Most puppies and some dogs experience a high level of anxiety when left alone. Most dogs gain confidence and get over this 'anxiety', but some dogs, for various reasons, do not gain confidence in themselves. Some dogs are left alone too long when they are puppies and they become traumatized by the event. Many canines are 'spoiled' when they're young and 'freak out' when they're older and the schedual changes. Other dogs are neglected or abused and therefore have a low self-esteem. These dogs can be bounced around from owner to owner and usually end up in an animal shelter. After they are adopted to well-meaning people they can still carry their low self-esteem and exhibit their learned behavior of separation anxiety. Other dogs for unknown reasons have a low tolerance for anxiety. Some say this is caused by genetics or horomones. And lastly, any dog can become traumatized unbeknownst to their "people" by some event and can spontaneously begin to experience separation anxiety.
All of these types of dogs can show profound anxiety when being left alone, or simply out of eye-sight of their "people." The process of teaching them self-confidence and the ability to entertain themselves can be time consuming and requires a lot of patience and positive reinforcement. Here's how to do it:
Begin by changing your "leaving" routine. Dogs that exhibit separation anxiety usually begin to get anxious long before you walk out the door. Most people have a set "leaving" routine that they go through before leaving the house. They put their shoes on, close the windows, lock the doors, jingle the car keys, etc. Dogs learn this routine very quickly and if they already get anxious from being left alone, this long, drawn out "leaving" routine can make matters worse.
When you leave the house, do so promptly. When you leave, say "Take care of the house." Don't make a big deal out of leaving, just start to teach them a phrase that means, "I'll be gone, but I'll be back." Then, when you leave, turn around and come back in after about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
When you come home::: Say hello to your dog in a low-key manner and go about your day. You need to be low-key so that you teach your dog to be low-key! If you are overly anxious about leaving or coming home you will be conditioning your dog to be anxious as well.
A lot of people make the mistake of making the reunion (coming home after a days work or something) a huge deal. Apologizing, rejoicing, or greeting the dog animated-like is a bad idea. Let the dog outside and wait a couple minutes before petting your dog a lot (Low-Key!)
Dogs are social animals, and any dog that spends 8-10 hours a day, everyday all alone may begin to exhibit obsessive behaviors that may or may not develop into separation anxiety. A dog that experiences separation anxiety usually does his damage as soon as (or very shortly after) you leave the house. A dog that is bored and lonely will become destructive after a few hours (usually 4-6) of being left alone. If you feel your dog is bored, read "Obsessive Behaviors" for some ideas.
Another great confidence builder for dogs is any type of doggie or obediance classes. Even if the dog heeds your commands the socail interaction between you, other people and your dog benifit him greatly; as well as the leader position it gives you.
Here's a good starter link for crate training
Crate Training
Crate training dogs (over 6 months old) Often problem behaviors in this age group result from the pet feeling
insecure when left alone
And a final note: I see dogs day in and day out that have 'seperation anxiety' problems. Most are juggled home to home because the owners think a new owner will somehow better handle the situation and be better for the dog and most are ultimitly put down. If you can't handle or can't un-train what your dog has trained you then what makes you think another person will? Lets face it: People are lazy. You see animal abuse/neglect everyday on TV I bet. The best person you can count on is yourself
They may think the same as you (someone else will be better for the dog), the dog will be juggled in and out of homes, the problem will worsen and theres a possibility he will be put down for his behaivior that can be stopped with a little work/training now.
(Not that I'm bashing you or your nephew or anything!
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****a lot of the seperation anxiety info was quoted/loosely quoted from
http://www.doggiedoor.com/sepanx.shtml