Understanding Separation Anxiety in Dogs to Avoid Stress During the Reopening

Given the current lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard not to imagine the period of freedom that will follow. But for our canine friends, the future doesn’t look quite as promising. While we’re getting ready to return to our normal routines and go out again, our dogs see long hours of loneliness on the horizon. And for some dogs, isolation means anxiety.

A better understanding of separation anxiety could help relieve stress in pets. A new study of more than 2,700 dogs of 100 different breeds sheds light on the causes of this specific anxiety and identifies four main forms of distress in dogs separated from their owners. These include the animal’s focus on moving away from something in the house, wanting to go outside, reacting to noises or external events, and a form of boredom.

The study suggests that behaviorists should view these underlying causes as the problem to be addressed, rather than “separation anxiety” as a single diagnosis and condition. Treatments tend to focus on helping patients overcome the “pain of separation,” but current research indicates that addressing various forms of frustration is more important. Assessment and treatment must be much more targeted.

Frustration, in its various forms, is at the heart of the problem, and it is important to understand this variety in order to offer more personalized treatments for dogs.