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Anxiety and your dog – a breakdown in pack life

September 9th, 2011
 There are many sources of anxiety – and we have learned through the years upon years of canine studies that there are a few key things a pack provides. These key items are in addition to love, and friendship, which can be witnessed by anyone who chooses to go find a wild dog-pack and observe them in a natural setting. 
 
             1.) Collective security:
      • That means having a safe den. If the pack doesn’t have a safe place to retreat …. there is no pack security. 
      • That also means fighting off enemies and invaders together – as a pack.
             2.) Food at regular intervals, access to clean water 
             3.) Intellectual stimulation – everyone in the pack has their job
             4.) Enjoyment and fun activity – from joyfully running and playing tag to grooming

And breakdowns in pack life cause anxiety. If there isn’t a balance – if we don’t provide for our canine friends to have these basic things – obsessive behaviors will begin to set into place. A fed, watered, and walked dog who has taken care of their bathroom needs in a stress-free way is more likely to fall asleep than to stay awake and begin a series of gut-wrenching noises. A dog who has had time to run about and sniff things and patrol the territory will be more likely to lay down while you’re at work and wait patiently for the routine to begin again.

So take a look at your dog’s life, and think about the pack structure of your household. If there’s something out of balance – something that falls under these basic categories – write it down, think about it carefully, and ask yourself what you can do for your pack.

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Getting to the heart of the Matter Part 2: Observation

September 9th, 2011

Location, location, location.

Routine, routine, routine.

You need to be able to learn when the anxious behaviors set in.  Psychologists and Sociologists call it Observational Data, and it’s gathered like so:

  1. You’ll need a spy. A spy so good at being quiet and just watching, your dog will not notice they’re being spied on.
  2. Usually, this spy is a web-camera or other recording device.
  3. You’ll need to be willing to put aside your beliefs in favor of what the observational data shows you.

You need to be willing to do this a few times to make sure you’re not missing any clues.

Whenever you perform research, you want to have a question in mind. In the case of separation anxiety, you might want to have a bird’s eye view of your dog in their crate to know how long it takes for them to start howling like there’s no tomorrow. 

You might enlist the help of a family member to take note of everything you do right before leaving the house on a few days to isolate what you’re doing that sets off your dog. Is it the jingle of keys before leaving the house? Picking up your briefcase? The start of the car’s engine? 

All of this information is at your finger-tips, and it’s useful information to fix the anxiety issue. After you’ve gathered your data, and you know when the anxiety is triggered, and what activities or circumstances trigger the anxiety, you can begin to fix the problem. Remember: take notes – lots of notes! And get help – another pair of eyes can help you see things you may ordinarily overlook.

A client I was working with a few months ago didn’t know what was setting off her new pup – a lovely 4 year old mixed breed of pit-bull and elk hound by the name of Chester – but once we started recording, we realized there were animals coming into the yard all day long. For a dog bred to guard the fort from invaders, this was sheer torture. And prior to this, she thought it was all about her leaving her dog along for the work day – admittedly a long day of lounging on the couch.

And the recording helped her to attack the root cause of the anxiety on two fronts:

1.) We got some lion dung on-line, and spread it around the yard. Nothing says holy-cow-there’s-a-gigantic-predator-in-the-area like the smell of lion poo. Not only did it keep animals from coming through the yard, it kept the deer out of her garden!

2.) We set up a few puzzle-toys with treats inside. Not only did this help with the boredom, it gave him something else to think about now that the animals were gone.

So consider, the anxiety behaviors that drive you nuts may be a symptom of something other than your regular, run-of-the-mill separation anxiety…. but only through observation can you truly find this out. So get a notebook, set up a camera, be clever, and email me or call if you have questions!

 

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Getting to the heart of the matter: separation anxiety

September 9th, 2011

Root causes are something I have to examine on a daily basis when I’m performing my regular day job – I’m a safety supervisor in an industrial atmosphere, and when injuries occur or when we have a near-miss, I have to dissect events and get to the heart of the matter.

Getting to the root cause of your puppy’s separation anxiety will involve the same sort of investigation techniques:

  • You’ll need to know your schedule, inside and out
  • You’ll need to figure out whose absence your dog is reacting most strongly to
  • You’ll need to find out how long it takes for anxiety to set in, and how long it takes after that for behavioral symptoms to manifest
  • You’ll need to know what sort of routines your family members perform when they come back from school, or work, or other activities
  • You’ll need to isolate sounds, and visual cues, and behavioral cues that your family members give off before they leave the house

And that’s just the beginning… you’ll find as you go along in the investigation process that there’s more detail to your daily routines than you ever noticed.

You also need to figure out a way to isolate your pup from dangerous activities when you’re gone. Because you can’t stop leaving for work. You can’t stop your son or daughter from going to school. And life must go on, right? This is part of what makes separation anxiety so difficult for people to deal with – because the source of anxiety will never go away. You will continue to leave the house for your daily adventures, and you will have to leave your pup at home for periods of time during the day. That’s life.

A note on containing dogs with destructive/ hazardous behaviors:  

One client that I worked with noted that her dog was chewing the inside of the crate – literally chewing the hard plastic by hooking one canine through the plastic hole, and ripping inwards with all their might.  I cannot underscore enough the industriousness this lovely greyhound put into chewing their crate. It was a sight to behold.

 And it was a life-threatening behavior. The client was brilliant, and hit on putting her into the bathroom. And this is a solution that might work for you, dear reader: Most households are filled with soft, fabric things.. but there is one room where there isn’t soft fabric stuff everywhere, and what fabric there is can be easily removed…. and that’s without a doubt the bathroom.

I know – I know. It sounds ridiculous, but if your dog is putting their health at risk by chewing on or swallowing bad things, a bathroom may be your best bet.

  • You can flip the shower curtains up over the shower rod a few times to put them out of reach.
  • Blinds and window curtains can be raised out of reach.
  • Any rugs or toilet paper/ tissues/ paper towels can be put up out of reach.
  • Cleaners, sponges, soaps, etc. can be put up out of reach.
  • For many households, it’s possibly the easiest room to chew-proof.

So – isolate your puppy carefully in the event that their anxiety leads to dangerous and destructive behaviors – if only for their health – and remember it’s temporary. This will give you some small peace of mind while you take the necessary time to find the root causes of the anxiety – a time to get to the heart of the matter.

Get out your pen. Start writing down your schedule, and think back carefully to when the behavior began.

 

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Thoughts on Separation Anxiety

July 19th, 2011

Anxiety comes in many forms.

Symptoms include: shaking, sweating, stomach ache, neausea, muscles locking up unexpectedly, irritablity, crying, self-isolating behaviors (In dogs this frequently manifests as hiding under things, and behind things), and obsessive-compulsive behaviors or nervous tics. You may see behaviors like:

  • chewing
  •  furniture destruction
  • shoe destruction
  •  chronic digging 
  • barking/whining/ other vocalizations.

Separation Anxiety comes easily to dogs who’ve led lives in shelters and on the race-track. They were never alone. Even though they may have been alone, they were surrounded by the noise, people coming too an fro, and in the evenings, the silent breathing of the pack at night. And yes, dogs locked in cages still manage to make a pack psychology. They communicate on many levels we can’t see properly to understand.

So when your pup begins to exhibit separation anxiety – and they have a shelter history or a race-track kennel history – your first step is to reassure them that even though you may be out of sight, you’re fine. Keep in mind – rescues and strays have a particular level of loyalty to their new people. You’ve rescued them from an uncertain fate. And when you’re out of sight – they have worries… that maybe you’ve left them forever. Or maybe you’ll get hurt and won’t come back. If you’ve ever comforted a 4-5 year old who was worried about you not coming back for them, you already know what’s going on in your anxious puppy’s mind. 

Now – there are a number of different tricks that might work for some dogs, and not for others, and sometimes the right trick is a group of techniques… it will require some work. But it is worth it – it is so worthwhile. And just like our human children, after months of consistency and effort on your part, the symptoms ease, and go away.

Know this: there is no ‘one’ right answer. Don’t let any charlatan sell you on the “My Method is the Only Method That Works for All Canines Because I Have A Bunch Of Letters After My Name”.    That is patently untrue. We’re only begining to understand the extensive abilities of our canine friends. We’re only begining to understand the capacity of infants for communication. And with new studies and new technology, we’re understanding the brain – human, and canine – better and better each year.

So don’t let anyone dragoon you into putting all your faith into one method. For example – Your kid might learn to read differently than mine. Ultimately it doesn’t make a difference how they learn – as long as they learn. It’s the same situation with dogs who have separation anxiety. It’s the same way with fear for all creatures great and small. There are a few issues to tackle immediately when dealing with anxiety that can help you address the issue. The next few blog posts will be on these topics, so pick and choose what works best for you. And remember – I’m only an email away – if you have questions, call me – we can talk about different ways to solve your puppy’s problems. 

Posted in Separation Anxiety, The Charlie & Brutus Fund | No Comments »