One thing that puppies really hate is separation. If it was up to them they would be by your side at all times. But as much as we wish that they could be, alas they can't go with us everywhere. Puppies that are suffering from separation anxiety have a tendency to chew destructively, soil the house, bark excessively, or act out in other ways that are destructive. The behavior that your puppy exhibits when they are left alone is preformed out spite, its simply the way that puppies deal with their anxiety.

Training your puppy to deal with your absence will give your puppy a sense of identify, and reassurance when you are away from home. However if you do need find that you need help teaching your puppy to deal with his separation anxiety, I would suggest that you get In the meantime here are some tips to help you deal with your puppies behavior.

First of all you should never correct your puppy after the fact. Puppies are unable to connect the correction with their destructive behavior, they will connect it with your arrival, your scolding the puppy will only cause him to be more anxious the next time that you leave him alone.

You should try to avoid overly dramatic hellos and goodbyes. Smothering your puppy with kisses, treats, declarations of devotion will in no way reassure him. Behaving in this manner will only stress him out.

When you are gone it might be a good idea to leave the radio on, this will drowned out any unfamiliar noises that might cause him to get excited. Make sure that you leave a toy out for him to play with. This will give your puppy something to do while you are away.

If you are going to be gone for eight hours or more you should try to find someone to take your puppy for a walk. If its absolute necessary you should puppy proof your house to keep him from destroying it while you are away. Never keep your puppy confined to a small space when you are going to be away from the house for an extended period of time.

When you do walk through the door, avoid giving your puppy the amount of attention that you normally would. This means that you don't want to give into those "pet me" situation that he is going to put you in as soon as you get home. Showering him with attention when you get home will just make it that much more harder on him the next time that you leave for the entire day. Going from lots of attention to no attention at all can be a very emotional experience for your puppy.

If your puppy is overly anxious there are some drugs that your local veterinarian can prescribe, to alleviate your puppies separation anxiety.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 19th, 2007 at 1:02 am and is filed under Dog Training, General Dogs' Topics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.