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Don’t Leave Me! By Michael Forney, DVM VCA Rancho Mirage Animal Hospital
Behavioral problems need to be addressed from multiple angles if the therapy is to succeed.
E
ver increasingly, I hear from clients that their pet has “separation anxiety.” Well actually, that was before COVID-19 hit—with more owners working from home, I’m hearing it less. But it can be a very troubling problem. When owners think their beloved Fido has separation anxiety, sometimes they are correct and sometimes they are not. I think it is wonderful that people are becoming more aware of various behavior issues that can afflict pets. However, separation anxiety is not an umbrella term and should not be applied to all anxious behaviors that occur when an owner leaves an animal behind at home. There may be other underlying motivators behind a pet’s 62 petcompanionmag.com
behaviors that need to be investigated. So then it begs the question—what is “separation anxiety?” Separation anxiety refers to a behavioral disorder or a distress response that occurs when a dog is separated from the person(s) to whom it is attached (this may or may not be the owner(s)). It is an extreme and excessive response. Various explanations exist as to why this occurs—the affected dog may have hyper-attachment to the owner, or it may have more general anxiety and is less able to cope when the owner is absent. A number of observed behaviors can occur when the animal is left alone, including vocalization (barking, whining), destructive behaviors (chewing,
digging, etc.), self-trauma, inappropriate elimination, panting, and other signs of fear or distress (loss of appetite, withdrawal, and more). Of course, the aforementioned behaviors can also occur in response to other motivators. Therefore, it is important to rule out potential causes. Animals may have barrier or confinement frustration; dogs may be reacting to other stimuli that occur when the owner is absent (territoriality toward the mailman, fear of the loud garbage truck, or lack of enrichment during the day); patients may also have a medical issue—urinary or gastrointestinal disease, cognitive decline, and many other possible conditions.
