Canine Anxieties and Phobias: An Update on Separation Anxiety and Noise Aversions

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Companion dogs commonly experience states of anxiety, fears, and phobias. Separation anxiety and noise aversions, as discussed in this article, are especially prevalent. Veterinarians are encouraged to recognize and treat such conditions on first presentation to address welfare issues and optimize successful management. New data suggest new treatment modalities, including behavioral management, pharmacotherapy, and species-specific pheromone use. Failure to treat can result in disruption of the human-animal bond and subsequent abandonment, relinquishment, or even euthanasia of the affected dog.

Section snippets

Separation Anxiety

Canine separation anxiety is a behavioral disorder of dogs when left alone or separated from a significant person or persons. The term separation distress may best describe the phenomenon, which incorporates signs consistent with anxiety, fear, and phobic behavior. Separation anxiety is manifest by several behavioral signs, including destructiveness, rearrangement of household objects, hypersalivation, inappropriate urination and defecation (in a dog otherwise well house trained), distress

EtiologIC FACTORS

There are several factors reported to be associated with canine separation anxiety. These include a history of long periods of being left alone, long periods with the owner without being left alone, periods of kennel housing [8], shelter housing [3], [8], [19], family move to new house or apartment [10], [20], urban housing [10], and loss of a family pet [10]. In one study, dogs from a home with a single adult owner were approximately 2.5 times more likely to exhibit signs of separation

Signalment

In some studies of separation anxiety, there is a gender bias toward male dogs [8], [10], [17], [20], [29]. In other studies, both genders are approximately equally represented [5], [30], [31]. Some of the latter studies were large clinical trials [5], [30], which excluded from participation dogs that exhibited human-directed aggression. Thus, dogs with separation anxiety that were aggressive toward owners in an apparent attempt to prevent their imminent departure may have been excluded from

Diagnosis

A diagnosis of separation anxiety can be made on the basis of a thorough behavioral history and medical evaluation [9], [22] to rule out medical differential diagnoses and behavioral differential diagnoses (Table 1). Medical evaluations are especially important in cases of elimination in an otherwise housetrained dog and in geriatric patients. The behavioral history is imperative to confirm the diagnosis of separation anxiety and to rule out other behavioral differential diagnoses (see Table 1).

Treatment

Separation anxiety should be treated immediately. Households with dogs experiencing this disorder are in distress because of the emotional hardship of watching a dog suffer daily and the financial cost of destructiveness and house soiling. Because one family member may advocate for the dog, whereas another may advocate for the household budget, the condition can lead to rancor within the household and eviction of the dog.

Treatment consists of owner education, environmental management, behavior

Noise Sensitivity

There are two further reasons to consider aversion to noise alongside separation-related problems. First, there is evidence that the occurrence of either problem affects the likelihood of the occurrence of the other. Second, it is possible for one to be mistaken for the other. For example, elimination in the owner's absence is not necessarily associated with separation-related anxiety but may occur in response to the distress caused by a particular noise stimulus that occurred in the owner's

Treatment Regimens

Recent studies have evaluated the efficacy of several treatment regimens for various noise sensitivities, although study designs did not include placebo controls. These include the use of clomipramine and alprazolam in combination with behavior modification for the control of reactions to thunderstorms [49], the use of DAP in combination with ignoring problematic behavior [50], and the use of DAP within a compact disk (CD)–based training program [51]. Another study casts some doubt on the

Prognosis

The differentiation of signs described previously has recently prompted a reanalysis of several of the studies involving noise-sensitive dogs, which was conducted at the University of Lincoln by one of the authors (DSM). This suggests that several intervention strategies, including the use of DAP, with minimal behavior therapy [50] and a desensitization program (Daniel S. Mills, unpublished study, 2001) produce more effect on the signs of fear than anxiety, especially in the early stages of

Summary

As the scientific study of separation anxiety and noise sensitivities grows, so we are gaining a much clearer understanding of the subtleties of the problem. This brings a greater ability to prescribe effective treatment programs accurately and predict their outcome. A correct diagnosis is obviously essential, but careful attention to presenting signs is also warranted, because it seems that a greater response to signs of fear (as opposed to anxiety) is achieved initially in many cases, and

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