CBS 3 Pet Project: Helping Your Pet With Separation Anxiety
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Sometimes it's rough to leave your pet at home alone while you're at work or out running errands especially for those that have pets with separation anxiety.
According to the ASPCA, a common complaint of pet owners is that their dog chews, rips, barks and is generally disruptive when left. It could be puppy behavior and lack of training but it could also be that your pet has separation anxiety and had what humans would consider a panic attack while their owner was at work or at the store.
Dogs are more likely to have the condition as opposed to cats, specifically dogs who have a tendency to bond strongly with their owners.
The most important thing to remember is not to punish the animal for their behavior because studies show that will only make matters worse.
So how do you help your pet get more comfortable with you leaving the house without them?
"Increasing exercise is one way," said Laura Garber, PSPCA's manager of behavior and enrichment. "Another thing is mental stimulation so doing training with the dog giving, them stuffed kongs with their meals in them that can help burn mental stimulation -- just like with humans where you come home from a day at work and you've been mentally puzzling with something all day long you get home and you're mentally tired... the third thing that I would say is instilling a routine."
It also helps to reward your pet for calm behavior and not to make leaving the house a big deal -- leave as if you were just walking in between the rooms of your house to help keep your pet settled down.