Separation Anxiety - myths & not so helpful tips

Myths, Misinformation & Not So Helpful 'Tips' To Avoid

-An overview of some of the most common advice you can safely ignore



Myth # 1 Leave Them With Something to Do and/or Something to Eat
The Truth About Food  
The fact is that many dogs who are afraid when alone can’t eat anything!               And let’s just imagine how much food we’d have to leave them with if we’re going to use it as a distraction while we’re away for an hour, two hours or more.
Food may distract and soothe them during the time it takes them to consume it but what happens then? Chances are if your dog is experiencing Home Alone Fear or Frustration then this is going to be a sticking plaster at best. And not a very strong one.

Myth # 2 Exercise it out of them
All dogs benefit from age, stage and health appropriate physical exercise of course. It’s just one of the well being requirements we should strive to meet as dog guardians. It’s essential for their mental health too and it’s good for us too. Bonus!
The Truth about Exercise
Separation Anxiety related behaviours are often rooted in fear. Similar to a panic attack in people. Dogs on this spectrum cannot be exercised into a state of relaxation because they’re genuinely terrified. For others their symptoms are caused more by frustration and a Fear of Missing Out. Either way exercise alone isn’t the answer.

Myth # 3 It’s All Your Fault Anyway!
‘Your dog is spoilt and over indulged.’ ‘You’re just too soft with them. ‘ ‘ You’re too affectionate.’ ‘You’re making too much of a fuss of them.’ ‘That breed are known to be an anxious lot.’ ‘You shouldn’t let them sleep on the bed.’

The Truth About ‘’Spoiling’’ Your Dog
Some dogs are a bit Velcro, they need to stick close to their person or people. They’re more physically tactile and enjoy a snuggle up more than anything else. Some dogs need a little more help in confidence building and learning that being a little distance from their people doesn’t mean that the sky is going to fall in.

It doesn’t mean that they’re going to develop full blown separation anxiety. Many dogs who seem otherwise independent – sleep on their own downstairs, will spend hours away from their people in another room/the garden, do fine with sitters or at daycare also completely fall apart if they’re left Home Alone. So you see, being a bit Velcro isn’t a predictor of SA. If you take anything away from this, please let go of that particular guilt.
Let’s talk Breed. The truth is we haven’t found a correlation in Breeds or Types being more susceptible to SA. There would have to be a whole lot more research to discover whether there are particular connections.

Myth # 4 They’re Playing You! - Let them howl it out
I’m sure someone’s said something like this to you. That poo that you found on the floor when you got home, the chewed up remote, the untouched bowl of food – these are all planned out by your dog to make you feel bad about leaving them. Really?

The Truth About The Revenge Poo, unstuffed cushion, chewed up door etc.
There’s no such thing.    
       Let’s think about it. This would take some planning by our dogs and great self control too if they’re going to save the need for elimination for when you leave them. Or refuse to eat. Destructive behaviours and toileting (when otherwise house trained) can have many route causes it may be symptomatic of SA and it may not. But I can assure you dogs do not have the emotional capacity for revenge nor the mental ability to plan.

Myth # 5 Just Get another dog
On the face of it this seems like a logical solution, if your dog struggles to be Home Alone, then a companion might help right?

The Truth About Another Dog
Might      is right. This very rarely works. So that’s a hell of a risk. Even if you were planning a second dog. if it doesn’t work, what then? How fair is it to leave a new puppy or dog alone with a possibly very distressed one? And…. What if….. the second dog also develops SA? There’s no reason why this couldn’t happen. Yikes!

Myth # 6 Nutraceuticals, Magic Massages and More (N.M.M’s for short)

Have You Tried this Supplement, Plug In, Jacket, Herbal Remedy, Relaxing Music…..?
There’s oodles of alternative, complimentary and other forms of remedy out there. They often have 1000s of fabulous customer reviews. Many are hugely popular and very profitable. They’re unlikely to do any harm, so why not give them a go?

The Truth About N.M.M.’s

There’s no good evidence that they will make a positive and lasting difference to a dog with SA. If only they did then the problem would be solved overnight. Yes they have lots of reviews, some claim to have studies backing them, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find that these aren’t very robustly conducted studies. I recommend you study customer reviews, often they’re talking more about customer service or some other aspect of the buying experience rather than effectiveness. Look at the one star reviews too.

I’m not disparaging these, if they work for some people that’s great. But they can’t possibly be a magic wand for what is a very complex and variable set of issues.

The one take way from this bunch of NMM’s is the use of sound. For noise sensitive dogs then background sound (white, brown or pink noise for example) can help.