How to recognise your dog has separation related anxiety
There are more than a million dogs in this country suffering from separation related anxiety and their owners are not aware their dog has the condition.
A dog will start barking, chew up your furniture, urinate and leave a mess every day when you leave them alone.
At first owners may think their dog is mischievous or has a destructive nature. Some owners blame it on the breed of dog or the breeder they bought their puppy from.
If a dog is showing any of the above behaviour it is important to teach them it is fine for them to be on their own.
Here, we have listed a few ideas to help give a dog confidence and reduce their stress levels:
• Build up a consistent, calm but predictable routine with your dog
• Always give him plenty of praise and attention with a small treat for his good behaviour
• If a dog starts barking for attention then ignore him
• Do not punish your dog as it will harm the relationship you have built up with him. You may scare him
• If your dog looks guilty do not be angry with him, it means he recognises he has done wrong
• Start to leave your dog for a little while and increase the length of time until your dog realises you will always come back
• Give your dog a rubber toy or something to play with while you are away
