Treating Separation Anxiety In Older Dogs

Separation anxiety is literally anxiety a dog feels when separated from his guardian.

Treating separation anxiety in older dogs.

Here are five tips to help ease separation anxiety. As older dogs are often on existing meds your vet will want to find a medication that does not interact poorly with your dog s medication regimen. If your dog has severe separation anxiety start with small 5 10 second intervals and work up to 20 30 minutes over several weeks. Usually it s used alongside behavior modification.

This is accomplished by setting things up so that the dog experiences the situation that provokes his anxiety namely being alone without experiencing fear or anxiety. Not only can it be harder for older dogs to handle changes in routine but losing hearing or sight will likely make them more anxious in general. When treating a dog with separation anxiety the goal is to resolve the dog s underlying anxiety by teaching him to enjoy or at least tolerate being left alone. Create personal space for your dog.

You can train them to understand this is not the case by easing into it. The way you handle your dogs anxiety depends on the reason s for his fears and to some extent his own individual personality. Add an absent owner to the mix and you have a recipe for some serious anxiety. However there are several ways to cope with it.

Treating older dog anxiety issues. Start your day by taking your dog for a brisk walk. Here s a closer look at how these fit with certain types of anxiety treating separation anxiety in. The treatment options include behavioral and lifestyle modifications natural treatments and products and some medications.

A few hours later leave for 3 minutes. You could try to replace negative emotional reactions to your exit like fear and anxiety with positive emotional reactions like happiness and curiosity. Many older dogs become worried that when you leave you ll never return. In nature dogs are almost never away from their pack.

To make the walk even more rigorous use a dog backpack. The best way to help your dog deal with separation anxiety is to permanently change his perception of what being alone means one second at a time. Your dog may be suffering from dog separation anxiety. If your older dog has very severe anxiety you can also try to desensitize your dog over a period of time so that it no longer feels anxious when you leave.

It is our job to help make this unnatural situation less stressful. There are various degress of anxiety ranging from mild discomfort to ripping the house apart. Prepare as if you re going to be gone for a while but leave for only 1 minute. Instead of sleeping with your pup get them a separate dog bed where you can also pet them and give calming treats.

Before you leave the house take your dog for a walk. The next day try 6 minutes and very slowly build the duration until they re able to stay calmer while you re out. Separation anxiety in older dogs can be heartbreaking.