BEHAVIOUR
Article reprinted with the permission of DMV360, January 2016, Veterinary Medicine
is a copyrighted publication of Advanstar. Communications inc. All rights reserved.
Please Don't Leave me Alone!
Jan 02, 2016
By dvm360.com staff
VETTED
Or I'll eat the house...
Like mini-missiles set to mangle, pets with separation anxiety take it out on every floor and
piece of furniture in sight.
Destruction, barking, whining, inappropriate elimination, excessive salivation—the clinical signs of this behaviour disorder are
irritating at best. (At worst, of course, some sweet pet loses a home and never gets a second chance.) Veterinary behaviourist Dr. John Ciribassi offers these dos and don’ts to encouraging dogs’ self-reliance, which helps keep the anxiety in check.
Ideally, saving the banister.
Do: Have the owners ignore the dog upon arrival until he or
Do:
Work with the owners regularly on appropriate
behaviour modification exercises involving indoor relaxation and graduated departures. Also prescribe anxiolytics as appropriate.
she is relaxed. They shouldn’t interact with or even acknowledge the dog.
Don't
let owners further encourage the behaviour any
more, ever. Owners should not respond in any way to a pet’s
attempts to get attention by such behaviours as barking,
whining, jumping up and pawing. They should not look at,
talk to or touch the dog when it is exhibiting these attentionseeking behaviours. Warn owners to expect the behaviour to
initially get worse and more physical.
Do: Encourage the owners to provide consistent exercise in the form of walks and p ^K