| Ask The Vet -
Q&A |
Question
I am a disabled person and spend 95% of my time at home
with my pet poodle. She is 7 months old. However, when I do go out
I put her in a crate. When I come back usually within a couple of
hours, I find she has been licking or chewing her front paws, and
is quite wet. I assume this is a separation anxiety behaviour, but
I do not know what to do about it. As I am around so much and cannot
go out often I am at a loss with this problem.
Sandra Levette - Grimsby, UK |
Answering questions:
Susie Samuel MA VetMB MRCVS from
Vet
Help Direct |
| Answer |
Hi Sandra,
Thank
you for your question. As you correctly say it sounds like your
poodle has separation anxiety, if you are sure that she doesn’t
have itchy paws. This is a very common problem and there are quite
a few things that you can try which may help.
The
main idea behind treating separation anxiety is to try and reduce
the contrast between you being there and not being there; especially
in the last half hour you’re at home and the first half hour
you come back.
A
very important part of helping a dog with separation anxiety is
to get her used to not always being with you where you are in the
house. Using a puppy crate is a good start and should help to provide
a place where your puppy feels very safe but it is very important
that she is not just put in the crate when you are away. Try having
quiet times where she is in the puppy crate when you are in the
house, you could also use baby gates to keep her separate from you
for short periods of time. This should get her used to being away
from you as part of her normal routine. You mention that you spend
a lot of time at home with your poodle so this is extra important.
The
last half hour before you leave the house is an important time.
What you need to avoid is one minute your poodle having all of your
attention and lots of love and hugs and the next minute being alone.
Try the following to reduce the contrast between you being there
and not:
1)
Ignore her completely for 15 – 30 minutes before leaving the
house. Avoid eye contact with her and be very calm.
2)
Don’t make a big fuss about leaving. Put your coat on well
in advance of leaving the house and slip out without saying goodbye.
3)
Keep time away short initially, then build up.
The
first half hour when you come back is also extremely important.
This is the most difficult bit to do but it is worth it as it can
make a big difference. You need to ignore her for about 5 –
10 minutes when you come in, again avoid eye contact and calmly
go about your business. After about 10 minutes very calmly give
her some love and attention. As I said, this is very difficult to
do it is worth it for both of you.
To
reduce the impact of you not being there try the following:
1)
Leave the radio on or, even better, record conversation between
you and a friend and leave it playing when you go out.
2)
Leave something smelling of you in with your puppy when you go out.
Scents fade rapidly from items of clothing so leave it in with your
dirty washing between uses to regain your scent (not very nice I
know but dogs like it).
3)
Leave a distracting toy with your dog. Toys in which treats can
be hidden for your puppy to spend time trying to get at are ideal,
for example a ‘Kong’. You can even fill these with frozen
chicken stock for your puppy to try to gradually lick out.
If
you find that these strategies do not work I would suggest that
you contact your vet and get a referral to a pet behaviourist. It
is possible that there is a problem other than separation anxiety
and you may need professional help to get to the bottom of it. Having
said that, it sounds like you have caught the problem early, so,
with a bit of luck and perseverance you should be successful.
Kind regards,
Susie Samuel MA VetMB MRCVS www.vethelpdirect.com |
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are Ms Samuel's, they may not necessarily reflect the views of the
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surgeon. |
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