Dog Separation Anxiety

Does your dog feel nervous when you go out? Do they chew, bark or whine excessively, self mutilate by biting itself, dig on the floor or maybe try to escape? It could be a condition called Separation Anxiety.

This happens especially when the dog is left alone. Away from the human companions or their other dog friends. They could feel nervous and fear.

Sometimes it happens because we allow them to be too used to our presense and let them follow us around like our shadow. It boils down to how much we spoil our dog(s). When we are home, we give them our undivided attention. That of course tells them that our world revolves around them.

When they are used to our presense, they will be at a loss when we go out for long hours. Or when we leave them at a boarding house for a few days. They will feel sad and fear that maybe you don't want them anymore. And maybe you have just dumped them.

This happens to Dom.

I just realised that my world revolves around him and his around me. He adores me. He follows me like a shadow... even when i am just going out from my room to get a drink in the kitchen. When i go out to buy something, he expects me to take him along. Sometimes i do and on the times that i don't, he shows me the saddest face and that kinda melts my heart.

Being a work-at-home staff doesn't help. He sees me every single day and every single hour. He will start to bite his legs when he does not see me for hours. Sometimes when i go out to get some stuffs, i'll come home to find one of my socks or teeshirt in his doggie bed with him. I think that makes him feel secure.

I think its not really healthy for him. What do i do? Do i just let him be? Cos it is a nice feeling to be feeling so loved. But to self-mutilate his feet is not good thing.

Now that Piper is back for 2 weeks, i hope maybe he'll be back into his bratpack and back to his barking sessions with Piper and running about in the garden. Both of them did have a helluva good time barking today at all the strange things/people that passes by my house.

Hopefully its just a passing phase.