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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Separation anxiety in dogs should be seen as a symptom of underlying frustrations rather than a diagnosis, and understanding these root causes could be key to effective treatment, new research by animal behaviour specialists suggests.
Many pet owners experience problem behaviour in their dogs when leaving them at home. These behaviours can include destruction of household items, urinating or defecating indoors, or excessive barking and are often labelled as 'separation anxiety' as the dog gets anxious at the prospect of being left alone.
Treatment plans tend to focus on helping the dog overcome the 'pain of separation', but the current work indicates dealing with various forms of frustration is a much more important element of the problem.
[...] The team, led by scientists from the University of Lincoln, UK, identified four main forms of distress for dogs when separated from their owners. These include a focus on getting away from something in the house, wanting to get to something outside, reacting to external noises or events, and a form of boredom.
[...] Daniel Mills, Professor of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Lincoln, said: "Until now, there has been a tendency to think of this as a single condition, ie "My dog has got separation anxiety" and then to focus on the dependence on the owner and how to make them more independent. However, this new work indicates that having separation anxiety is more like saying "My dog's got an upset tummy" which could have many causes and take many forms, and so both assessment and treatment need to be much more focussed.
Journal Reference:
Luciana S. de Assis, Raquel Matos, Thomas W. Pike, Oliver H. P. Burman, Daniel S. Mills. Developing Diagnostic Frameworks in Veterinary Behavioral Medicine: Disambiguating Separation Related Problems in Dogs. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2020; 6 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00499
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Reziac on Friday March 20 2020, @02:35AM
Speaking as a professional dog trainer with experience spanning 50 years and thousands of dogs... in a nutshell, the root cause is snowflake humans unable to take charge of the dog.
Dogs are wired to be followers, not leaders. If you aren't the boss, the dog feels like it has to be the boss. The boss protects the pack. If you (having self-demoted from boss to pack member) go out of sight, the dog gets upset because now it (having found itself catapulted into the boss job) can't 'protect' you when you're 'separated'. However, if YOU are the boss, then the dog knows you will protect it (rather than it being handed the job), and is not anxious about being left alone.
Human lack of ability to take charge also commonly causes unsuitable canine aggression toward nonthreatening persons, and all manner of rude behavior (jumping up, blocking your path, dashing out doors, etc.)
Dogs don't want a buddy. They want a pack leader who is the unquestioned boss, which makes the dog feel safe. Take charge of your dog, make your word law, behave like a pack leader, and a host of social problems vanish. Including 'separation anxiety' and public aggression.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.