®It has been suggested that some of the separation problems dogs suffer from are due to the fact that they need owners as a mother substitute, another individual they have become attached to or even as their puppies. Whichever theory is subscribed to the dog becomes distressed when the owners are not at home. I suspect that they don't see the 'relationship' as anything at all as we would define it, and that the chemical processes that result in sensations we call emotions are responsible. An apparent increase in the number of dogs that can't cope when their owners are absent from home after the Christmas holidays may help to explain.
During this holiday owners are more available because they are porked-out on Christmas dinner and crashed out in front of the television. This is an over-simplified but graphic description of the opportunity dogs get to develop a closer relationship and dependence upon their owners when they are at home rather than at work or school. If so you might expect an increase of the problem after other holidays, which the data collated from members of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors seems to confirm.
Although Christmas holidays may help to explain why there is an increase in the number of dogs presented to my clinics for separation problems there are other explanations more likely to be more significant. The Christmas holiday comes relatively soon after the firework season and dogs that have been unsettled by it may display a greater need for their owners as a source of reassurance. Of course, there are even more fireworks at New Year in some areas. The increase in owner availability during the holiday may provide a greater opportunity for the dog to learn to be dependent upon them. Another explanation is that the long winter nights mean that the family are indoors more than at other times of year, one look at the television schedules tells you where the media expect us to be.
The type of separation problems that might develop in these circumstances involve the dog showing over-dependence upon their owners when they are at home and, as a consequence, distress when they leave. The range of symptoms that can occur when owners are out include; loss of toilet control, destructive behaviour related to trying to follow them and barking or howling to call them back home. Although not the subject of this article, some dogs may not be anxious but have learnt to expect high levels of interaction and are frustrated when it is withdrawn, these are more likely vent that frustration on things in the house.
All this begs the question, how does greater owner availability lead to separation problems associated with over-attachment to them or over-dependence upon them? Over-attachment is related to bonding and often involves just one of the family members. Over-dependence occurs when the dog is fearful and is associated with anyone that makes the dog feel safer. These conditions result in an emotional state that, when problematical, results in symptoms when the owners are at home. For example, it may follow them from room to room and become distressed if it is not allowed to follow. It may need to be in physical contact with them when they are sitting down. These symptoms of over-attachment or dependence may be less extreme if the dog has a low expectation that it will be left, eg, if the owner retired and is normally at home. Conversely, dogs whose owners' departures are unpredictable may be more inclined to want to stick to them like glue, dogs that belong to shift workers for example.
If owners respond when their dog displays a need for contact or interaction the behaviour and therefore the emotional state is rewarded. As with rewards for any behaviour, this means that the dog shows a greater need, which, of course, will be due to an increase in the emotion. In effect the behaviour is driven by the fact that the dog shows an amount of anxiety and the owners' response or contact with them gives them a sense of relief resulting from chemical activity in the brain. As this makes the dog feel better it looks for its next fix when the contact is withdrawn. When it gets it, it feels better and more likely to need another fix. And so it goes on. Over time it can become addicted to it. So with this type of problem we are not talking about a dog wanting attention, we are talking about it being dependent upon it as surely as if it is addicted to drugs.
Next month we will look at how this dependence can be reduced or prevented. ****
Copyright: David Appleby 2001
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Please note that the Pet Behaviour Centre and David Appleby cannot be held responsible for death or injury to people or animals, or damage to property caused by the correct or incorrect use of the techniques described in this article.