Expert: Alan J Turner, SATS LL1 - 10/16/2006

Question
I have a 2 year old female spayed Cocker Spaniel-Chihuahua mix. I have had her since she was 3 mos old.
She has always had separation anxiety, but it seems to be getting worse.
We have a large backyard and I had been letting her out to potty without a leash while I walked with her and watched her. However, in the last few weeks, when she knew I was about to leave for work, she would stop in the middle of the yard in an almost catatonic state. She could stand in the same position for at least 15 minutes and I would have to go pick her up to bring her inside.
Once inside, she begins trembling. I solved her "yard defiance" by taking her out on her leash. But she still has trembling episodes when I am about to leave.
I also have a male neutered rat terrier who weighs about 10 lbs less than she does. They are both house dogs so she is not alone all day.
I don't know why her anxiety is recently getting so bad. Is there anything I can do or shouldn't do to help the situation?

Answer
Dear Susan,
Thanks for the questions - sorry to hear of your girl's troubles. Your case poses some challanges, the first of which is gathering more information. Here are some thoughts.

Your girl is reaching social maturity. This is when many behaviors that were not really a problem before start to bloom into serious issues. For instance, the dog that lowers his head and is submissive towards visitors as a puppy blossoms into a dog that barks and lunges at visitors at social maturity.

Separation anxiety, and fear are not voluntary behaviors but are involuntary behaviors that involve brain chemistry and the release of hormones/neurotransmitters, neuro peptides, et cetera. These behaviors never cure themselves, but do almost always escalate in their magnititudes and frequencies. It's about chemistry and brain's addiction to the release of the goodies. Like any addiction, over time, the brain needs more and more of the substance to get the same feelings. Hence the behaviors are said to be self-reinforcing and will increase.

What has she done in the past that resulted in you stating "she has always had separation anxiety"?

Does she ever tremble in any other situations? If so, when? What do you do when she trembles?

There are four major signs of clinical separation anxiety- excessive vocalization, inside elimination, salivation, and destructive behaviors directed at entry and exit points.

Does your girl, (I'll call her Katie)perform any of the hallmark behaviors listed above?

Does Katie salivate during these episodes?

Will she stop trembling and take a treat?

What excactly do you do or say when she starts trembling?

Is Katie a fearful dog?

Does Katie have any issues with noises?

What does Katie eat and how often?

Does Katie know any obedience commands? IF so which ones? How did you train her? Will she perform the commands reliabialy?

The first thing to do is to rule out any medical issues with a full checkup with bloodwork - CBC, Blood Chem Profile and Thyroid measurements.

Her immune system is engaged more often and Katie needs all the nutritional help she can get. Review her diet.  Her food should not contain any corn products, or by-products of any type. In addition, I would suggest feeding a lower protein, senior diet for a few weeks and see if the drop in protein helps her relax more.

A behavior modification plan would be helpful, however  without a complete history, it is not possible.

There have been books written about separation anxiety. Rather than keyboarding and composing for many hours and giving you only partial information, I'll give you accurate resources for more information.

Check out the book, I'll Be Home Soon by Patricia McConnell.

Visit http://www.ddfl.org/index.htm and click on Pet Behavior Advice.  

If you want to answer my questions, I'll give you more specific advice. Thanks.

Happy Training.
AT