Separation anxiety is one of the reasons people take their dogs to doggy daycare.
Many dogs have separation anxiety when their owners leave the house, which can be difficult for the dog and a source of concern for the owner.
It can be heartbreaking to see your dog clinging to you as you plan to leave the house, and then frantically clawing at the door as you drive off.
Unfortunately, this is a prevalent condition affecting a lot of dogs.
But does doggy daycare help with separation anxiety? I am addressing this subject with this blog post. I am sure it will answer every question you may have.
Does Doggy Daycare help with Separation Anxiety?
Yes. If your dog has separation anxiety, I recommend you take such a dog to a dog daycare. Putting your dog in a doggy daycare can help dogs connect with other dogs and humans and not miss you.
How Doggy Daycare can help with separation anxiety
There are many ways your doggy daycare can help your dog with separation anxiety.
At doggy daycare, your dog will be too busy exercising, socializing, or interacting with other dogs to miss you too much.
All these will keep your dog occupied and less anxious about you not being around. A consistent routine in the daycare can also limit your dog’s destructive behaviors.
Here are the ways a doggy daycare can help with separation anxiety:
Exercise
Your dog will get a lot of valuable exercise at doggy daycare. Like humans, a healthy dose of exercise has a lot of benefits for your dog.
The benefits include:
- Reduced anxiety and stress.
- A happier disposition.
- Better joints.
- Improvement in general health.
Exercising with other animals will also improve your dog’s social interaction and help them make new friends.
Making new friends and interacting will reduce their need to always be around you.
Socialization
Socializing in the daycare will allow your dog to interact with other dogs and humans.
Most doggy daycare will perform a personality test on your dog to determine its temperament, after which they will place him amongst dogs of the same size, activity level, and temperament.
Determining the dog’s temperament helps the daycare reduce friction and improve socialization.
And Socializing will help your dog make new friends and connect with humans.
Your dog will learn how to behave around other dogs and even humans by being around them.
Create a Routine
Once your dog understands the routine of being dropped off and picked up, their anxiousness reduces.
They start to understand that you’re only dropping them off and not deserting them.
Familiarity with the routine will give your dog structure, and taking it out of the home to play with other dogs will make them feel less lonely and more secure.
What is Separation Anxiety?
Separation anxiety is when dogs feel anxious when their owners leave the house and are alone.
A dog with separation anxiety can act out in different ways. They can scratch doors, pant a lot, and chew up things in the house. Here are other symptoms of separation anxiety.
- Howling and barking
- Pacing aimlessly
- Damaging things in the house
While some points highlighted above are not limited to separation anxiety, there are other critical underlying characteristics to which one has to pay attention.
Certain medications can also cause adverse side effects, such as inappropriate elimination or restless behaviors.
You can establish separation anxiety as the actual underlying cause with these key characteristics:
- Your dog usually behaves when you are home but becomes aggressive when you’re away
- Your dog has perfect elimination habits when you are home
- Your dog follows closely behind you when you are home or preparing to go out
- Your dog feels anxious anytime you stand up to leave the room.
Causes of Separation Anxiety
If your dog has separation anxiety, it can be a result of the following:
Change in routine
A sudden change in routine can cause your dog anxiousness.
Maybe you just changed jobs, and the time you leave and come back home has altered.
Or perhaps you just changed house, someone in the house moved out, or another moved in.
All of these can make your dog develop separation anxiety.
Negative Experience
It can also stem from an experience your dog may have had.
Your dog may have been removed as litter while still very young.
A newborn dog litter needs at least 7-weeks with its family before being removed or sold.
If they took your dog from his mom less than 7-weeks after birth, that might cause separation anxiety.
Nurture
The way they raise your dog, with or without love and care, before they find a home with you can cause separation anxiety.
That past can be the reason for their separation anxiety. Your dog may be anxious that you will leave and make it go back to the past it wants to forget.
Other ways to help your Dog with Separation Anxiety?
Apart from going to the daycare, there are other methods to help your dog cope with separation anxiety.
Below are some ideas you can try out.
- Getting a dog walker
- Using calming supplements like magnolia, milk protein, etc.
- Administering antianxiety medication
- Pheromone therapy
- Treat and chew toys
- Desensitization and helping them cope with your departure.
We have written another post about separation anxiety in the border collie. It is worth reading.
Conclusion
Doggy daycare can provide ways to help your anxious dog.
They will ensure your canine friend has a lot of companions and contact with other dogs and humans.
Contact with other dogs will make them too busy to be anxious or lonely.
If you have a dog with separation anxiety, taking them to doggy daycare is an excellent way to help them cope better.
