Many dog owners worry about separation anxiety when they want to leave their Border Collie home alone.
If you are one of them and want to know how to solve this issue, then read on.
This blog post will tell you about separation anxiety in a border collie and how to treat it.
What is separation anxiety in Border Collie?
Separation anxiety in border collies is a disorder impacting your Collie, which makes it feel anxious whenever it is alone.
How to know if your Border Collie has Separation anxiety?
There are different signs your Border Collie will exhibit if it has separation anxiety.
Some pet owners may even mistake it for just bad behavior, but often, they are not. So how do you know your Collie is suffering from separation anxiety?
1. They are clingy.
If you find your Collie behind you anytime you try to leave the room; it probably has separation anxiety.
2. Panting and pacing.
If your Collie runs up to you on getting back home, panting hard and pacing around, it is probably anxious and has separation anxiety from you leaving earlier.
Separation anxiety should not be mistaken for boredom.
With boredom, a Border Collie will scratch the wall and appear calm, like it has been sleeping.
If your pet Collie can’t seem to relax or struggles when it is alone and constantly wants someone nearby, then it probably has separation anxiety.
What Causes separation anxiety in Border Collies?
The simple explanation is that your Border Collie worries you won’t return anytime you leave the house.
This behavior has nothing to do with you and doesn’t even mean you’ve left them before.
It can stem from when they separated your Border Collie from his family as a puppy.
Some dogs need patience and time to get over their families and adjust to their new family and environment.
Separation anxiety is prevalent in Border Collies because they like to do things with their owners and love mental stimulation.
So, when they are left alone, they get anxious and feel abandoned.
Change in the Owner’s routine
Changing your routine or when you leave the house can trigger anxiety in your Collie.
If you are always at home in the evenings and change the routine to coming home late at night, your border collie may notice this change and feel you’ve abandoned it.
Hereditary
Like humans, dogs also inherit some of their parents’ peculiarities through genetics.
If one of your Collie’s parents worries a lot, they can pass down the same traits to Collie, and you may have an anxious dog in your hand.
How to help your Border Collie with separation anxiety
After knowing the causes of separation anxiety in your Border Collie, you must wonder how to help your pet stay calm when alone.
Let’s dive into some ways to help your Border Collie with separation anxiety.
1. Leave them Alone
This idea may sound counterproductive, but it is a proven remedy for separation anxiety.
Being by themselves teaches your Border Collie it is okay to be alone.
You can do this by crate training them.
A border collie that has been crate trained feels much calmer and more comfortable being left alone.
Crate training also lets Collie know they can’t always be around humans.
After you return home, ensure your Collie is calm before rewarding it with anything.
Eventually, your Border Collie will understand how the reward system works.
2. Desensitization
Desensitization means teaching your Border Collie that leaving the house is normal and doesn’t mean you are abandoning it. To do this, start by identifying cue actions you make when you are about to leave the house.
Make sure to do this before leaving the house, so your Border Collie knows you are about to leave. Once your Border Collie notices this, it will start feeling anxious.
After a while, it relaxes, and then you can reward the behavior with some treats. You then move to the next cue and repeat the same thing.
There are also things you can do when you get home. Let’s look at some of them:
3. Discourage Excitement
If your Collie is being frantic when you return home, you can ignore it until it is calm, after which you can reward it with a treat. Always try to reward positive actions instead of reprimanding negative ones.
4. Give them Toys.
Another way to help with separation anxiety in your pet is getting it toys.
The toys may not necessarily stop their anxious feeling, but it distracts them and gives them something else to focus on while you’re away.
You can get toys like kong, goodie ribbon, snuffle mat, and puzzle games.
For How long can you leave your Border Collie?
A Border Collie should not be left alone for more than five hours.
The alone time can be shorter for a Border Collie with separation anxiety.
If you have to leave your home for longer than five hours, I recommend you find someone to do a little check-up or find your Border Collie a dog sitter or walker.
You can also take your Border Collie to a dog daycare.
Conclusion
It is possible to help your Border Collie through its separation anxiety phase.
I hope this blog post has shown you how to go about that, and if you’ve tried all these and your Border Collie’s anxiousness persists, I recommend you see a vet.
