Healthy Mind Canine - Separation Anxiety Blog

The symptoms of dog separation anxiety can range from blatantly obvious to subtle signs you may not notice right away. If you think your dog may have separation anxiety, and you're not sure where to start, take a deep breath, and read on. Signs that your dog may be experiencing separation anxiety Excessive vocalization Destructive behavior Potty accidents  Panting Hypersalivation  Pacing Trembling Over-grooming: Creating reddish/brown staining or bald spots in their fur. Self-mutilation: Such as chewing themselves until they bleed. Escape behavior resulting in self-trauma: Frantically trying to escape a crate, room, or the house in general. Generally around windows or doorways. Food refusal Water refusal Questions to ask yourself to discern if what you're seeing is actually separation anxiety If your dog is crated "Does this happen when the dog is outside of the crate too?" If not, your dog may be experiencing a fear of confinement rather than separation anxiety.  &q

I promised everyone a deeper dive into meeting our dogs needs in my last blog series about nurturing a secure attachment with your dog . Having a fantastic relationship with your dog is also one of their very important needs, so if you haven't read the Secure Attachment Series , I encourage you to do so! If you're still following along, your dog thanks you for being curious!   When you think about how to prevent dog behavior problems what comes to mind?... When asked this question, most pet owners will say that the secret sauce is dog training or obedience training. However, training is unlikely to prevent big feelings if we are not also meeting our dogs needs. If we are not considering their side of things. If we are not providing them with species appropriate outlets and care. If we are not giving them those outlets, they're likely going to find their own outlets, and you probably won't like the outlets they choose. This is when behavior "problems" can ari