SEPARATION ANXIETY - what is it really?

This post was inspired by seeing comments on posts online by well meaning people, who really should be encouraging the poster to see pro advice, not telling them to whack pupper in a crate and get another pupper for company. It’s super frustrating honestly, am I the only one who thinks this?!

Here's the thing.

Social species such as dogs have evolved for thousands of years beside us, so it comes as no great surprise to learn that they (and other species of companion pets) can and do develop separation belated behaviours when they spend time apart from us. In fact I have a worked a couple of cases in the past where the owners developed such strong anxieties at them being separated from their pets that it affected their dogs behaviours, but that's another story for another day!

Ideally, prevention in the form of age and species appropriate training and bonding as a puppy or kitten can really help, however life isn't always that easy and animal behaviour has so many angles and motivations that even with the best efforts made, some dogs and other pets develop behaviour problems. Would you believe me if I told you that separation related behaviours make up a huge proportion of my caseloads? Like loads!

Since writing this article originally in 2018, more research into separation related behaviours has happened, and this helps us scientists provide you with more accurate advice as our knowledge about behaviour grows. It’s radically changed my program for these types of behaviour issues and is why I take my continued professional development so seriously.

It might also be useful to you to know that separation anxiety shouldn’t really be considered a diagnosis as it’s not too helpful, it’s more of a syndrome which is a group of associated behaviours occurring. Here’s why.

A recent study by de Assis et al (2020), has shown there are 4 main forms of the syndrome and will vary according to your dogs social history, attachment history, temperament and dare I say, their breed types. We remove litters from their dam really early in their development, which help them imprint on us (Serpell and Barrett, 2016), and enables us to mould their behaviours and characteristics.

 WHAT SIGNS MIGHT YOU SEE THAT LEAD YOU TO BE READING THIS?

If you have the technology, then look for a rise in saliva cortisol levels, heart rate and respiration. Most people don't though, including me, so here's a few things which you may or may not be aware of:

• You may notice you pet becoming restless or agitated as you prepare to leave and notice them yawning, shaking, panting or salivating more than usual. They may follow you from room to room, paw at you or jumping up and nip or grab your clothing as you are exiting your property or attempt to stop you. They may even already panic at this stage.

• Your pet may become distressed as soon as you leave. This may look like them throwing themselves at the doors or windows, barking excessively, howling or whining excessively and scratching at the doors or windows. 

• When you return your pet may be overly pleased to see you and they may jump up and nip or grab at your clothing or skin as result of the relief they feel, they may vocalise excessively or urinate by accident as they interact with you, 

• You may then notice other outward signs of distress as you enter your home such as inappropriate toileting, chewing of the doors, door frames or windows, or damage to the property in attempts to escape. They may have injured themselves in doing so and you might see blood on surfaces or on them, they may over groom to self soothe and you notice they are wetter than normal through the over licking or salivation or missing fur or feathers.

• You may notice they have not touched their own toys or food while you've been absent, or they have chewed things that smell heavily like you or they have drank excessive amounts of water and may only eat or drink with you present.

• In time you may noticing that they become distressed earlier in the departure routine, where they learn the tips offs that they will soon be alone, such as when you shower first thing, or put your shoes on or the alarm goes off and react at this stage, sometimes gaining momentum during the routine.

THE 4 MAIN TYPES OF SEPARATION

So what are the separation types and what does this mean for your dog? Basically speaking, the way me or my colleagues in the industry work with you will be based on the information we gather about your dog and your relationship and is why we ask you so many questions!

This includes finding out your relationship with your pet, their concerning behaviours, and how they group together, how they affect your pet and yourfamily. These groups are clusters of behaviours and it’s these very clusters that mean the term separation anxiety as a diagnosis is not useful. It doesn’t give you a clue as to what the whole picture is. de Assis et al (2020) identified these clusters as:

1. REACTIVE INHIBITED - this is the likeliest form that I’ll work with your vets, due to the fear your pet likely feels being alone and often goes in hand with a generally anxious temperament. They may panic and have indoor accidents and vocalise their feelings. There is less frustration involved usually but often react to outside stuff. These guys often are insecurely attached to humans and have difficulty bonding.

2. REDIRECTED REACTIVE - these dogs and cats feel over confined and want to escape. They may already have a low frustration tolerance, but likely confident generally and often have good dog-human relationship.

3. BOREDOM - this is usually because their needs haven’t been met prior to departure, which includes how they’ve been raised. Maybe they didn’t receive enough time to become confident at being alone yet, maybe they’ve not poo’d before you left.

4. EXIT FRUSTRATION - these dogs and cats find people leaving unpleasant or aversive, may panic that their social group is broken and feel frustrated enough to try and cope by redirecting their feelings onto furniture, others, you or the doors.

Attachments are formed partly because we remove pups and kittens from their mums really early in the development, making them as a species, easier to imprint on us. These attachments have different styles and are affected by temperament and pet owner relationships (Meyer and Forkman, 2014), meaning how you behave affects them and vice versa.

We would ideally be teaching our dogs and cats that we are safety and security for them, their independence and therefore self confidence comes from feeling secure. You can then gradually build separation.

I THINK MY DOG, CAT, PET, MIGHT HAVE A FORM OF SEPARATION ANXIETY, WHAT SHOULD I DO?

First of all, don't panic!

This is where I can give you some good news. Hurrah! First, consult your vet and get a diagnosis of medical or behavioural. This is because only your vet is legally able to diagnose if a problem is behavioural or medical or a mix of both and your pet might have an underlying health issue which could be treated. You’ll be surprised how much clinical issues affect behaviours.

Second grab a gin and tonic (make mine a large one), then hire a suitably qualified and experienced professional who can also counsel you through a behaviour modification program that suits you and your pet. Separation Related Behaviour cases can be successfully managed with the help of your vet, behaviour drugs where needed to help your pet, support from your behaviourist, family and technology tools where appropriate. Stuff like webcams and apps can be really effective as part of the program. I know it seems like a lot to think about and do but it’s worth it, honestly.

Personal experience

I’ve been through this recently on a personal level with an adult dog, (as well as with other rescue animals in the past) When our Hattie Happypants came to live with us, I had modify my routines and behaviours and adapt life to help ease her into her new environment, help learn she was secure, then her independence grew from her confidence. It’s a process and it’s not always easy, I mean i couldn’t go to the loo so i had to figure out how to help her feel safe when I wasn’t there.

Final thought

Depending on how severe the issues are, you may need to be prepared to change some of your routines (be prepared to book time off work), behaviour and habits, which for us humans can be tricky (Berkman, 2018). I know it is for me, took me 22 years to give up smoking! And if you’ve been led to believe that ignoring your pet when you leave or return home is a valid way of reducing their stress at leaving or excitement at you returning, please know this is now out dated.

The latest research and understanding of animal behaviour, suggests that ignoring these highly social companions can be confusing to them, which can affect their relationship and attachment style to you. Researchers Mariti et al, (2018) found that calm vocal greetings and goodbyes is found to be more beneficial than ignoring them.

Lastly, on a personal note, I love that my dogs and cats were so pleased to see me when I returned, so no way would I ignore them when I’m all they have in life and kinda wish humans were also that happy to see me too!

Katie

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References:

Berkman PhD, E., 2020. Why Is Behavior Change So Hard?. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: <https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-motivated-brain/201803/why-is-behavior-change-so-hard> [Accessed 6 August 2020].

de Assis, L., Matos, R., Pike, T., Burman, O. and Mills, D., 2020. Developing Diagnostic Frameworks in Veterinary Behavioral Medicine: Disambiguating Separation Related Problems in Dogs. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, [online] 6. Available at: <https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2019.00499/full> [Accessed 4 August 2020].

Mariti, C., Carlone, B., Protti, M., Diverio, S. and Gazzano, A., 2018. Effects of petting before a brief separation from the owner on dog behavior and physiology: A pilot study. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, [online] 27, pp.41-46. Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817302502?via%3Dihub> [Accessed 6 August 2020].

Meyer, I. and Forkman, B., 2014. Dog and owner characteristics affecting the dog–owner relationship. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, [online] 9(4), pp.143-150. Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787814000343> [Accessed 3 August 2020].

R, T. and Hall, N., 2020. Effect of greeting and departure interactions on the development of increased separation related behaviors in newly adopted adult dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, [online] Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787820300460> [Accessed 6 August 2020].

Serpell, J. and Barrett, P., 2016. The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behavior And Interactions With People. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.96.