Separation anxiety is defined as “a behavioral condition where dogs exhibit distress, anxiety, and sometimes destructive or self-harming behaviors when separated from their owners or caregivers.” This often shows itself as some combination of behaviors:
Destructive behavior
Excessive vocalization (barking, whining, howling) especially at doors or windows
Inappropriate elimination in the house
Escape attempts from the crate or even the house
Accidental self injury
Overgrooming
Overexcitement upon return of people
For these behaviors to be considered separation anxiety, they must occur soon during or after departure. If these occur while people are home, generally speaking it is not separation anxiety unless there is a particular attachment to one person and they only occur when that one person is away.
Sometimes, all that is left behind is the evidence. In these cases, it’s hard to know exactly what occurred. Thankfully, home cameras like Nest or Ring have made diagnosis easier. Now we can actually see the distress behaviors as they happen.
It is important to distinguish this from other behavioral disorders (including generalized anxiety) as well as “normal” canine behaviors that may be due to boredom due to a lack of appropriate enrichment. If the patient is a highly active, working or herding dog like a Border Collie, lives in an apartment, and/or is kept in a crate for significant periods of day, similar behaviors may appear out of boredom and frustration. Similarly, some behaviors like barking out the windows may be normal canine behavior if they see a person or animal pass by. In addition to filming the behaviors, discussing your situation and the pattern with a veterinarian well versed in behavioral medicine is key to help diagnose separation anxiety. This will be key in helping you with a treatment plan, as these patients almost always require prescription medications.
Before your appointment, consider any potential reasons for this condition to have developed. There seems to be as many reasons as there are dogs with separation anxiety, but when sorted or grouped together, we know that the following categories are risk factors:
History of a shelter stay or abandonment as an older puppy or young adult dog
Significant changes in routine and schedules, especially if it involves more significant alone time
Changes in family structure (for example, kid moving out or someone passing away) especially if there’s a loss of the primary caregiver.
Early traumatic experiences, especially during key socialization and brain development periods in the first few months of life.
Encouragement and reward of overattachment (usually unintentional)
Brain changes associated with cognitive dysfunction in senior pets
It is important to distinguish to achieve a specific diagnosis because separation anxiety is a medical condition. It is often mistakenly assumed that dogs with separation “just need more exercise,” “will grow out of it or adjust” or “getting another dog will help solve the problem.” This can lead you down unhelpful or even harmful paths. In turn this causes further frustration for everyone.
Speaking of frustration, it’s important to know that significant physical changes occur in patients with separation anxiety, including increased stress hormones and changes in neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. Dogs with long-term separation anxiety experience changes in the parts of their brain that control emotions. For example, neuroimaging studies in dogs have shown differences in prefrontal cortex activity, which normally helps inhibit fear responses. This is important to consider when developing a treatment plan, which we’ll cover in next month’s blog post, but also important to keep in mind while working with your dog. It is not uncommon for tired and stress families to rehome these dogs, but this only worsens the situation.
Ken Brunson DVM, Board Member