Separation Anxiety?

[oatmilk]

You are so lucky! My video tape showed that my puppy will eat his meal then bark constantly until I'm home. I have an Anxiety Wrap ordered so hopefully that eases things for him.

[Wundahoo]

I think that you need to do some more recording. If he shows this behaviour repeated over several days then yes, it may be indicative of a low level issue, which may begin to increase in intensity as he grows.

He's still a young puppy and is about to hit adolescence...... and all the things that go with it. Just as with adolescent children it can be a tumultuous time when learning and training seems to have been forgotten and all sorts of behaviours begin to surface.

It's a good time to find out if this is a one-off behaviour or if it's a pattern that he's developing.

I agree with Corvus. Separation stress is under diagnosed simply because many dogs dont develop behaviours that lead their owners to know that they are stressed by their absence. Andrew you would never have known that Caesar was window-watching most of the day if you had not recorded him.

Cockers are particularly sensitive dogs and waiting for many hours by a door or window is a classic behaviour that they can show if they are stessed about the absence of someone in their daily life, particularly if a routine has been developed. They are a breed which can exhibit some repetitive behaviours and will also sometimes show displacement behaviours when in uncomfortable or stressful situations.

Most dogs dont suddenly develop separation anxiety to the point where they are incredibly destructive and an issue to their owners and themselves. It's a gradually increasing behaviour that is really only noticed by the owners (and then diagnosed) when it's at a level that causes the owner a problem. Behaviours that are indicative of possibile separation anxiety usually begin as minor behaviours that the dog adapts and increases as an expression of increasing levels of distress.

You have an opportunity to intervene early and to decide if this behaviour is the beginning of a problem or if it's simply his way of passing a lonely day. If there is a lot of activity outside the window then yes, it may be something that he finds more mentally stimulating than playing with the same toys for hour upon hour. It may however simply be his way of expressing his stress at your absence for an extended period of time.

Congratulations for being such a caring owner for Caesar...... he has every chance of growing up to be a really wonderful and happy dog. Many owners would not be as resourceful as you have.

[Leah82]

Can you close the curtain/blinds and record him to see what he does? If it's SA he may start to show other signs of anxiety, if not he'll probably find something else to do or just go to sleep.

Obviously you don't want to create further anxiety so maybe try this when you're out for a shorter period on time.

[fbaudry]

Great posts (as always) Corvus and Wundahoo, and well done to you AndreWang for being such a caring owner...

I agree that separation distress is very under diagnosed and owners only start worrying when it has reached a very severe level which causes them an issue (destruction, barking etc)

Corvus and Wundahoo, how would you recommend AndreWang addresses the issue? Would you refer to a Behaviourist vet?

My situation is similar in some ways to Andre's. When left inside the house, Will (terrier mix) and Penny (Cocker) are fine. Will sleeps in his bed and Penny is either on the couch or on a chair in the bedroom (lying on my clothes - could that be a sign of separation distress too?). When I came home yesterday I managed to make myself lunch and eat it before Penny (who was sleeping upstairs) realized I was back :-)

However when left outside, once they've gone though their kongs / treat balls etc they do not seem to settle for a sleep but spend their time watching into the house though the glass doors, waiting for me to come home. I've hardly ever sprung them asleep when they're outside. They are much more hyper in their greetings too, giving me the impression that their stress level is higher when being left outside.

Sorry for high jacking your thread Andre, I'd be very interested in hearing recommendations...

[Leah82]

Penny is either on the couch or on a chair in the bedroom (lying on my clothes - could that be a sign of separation distress too?).

Our Cocker is always lying on my OH's clothes if they're left lying around, he's even known to wander around the house (and backyard) with used undies or socks in his mouth

This has decreased since we got our rescue Sarah so possibly a sign of anxiety but I think having their owners smell around helps to keep them calm which I think is a good thing, we all need our coping mechanisms after all :)

[Nekhbet]

Are you sure he's waiting for you or is he just amusing himself because it's the only thing that is dynamic for him during the day? If he can see things moving and changing of course he'll stare out of the window, especially if he's in a quiet apartment. Dogs are inquisitive by nature and being in the same 4 walls every work day can become tedious, especially if he's eaten breakfast and not hungry enough to really want to interact with the kong. Remember a cocker is a little hunting dog, and he's in a sterile environment for long periods. Exercise him morning and night as much as you can so he actually does want to sleep when you're not home.

I wouldn't call is SA, I would call it the dog finding a way to amuse himself. Leave the TV on during the day and see if that gets his interest, feed him out of his kongs and get him some toys that are actually interactive and a bit of a challenge.

[Dame Aussie]

Are you sure he's waiting for you or is he just amusing himself because it's the only thing that is dynamic for him during the day? If he can see things moving and changing of course he'll stare out of the window, especially if he's in a quiet apartment. Dogs are inquisitive by nature and being in the same 4 walls every work day can become tedious, especially if he's eaten breakfast and not hungry enough to really want to interact with the kong. Remember a cocker is a little hunting dog, and he's in a sterile environment for long periods. Exercise him morning and night as much as you can so he actually does want to sleep when you're not home.

I wouldn't call is SA, I would call it the dog finding a way to amuse himself. Leave the TV on during the day and see if that gets his interest, feed him out of his kongs and get him some toys that are actually interactive and a bit of a challenge.

Yeah I agree.

[Cosmolo]

Like Nek said, it's entirely possible he is looking at things going on outside rather than 'waiting for you'.

[andrewang]

Thanks for all the replies.

I bring Caesar out (weather permitting) twice a day. 2 hours after breakfast and 2 hours after lunch. He'll spend approximately an hour in the off leash park each time socialising and playing fetch.

Today I recorded him again (for 2 hours) but left him a big juicy bone instead of a kong. He did not even notice I was gone until I return home. I hope he is doing alright because he does show signs of being paranoid when I'm preparing to leave and lays my socks and t-shirts and pants around the house when I'm not home sometimes.

It just hurts me to see him staring out the window the whole time while I'm out. I might have to hide food around the house for him to sniff out.

[persephone]

Are you sure he's waiting for you or is he just amusing himself because it's the only thing that is dynamic for him during the day? If he can see things moving and changing of course he'll stare out of the window, especially if he's in a quiet apartment. Dogs are inquisitive by nature and being in the same 4 walls every work day can become tedious, especially if he's eaten breakfast and not hungry enough to really want to interact with the kong. Remember a cocker is a little hunting dog, and he's in a sterile environment for long periods. Exercise him morning and night as much as you can so he actually does want to sleep when you're not home.

I wouldn't call is SA, I would call it the dog finding a way to amuse himself. Leave the TV on during the day and see if that gets his interest, feed him out of his kongs and get him some toys that are actually interactive and a bit of a challenge.

THis is my thinking as well ...

two of our dogs will lie near the back gate , where they can see the other dogs, the road, the animals ... this is done both when we're home , and if we are away .....it is their 'TV' .. a spot where they can bark/watch and snooze without missing anything.

[persephone]

lays my socks and t-shirts and pants around the house when I'm not home sometimes.

:) I'd call that amusing himself !

[Dogsfevr]

Is he being paranoid or are you being paranoid & i say this in a non judgmental way.

I think to many owners see things for more than what they are & then start to create things that aren't there.

They feel guilty they have to go to work & feel there dogs can't cope without them .

I often think the owners should video themselves as to what issues the may be creating before they leave .

We get alot of boarders in on SA meds & generally you can pick the vets which have prescribed the meds before the owners say so.

The reasons there on meds Hmm interesting & the dogs show no signs at all of issues whilst in boarding infact perfectly normal dogs.

We have had 1 or 2 dogs in that truly are SA issues & there issues had to be well managed but i agree that its over diagnosed in the "true meaning".

[Dame Aussie]

One of our old chis used to find socks and then sit on them, even when we were home. I think they just like our smell :)

[raineth]

I think if he is off eating the kongs you left for him before settling in front of the window then this is a very good sign.

I think it's a fair point that Corvus made that says we might be undiagnosing separation anxiety. However, I don't necessarily see that sitting at the window all day is an expression of distress. How does he look? relaxed or uptight?

Being a smaller, energetic dog he might not need a sleep.

Also he might think that sitting by the window makes you come home, simply because that's where he is when you come home. Dogs can make funny associations like that.

[Pockets]

I heard an interesting comment from a Cesar Milan that Seperation Anxiety is a cause the human not being pack leader. In a case where there is seperation anxiety, the dog appears to be the pack leader in the house, its humans/pack leave the house, this causes the dog to become anxious and stressed because "HIS" pack has left him, a pack doesnt leave without the pack leader.

To me this makes quite a bit of sense and is an interesting concept

[corvus]

I heard an interesting comment from a Cesar Milan that Seperation Anxiety is a cause the human not being pack leader.

To me this is utter BS. The causes of SA are not exactly simple. On the surface it probably has a fair bit to do with attachment, but there are a bunch of other factors involved. For example, general anxiety often goes hand in hand with separation anxiety and noise phobias. Different dogs have different attachment styles and different levels of emotional reactivity as well, which may have an effect.

As far as the doggy Caesar goes, I dunno, maybe I'd do nothing. Depends on what he was doing at the window and for how long. It seems he is easily distracted by a bone at least, so he may be whiling away his day. If by 'paranoid' we mean he is attentive to signals that may mean his owner is leaving and shows some level of anxiety or anticipation about this I think that is a red flag, although again, not necessarily one that needs to be acted on. It may just stay at that level indefinitely.

If he were my dog, I would monitor and figure out what level of discomfort was acceptable to me. For example, one of my dogs clearly dislikes it when we leave him, but not enough to do anything more proactive than humping our other dog. This is acceptable to me given his temperament. If it was my other dog it probably wouldn't be acceptable. Pick your acceptable level and if it ever dips below that for more than a few days, that's when you should act. He may get better as he gets older. Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol can help, as can leaving him with something yummy, which it sounds like he already gets.

Dogs that pick up owner's clothes and sleep on them most likely miss you and are comforted by your smell. Socks and jocks (and bras) are favourites because they smell most like you. Giving dogs access to dirty socks and the likes may in mild cases help them cope. Robert Holmes says giving them access to your bed is even better. Honestly, when I started working from home I suddenly became very uneasy about our culture of total acceptance for working full time and also having dogs. I had never thought very hard about it. Since then, I have thought very hard about it. I would urge others to do the same, if only to reassess common practices and how you interpret your dog's behaviour.

[Nekhbet]

A bigger problem is we don't condition puppies to be along from a young age and to be separated off. The most common thing I hear is screaming, scratching, bashing etc Why? Because a lot of breeder's dont split up the pups, pack them off for a day or two to someone else they trust etc. I've seen dogs raised like this from a couple of working breeders and these dogs come to a new home not giving a toss, and stay that way. This is from breeds reputed to be clingy/high strung.

If you don't teach them it's part of life, they don't know how to cope with it. Dogs can learn to cope and amuse themselves as long as the owners spend enough time outside of work time with the dog to make up for it.

[Rosetta]

I heard an interesting comment from a Cesar Milan that Seperation Anxiety is a cause the human not being pack leader. In a case where there is seperation anxiety, the dog appears to be the pack leader in the house, its humans/pack leave the house, this causes the dog to become anxious and stressed because "HIS" pack has left him, a pack doesnt leave without the pack leader.

To me this makes quite a bit of sense and is an interesting concept

From what I have seen of Cesar Milan every problem is caused by that reason in his opinion. :)

[Alkhe]

I heard an interesting comment from a Cesar Milan that Seperation Anxiety is a cause the human not being pack leader. In a case where there is seperation anxiety, the dog appears to be the pack leader in the house, its humans/pack leave the house, this causes the dog to become anxious and stressed because "HIS" pack has left him, a pack doesnt leave without the pack leader.

To me this makes quite a bit of sense and is an interesting concept

From what I have seen of Cesar Milan every problem is caused by that reason in his opinion. :)

Exactly my thoughts. When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.. that's his schtick.

[Alkhe]

I think it's UNDER-diagnosed. We only diagnose it when there are seriously obvious signs of distress. In the academic literature, waiting by a window or door is considered related to separation distress (not the same as clinical separation anxiety). What's more, it's entirely possible we only diagnose it in dogs with a proactive coping style, because they are the only ones that actually show the symptoms. For all we know there are dogs out there just as distressed but they show it in much quieter and less troublesome ways so nobody ever knows.

I would consider waiting by a window for long periods of time potentially indicative of low level separation-related distress, although I wouldn't consider it alone something that necessarily needed to be treated if that's what it was. I don't think it serves dogs to assume that they are fine home alone until they start ripping things up, eliminating inside, and provoking neighbour complaints. Personally, I'm under no illusion that my dogs are somehow perfectly happy at home without me when I'm out for the day. The signs are subtle, but they are there if someone cares to look.

Yes, that makes perfect sense. I do think that in a lot of instances though, bored dogs or dogs doing dog things, are "diagnosed" as having separation anxiety.

Perhaps what I mean is that it's wrongly diagnosed.