It’s common for pets, especially dogs, to get separation anxiety. This is especially true if you got them during the lockdowns and you’ve never left their side. So what measures can you take to reduce the chance of your dog getting separation anxiety when you have to return to the office?
Well, a common solution is to simply get another dog to accompany the one you already have. However, this solution might not be as effective as you think.
What is separation anxiety?
Separation anxiety is a disorder where an animal or individual experiences excessive anxiety when separated from those whom the animal or individual is attached to. According to a recent survey, nearly three out of four dog owners would leave their dog at home when they head off to work. However, the majority of dogs do not sit by idly when their owners aren’t around. In the same survey, nearly half of the owners surveyed have revealed that their dogs have displayed some form of anxiety while they were away.
Separation anxiety is a disorder where an animal or individual experiences excessive anxiety when separated from those whom the animal or individual is attached to.
While their owners are away, the dogs may display symptoms of separation anxiety. This can include excessive barking, whining, or howling. However, some dogs may display more problematic behaviours, such as chewing on furniture and shoes, or scratching the walls and doors. On rare occasions, the dog may even excrete urine and faeces where they’re not supposed to.
How to help reduce your dog’s separation anxiety
A popular recommendation by canine behaviour specialists is to simply get another dog to keep them company. The thinking behind this solution is that the cause of your dog’s separation anxiety is due to the fact that they feel alone and isolated. Therefore, if you provide a companion for them, that should help them feel less alone and thus resolving the problem. However, this solution may not actually be that effective. There has been very little scientific evidence which supports that dogs in a multi-dog household are less anxious compared to those by themselves.
Evaluating this solution
Gerrit Stephan and his colleagues at the Academy for Animal Naturopathy in Switzerland wanted to see if there was any truth behind this recommendation. Stephan wanted to compare the behaviours of dogs who only lived with their owners versus those who lived in multi-canine homes. The study consisted of 77 dogs of all breeds in total. 32 of them lived in single dog households and 45 of them lived in multi-dog households. Stephan placed three video cameras in each home to record the dogs’ behaviours.
On the whole, the footage showed that the dogs spent most of the day lounging around where their owners were not around (little surprise there). They tended to lie around in their chosen spots most of the time. However, male dogs tended to show the symptoms of separation anxiety more often than their female counterparts. Overall, the likelihood of dogs displaying separation anxiety symptoms increased as time went on.
From the study, there was actually quite a big difference in the levels of barking between single-dog and multi-dog homes. The dogs vocalised significantly more if another dog was present in the home compared to when they were home alone. This seems to suggest that a dog companion in the same house increases separation anxiety instead of reducing it. Overall, male dogs barked more often than their female counterparts.
Scientific evidence seems to suggest that a dog companion in the same house increases separation anxiety instead of reducing it
So while the popular solution to solving separation anxiety in dogs might be to add another dog in the house, research suggests otherwise. The researchers concluded that introducing a canine companion does not reduce the dogs’ separation anxiety. It seems, once again, that science does not support the most popular solution to dog behavioural problems.
