they can hear us and come running back, so too a dog will try and let the missing pack members understand how to find their way back to the house. This is also why dogs will scratch wildly at the door or window, because they want to get out and look for you.

How To Stop Dogs Barking

One of the easiest paths to stop dogs barking is to take away the responsibility for the pack from the dog by showing them that you are the pack leaders and the ones to be trusted.

That doesn’t mean using devices like the shock collar every time your dog is barking (why punish a dog for doing what it thinks is its job?) or removing its vocal chords (does it change the dog’s mind about its responsibility?) Neither does it mean you have to control your dog by pinning it down or pushing it around. Leadership can be established by showing your dog you are the decision maker, for example by always making them sit and wait for their food and only begin eating when you give the go ahead.

It could appear like an indirect way to stop dog barking, but by coping with both dog separation anxiety and leadership issues you are more likely to bring peace to the household and the neighbourhood too.

Author Venice Marriott is a writer, rescue dog owner and runs a Dog Anxiety website, which provides help and information for dog owners dealing with dog anxiety. Get more information about how to stop dogs barking, when you visit the site.

A whining dog can be so maddening, because occasionally it’s just about impossible to work out what they are whining for or what you can do about it.

While other forms of dog communication like barking or snarling appear to be straightforward and simple to comprehend, dog whining seems to be more complex and have more meanings.

Below are 3 typical reasons that make dogs whine and what you need to do about it.

Whining to get your Attention

In the house, many dogs will whine to get your attention or when they want something. Sadly , it appears the more they succeed, the more often they’ll use it, so you have to be careful how you respond. If they can get your interest whenever they start whining, they could also think that puts their position in the pack above yours and the result may be all sorts of other behavior problem. It’s best to ignore this sort of whining, rather than reacting to it (even screaming can be construed as paying them some attention) if you need them to stop whining.

Whining from Pain

Dogs will also whine when they’re in some type of discomfort. Pain can make them whine as can being cold or wet. You just need to use your judgement to work out if it’s worth taking any notice of. If you suspect they could be in real agony, then you must take them to see your vet, but if they’ve been fed, watered and let out to wee, it may just be a grumble or complaint, and again it’s best to give no attention to it.

Whining Because of Separation Anxiety

Dog separation anxiety might be the driver behind your dogs whining habits. Some dogs will start whining the second their owners is out of view, whether or not they’re only in the nearest room, and others will whine non-stop when they are left at home alone. If you are troubled that your dog might be doing this, ask your neighbors – they’ll soon tell you if they are whining! You’ll need to approach this issue with time, patience, persistence and a decent training programme to make them stop this kind of whining.

Author Venice Marriott is a writer and dog owner and runs a website, which provides help and info for dog owners dealing with the behaviour problems created by dog anxiety. Get more information about the reasons your dog whines when you head to the site.

Some people say there is little more charming than your dog jumping up at you enthusiastically when you come back home. Well, for the owner of a Yorkshire Terrier, that may indeed be lovable, but the poor owner of a St Bernard, may not agree!

Is A Dog Jumping Up Bad Dog Behaviour?

Passionate as the greeting may be , we want to ask ourselves if jumping up is decent behaviour or a sign of dog behaviour problems? Remember, both dogs we mention are doing a similar thing.

What if your dog jumps on others – such as visitors, babies or your aging aunt? Is that acceptable behaviour? Because, if we do not mind them jumping up at us, are we able to really expect them to realise that jumping up at other visitors is not okay?

Rather than tackling the behaviour direct, many dog lovers work around this problem, and try and avoid the situation arising. Some owner will try and distract their dog to allow them to creep into the house without being spotted and get ready for the attack, others dash into the house before their dog can cover them in multiple paw prints after being in the garden, while others erect a barricade with the bags they’re carrying to stop the dog reaching them.

In the short-term, these might be valuable tactics, but long-term they won’t solve the problem and stop them from jumping up at you.

The Actual Reason Your Dog is Jumping At You

Some dogs actually use jumping up opportunities to really put some power behind it, knocking their owners over in some cases. The reason for this may surprise you, but in a dogs natural environment, height is typically linked with might, so the bigger you are (or can make yourself), the higher up the pecking order you are.

In natural habitats, they will do this every time the pack gets back together. So if your dog jumps up at you to make themselves higher than you, and perhaps you crouch down, getting down to their level to say hello to them, you are giving them the clear sign they are higher than you in the pack structure which long term can create all kinds of other dog behaviour problems like dog separation anxiety.

What Has A Dog Jumping Up Got To Do With Separation Anxiety In Dogs?

The way that we make a response to jumping up is important to a dog because they are attempting to confirm their place in the pack .The problem is that because we don’t get what a dog jumping up is all about, we do not give them the right reply.

This may lead many dogs to believe that they’re pack leader and therefore accountable for their other pack members (and that means you and the rest of the family), which can in turn can lead to dog separation anxiety, and that’s not a laughing matter.

In reality separation anxiety in dogs is an increasingly frequent problem that dog lovers are having to handle on an everyday basis.

The Proper Way To Stop A Dog From Jumping at You

Ignoring your dog till they calm down is the right way to address a dog jumping up, so don’t talk to your dog, stroke them or even look at them when you first come home. If they can see that throwing themselves at you is not going to get them the notice they desire, they ought to steadily become calmer.

Don’t call you dog to you and give them a fuss till they leave you alone. That might take 20 minutes to begin with, but will speedily decrease as they learn that being calm is what gets them an enormous fuss and tons of attention.

Author Venice Marriott is a writer and dog owner and runs a Dog Anxiety web site, which gives help and information for dog lovers handling dog anxiety. Get additional info about how to stop a dog jumping up when you visit the site.

Dog separation anxiety is one of the most common emotional health issues that you can discover when you have a dog. Dogs, like people, they seek love, affection and care and when they get these things in abundance, they love it.

Separation anxiety often occurs generally when there has been a big change in your dog’s life. Perhaps you’ve had some quality time with your dog. For instance, if you’ve had some time off from work, and then when you return to work your dog feels a void. You aren’t at home as much and they desire to be with you more and more.

This situation can develop into dog separation anxiety which is the reason behind dogs doing things that are out of character, either by barking and whining all day or demonstrating destructive behaviour

Dog separation anxiety is a circumstance where dogs start behaving in an altogether different manner, like they start whining, barking and crying when you are not home disturbing the neighbours and sometimes the entire street.

Separation anxiety can also expand into destructive behaviors such as, chewing up all manner of things including furniture, and doing whatever they can to find you including attempting to escape the house or yard.

In the most serious cases some dogs have seriously injured themselves attempting to escape by breaking windows, tearing up rugs and damaging drywall.

Nearly all pups will experience some level of anxiety when they come to live with you and are separated from their mom and brother and sisters. You will know that your new puppy is experiencing anxiety when they look unhappy and cry when they are alone.

Dog anxiety in fully grown dogs typically starts much more subtlety. Your dog will start to become annoying by following you everywhere and never being comfortable when you’re out of sight. They’d get in your way and continually block your path in an effort to gain more attention. Your dog may start becoming more demanding for love and also may be over excited when you return home.

How you choose to manage your dog’s anxiety will make the difference. It’s your choice. Do you want to own a happy dog or a dog that might develop long-term separation anxiety issues?

Next, learn if your canine pal has dog separation anxiety by utilizing a free dog anxiety checklist. Discover the various simple to implement systems that will cure the issue of dog anxiety.

Does your dog suffer with dog separation anxiety? Do you ever come home and think “What happened here?” Your home doesn’t seem like how you left it there’s mess everywhere and instead of enjoying a quiet evening at home you are compelled to clean up a massive mess.

Dog separation anxiety in dogs starts in different dogs in many varied ways. These are some of the most common dog anxiety symptoms and starts in different levels.

Level 1 Noise like barking, yelping, whining, howling.
This is maybe the most typical sort of dog anxiety. Your dog may initially make whining noises which can easily increase to barking, howling and yapping.

Dogs at level one of separation anxiety may also appear to be clinging and follow you everywhere round the house or yard. They appear to have a compulsive need to with you all of the time.

Level 2 Destructive behavior.
Destructive behaviour is also exceedingly common where your loved pet may empty the bins all over the kitchen and spread the contents of the pantry everywhere.

In the most intense cases you beloved dog damages furniture; tears up carpet and may even cause structural damage to your home.

The ‘extreme damaging behaviour ‘ is not as common as ‘making a mess ‘ type of behavior.

Level 3 Severe anxiety including self harm and self injury.
Some dogs do not ‘act out ‘ but internalize their pain and confusion. They can become absolutely depressed and do not look to enjoy anything; they seem to just give up!

Other dogs, when they internalize their feeling and confusion too much, have been said to chew on their feet or tails to the point at which they require veterinarian treatment.

Some dogs can self harm so excessively and can cause so much damage by gnawing on themselves that their tail or toes need amputation.

It’s insignificant what kind of behaviour your dog is showing, you are reading this information about anxiety in dogs so you are clearly seeking solutions. Sure, you can try costly dog training schools or individual one on one dog training courses but there are other options available that won’t break the budget.

Next, discover how you can discover if your canine buddy has dog separation anxiety and learn how you can implement simple methods and techniques to fix yourdog anxiety issues.

With research telling us that somewhere between 15% and 50% of our dogs show evidence of dog separation anxiety, many dog owners are looking out for the best way to get rid of their dogs anxiousness and the dog behaviour problems made by it.

Virtually all dog trainers and vets agree that a behaviour alteration training programme is vital to be successful with this, even if you also get some extra help for the problem with stress reducing products or medicines.

Is Dog Training The Answer To Your Dogs Behavior Problems?

Prior to starting a training routine, you take the time to make certain it actually is dog separation anxiety that you are needing to treat otherwise your activities could all get wasted!

Many of the behaviors you see as a result of anxiety can also be utilised by your dog to get you to notice them. For instance, a dog could be chewing while you are out because they are feeling stressed and the chewing action helps releases a natural endorphin that soothes them down, or they might be chewing where you can see them because they know it’ll get your attention and that maybe you will even chase them (and that is a fun game).

As a rule, if they are showing the ‘bad behavior ‘ while you are around, it’s likely to be attention seeking, but if they only do it while you’re out, it’s more likely to be driven by separation anxiety. If you’re in doubt, consult with a dog trainer or vet.

How Effective is Dog Separation Anxiety Training?

Key to succeeding with any training method is the necessity for you to be both consistent and persistent. There is no ‘magic potion ‘ to get rid of your dog’s anxiousness and don’t believe anyone that says there is. Yes, you can medicate your dog, or distract them from their feelings with toys and other products, and they may help, but to really get to the roots of the problem and remove it permanently you have to use some training.

How Long Does Dog Separation Anxiety Training Take?

All dogs are individual, and learn at a different pace, so predicting how long the training will take to get rid of the anxiety is not easy. Some dogs will accept changes swiftly and you might see quite immediate results while other dogs are more resistant and challenging and it will take a bit more effort before they change. It also depends upon what sort of time you have got to put into it.

One other thing to remember is that while practice needs to be consistent, progress rarely takes place in little incremental steps – ask any sports enthusiast. You can regularly feel you aren’t getting anywhere and then suddenly take a giant step forward.

Getting to the Real Cause of Dog Separation Anxiety

Frequently at the roots of separation anxiety in dogs lies leadership issues and it is essential that you tackle that issue with your training.

It’s in a dogs nature to have a pack leader, so if they don’t think you are, they will assume they are. With the status of pack leader comes the responsibility for taking care of the rest of the pack, but as a dog does not understand our world, that role can be very stressful. An illustration of this would be why so many postmen are barked at and bitten by our dogs, we can see they are not a threat, but our dogs do not.

So take care that any dog separation anxiety training you use shows you the correct way to take on the leadership role in your dogs eyes. Wishing you all success.

Author Venice Marriott is a writer, dog owner and runs a Dog Anxiety web site which is there to help owners dealing with the issues of dog anxiety. Get more dog separation anxiety training tips, when you visit the site.

We like our dogs, we mean well, and yet most of us get it wrong when it comes to leaving our dog home alone and coping with separation anxiety in dogs. And while we definitely don’t want to cause our dog any more uneasiness, all our care and concern only seems to make their symptoms worse.

Here’s 3 of the things many of us do each time we leave our dogs:

Make a Big Fuss Of Our Dogs Before Leaving

A lot of us don’t want to be leaving our dogs home alone at the very best of times and we feel worse if we all know they’re going to be worried while we are out, so we try compensating for it by giving them a massive fuss before we leave, stroking and petting them and telling them don’t worry as we shalln’t be gone long.

That’s our first mistake, as all the fuss adds to their stress because they sense that something is up. Imagine your 5 year old kid giving you a big hug, telling you they adore you and that you are not to stress about them while they’re gone, and then disappearing. If you don’t know where they have gone or when they are going to be back, it’s sure to send your stress levels sky high.

Create Rituals To Help Them Cope

You know the type of thing. We take them for a decent walk (because we have been told if they are tired they will worry less), we get out their best toys (as we hope they will distract them) and then give them masses of attention before we leave.

That’s out 2nd mistake as they will soon associate these rituals with you going out, and they become trigger that start to add to their anxiousness before you even leave. They know what’s coming. Some people just need to pick up their automobile keys or get a coat from the cupboard to get their dogs whining or pacing the floor.

We Get Worried Ourselves Before We Leave

We know they don’t it when we’re gone, we know they’re going to be pining, we’re feeling guilty, we’re hoping the dogs barking and whining doesn’t upset the next door we aren’t sure what kind of mess we’ll come back to this time and the more we think about it the more our own tension levels rise.

This is our third mistake as dogs are very sensitive and will pick up on our anxiety, so if we start worrying before we even leave, they will know about it and will have more reason to be concerned themselves.

Look at it this way, if a dog can pick up on the signs that their owner is going to have an epileptic fit, 40 minutes before it happens, they’ll definately pick up on your feelings of stress!

Finding Dog Separation Anxiety Solutions

The most important key to leaving your dog home alone, is not to make a fuss and treat going out in a very low key way, like it is not a big deal. This is not likely to stop separation anxiety in dogs altogether, and there are other things you will need to do, but its a great start.

Author Venice Marriott is a writer and dog owner and runs the Dog Anxiety website, which provides help and information for dog owners dealing with their dog’s anxiousness. Get a free help sheet ondog separation anxiety symptoms, when you visit the site.

Unlike what many people think, separation anxiety in dogs is truly much more rampant as a problem. But not a lot of dog owners know what they’re dealing with. As a consequence, they end up addressing dog separation anxiety when it’s too late, or even not at all.

Separation anxiety in dogs is certainly something you have to be aware of as a sensible dog owner. Furthermore, if you have a pet that displays the telltale signs of this condition, it is your duty to rectify it.

Does your pet have separation anxiety?

Fortunately, separation anxiety is very easy to detect, if you just know what you are looking for. If your pet is particularly needy, or if he constantly wishes to be close to you, this is a sure sign of the condition.

Other signs that your pet may be suffering from separation anxiety will include some of the following:

1. Your pet knows whenever you’re about to leave the house, and will exhibit distress by barking, whining, or even scratching.

2. Your dog takes items that have your smell on them, like clothes, footwear, and even beddings.

3. You come home to a messy house. This is when your pet chews, bites, and tears through furniture and other items in the house when left alone.

4. When left alone, your dog urinates and defecates inside the house, even when he is toilet trained.

5. Irate neighbors will complain about your dog’s nonstop crying and barking while you’re out.

Chances are your pet has separation anxiety if he displays even only one of these signs, and he may require your support urgently.

Addressing the problem of separation anxiety in dogs

Considering the symptoms of separation anxiety listed above, this is really a disorder that should not be left ignored. To address separation anxiety in dogs, here are a few helpful suggestions:

1. Your pet feels that being left alone for a while is a huge deal, and this is the reason why separation anxiety occurs. The slightest sign of you exiting the house will just aggravate him. You can prevent this by keeping your comings and goings low key. For instance, you can avoid noisily opening or closing doors, or even calling out “goodbye.”

2. Try crate training your dog. A crate will be a place where your dog can relax and rest while you are out – a personal place where he will feel safe, if you will. Make certain that it is well-furnished with his favorite toys to keep him occupied and cozy. As a plus, you likely won’t go home to a messy house while he’s confined in his crate.

3. Keep your dog comfortable and calm. Before you leave the house, you may wear your dog out by playing with him first, or taking him out on a walk. Tired dogs are often calmer because all they wish to do is rest. You can also leave on the radio for him. This lets him know that you’ll be back very soon, and the music may keep him relaxed.

Separation anxiety in dogs is a challenging condition, indeed, both for a dog and his master. But with patience and dedication, there is no reason why it cannot be overcome.

Without doubt you have heard people say “your dog’s bored” before, because dog boredom is frequently used to justify all kinds of dog behaviour problems.

Issues like your dog being destructive and chewing up the house, your shoes or the couch especially when you leave your dog home alone.

In truth dog boredom is used to explain away lots of the symptoms of separation anxiety in dogs. Symptoms like barking or whining non-stop, or digging up the garden, or maybe your dog running away. Because of this explanation a large amount of the tips you see to stop your dogs separation anxiety is based around entertaining your dog, or at very least distracting them, which may help, but isn’t going to get to the roots of the difficulty and provide a cure.

Should You Start Feeling Guilty if Your Dog is Bored?

The worst thing about being told your dogs behaviour problems are a result of boredom is that its going to get you feeling guilty like you are not doing enough for your dog, either walking then enough or paying them enough attention.

The reverse is mostly correct for dogs with separation anxiety, but that doesn’t stop us feeling anious when we go out and leave them and the result of that can instead be to increase a dogs anxiousness.

A Short Walk and a New Toy is Not Always the Answ er

It may also get you focussing on the wrong things when you’re trying to cope with your dogs anxiety. If it was just boredom, you would be able to leave your dog alone with tons of toys and they should be fine, but that doesn’t happen in reality as many of you actually know.

When we start to have a look for a reason to explain bad dog behaviour we often make the mistake of humanising dogs, then we come up with an explanation that is sensible to us but does not fit with natural dog behaviour.

In studies of the wolf pack, naturally a wolf will spends lots of hours everyday sleeping and lying around without any evidence of boredom or turning to harmful behaviour!

Anway, the solutions we are frequently given to dog boredom, is to walk them more frequently, leave them alone for less time, give them toys to play with or feed them. But if you’re making an attempt to stop your dog from scratching up your carpets, or chewing your cushions while you are out and none of these approaches work perhaps you didn’t have a bored dog in the 1st place.

Dog Separation Anxiety Training

Unfortunately , separation anxiety in dogs can not be cured with a short walk and a chew toy. However if your dog is troubled with separation anxiety there are ways to get shot of it. Most vets would accept that a dog separation anxiety training program is the best choice, although there are a variety of other products that will assist in reducing a dogs anxiety along the way.

Dog anxiety is increasingly common in dogs, and has affected the author’s own rescue dog. Visit her blog to make sure you can tell the difference between dog behaviour problems and dog boredom.

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