[music playing] Kelly: Does your dog start to pace, whine, or follow you around the house when you get ready to leave?

Or how about this, when you come home have they chewed up the couch or destroyed your favorite pair of shoes?

Your dog could be suffering from separation anxiety.

Coming up we're joined by Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Sally Foote, to talk about pet anxiety and how to treat it.

Stay with us.

[music playing] Katelyn: Fetchers Pet Supply on the north side of the Charleston square.

Serving the EIU community since 1991.

Fetchers welcomes all pets on a leash.

Is open seven days a week and offers made in the USA food.

Pets supplies for dogs, cats, reptiles, and fish.

Fetchers Pets Supply in Charleston.

Rameen: The Paw Report on WEIU is supported by Rural King, America's farm and home store, livestock feed, farm equipment, pet supplies and more.

You can find your store and more information regarding Rural King at ruralking.com.

Rob: Dave's Decorating Center is a proud supporter of the Paw Report on WEIU.

Dave's Decorating Center features the Mohawk Smartstrand Silk Forever Clean carpet.

Dave's Decorating Center, authorized Mohawk color center in Charleston.

Kelly: Thank you for joining us for this episode of The Paw Report.

Today we're talking about a fairly common issue that pet owners and lovers struggle with and that is separation anxiety with our, well predominantly our four-legged dog friends.

And we're joined by our friend Dr. Sally Foote, who's been with us well since the inception of this program going on 11 years.

Sally: Yeah.

Oh, wow.

You're aging me.

Kelly: Yeah, well.

Thanks for joining us Dr. Foote.

Sally: It's good to be here again.

Thank you, Kelly.

Kelly: You're welcome.

And as I mentioned, pet anxiety, separation anxiety what exactly is separation anxiety in dogs?

And can it vary in severity, I guess?

Sally: Mm-hmm.

Separation anxiety is really the anxiety about separation.

Okay.

So, we call it separation anxiety as a term, a diagnostic term.

I like to flip the words because it helps me to remember, and I think it helps with clients and people to also realize, hey, it can have a spectrum or a range of signs and symptoms and also have a range of severity.

And lastly, anxiety from other things can all pull together or fall together, show up when the separation occurs.

So separation anxiety is this animal, primarily we see it in dogs, we do see it in cats, we do see it in horses and other species, but the biggest recognition is in dogs.

And primarily because when the dog gets to a level of being panicked the destruction the dog does, that's where you're reading about the dog literally ate his way through a drywall wall or ripped all the siding off the trim around the door.

And tore up the door handle trying to get out of the room to get to the owner who left or the other animal they're separated from.

Kelly: Mm-hmm.

What causes it?

Is it owner?

Is it DNA?

Is it breed?

I mean, what exactly brings this on?

Sally: Actually that's a really good question because it's a blending of all those things.

Yes, we do see a higher incidence of separation anxiety in frankly our hunting type breed dogs like our Labradors, our Golden Retrievers, sometimes our German Shepherd dogs.

And if you think about it especially the retrieving type dog, genetically then was chosen for a trait to go out and get that duck that I just shot out of the sky in the water and bring it back to me.

Hang close to me when we're out hunting and doing things.

And oftentimes and these dogs are very social, they like to really be with people, they like to be petted, they'd like to be bonded.

So that's the genetic side of it, breed/genetics of it.

Then it can be life experiences, meaning as a puppy and growing up did this puppy learn to be happy alone in confinement?

I call this independence training.

Meaning, go happily, go in your crate and sleep by yourself.

Happily sleep in your bed not on the bed with the human, not on the couch with human, or you're resting in the living room while I get up and I go to the kitchen to make something and the dog ignores me or the cat ignores me, okay?

So that's what I mean by life experience.

And then lastly, if there's some kind of really scary event that happens when this animal was alone without you, then this is the third way it can crop up.

Then we can now have this sudden eruption of signs of separation anxiety, the problem, because that animal is back almost like in a PTSD state of, oh my gosh, last time I was left alone the tree fell on the house during the tornado.

And that was really scary and upsetting.

And now every time you leave the dog is like, "There's going to be another tree falling on the house and a tornado.

So I've got to be with you.

I can't be in this house alone."

Kelly: So some of the things that you just mentioned are reasons why some dogs develop it, some dogs don't.

Sally: Right.

Kelly: Some dogs can be in a house and there is a storm and they're by themselves and they handle it.

Sally: Exactly.

Kelly: So, I guess there are lots of different ways that we can address this anxiety.

Sally: Mm-hmm.

Kelly: And it's going to be a big job on the pet owner to help their dog, cat, whatever to get through this.

Sally: Yeah.

So I think the first thing that's real important and I've got a whole course on my website about this to help people out but anyway, there's five elements here in a sense.

First of all is, for an owner to recognize any signs or early signs of anxiety about any other things like noise, people they don't know who are coming over, stuff like that.

Are there any other co-anxieties this animal has?

And we want to work to decrease those.

Because that can be a baseline for then when they're separated, you see now they're going to pop up to a higher anxiety.

So recognizing any other anxieties going on.

Secondly, having a way to clearly describe to your veterinarian exactly what the behaviors your animal is doing when you're getting ready to leave and when you're gone.

So in other words, how much pacing?

How much panting?

Is it drooling?

Is it elimination, defecation, or having urination?

Are they chewing on the doorknob?

Are they pulling or chewing on anything around the door frame?

While it may not be a high amount of damage in the home, that's telling me, no, this animal is really anxious.

He's trying to escape out of the house.

So it's telling me about the animal's mental state.

And then my head goes to thinking, well A, he's going to need medication to help control this.

B, we need to do some training and see has anything else changed in this animal's body that will be affecting their ability like their neurotransmitter level, their stress levels, and ability to function that could agitate or aggravate it, increase in separation anxiety?

So really clearly telling your veterinarian, whether you send it in an email.

And in these days with telemedicine, you could take a video and share that video clip or photo clip with your veterinarian, that really makes the description more clear.

Thirdly, understanding how we do the independence training.

And being accepting of that medical workup, but you're on a screen there isn't any health problem.

And lastly, the supplements products like pheromones and tools and medications to help provide a more mental calming so the animal can learn to be calm and not anxious in the absence of the person or the companion animal.

Because we have some times like we have two dogs who've always lived together and then the one dog dies or the other one dog is hospitalized and the remaining one at home is now having a separation anxiety episode.

But anyway, how to have that mental calming because you need that especially how they pop up to panicking.

Kelly: Can separation anxiety sometimes show itself and there's other problems with the animal may not necessarily be separation anxiety?

Sally: Yeah.

It's a very good question.

Kelly: I mean, you could think that that's what is going on with your animal, but it may not be.

Sally: Exactly.

And so there's one situation we call separation fun.

Yeah, separation fun.

So separation fun is yes, you've left for the day, maybe you put your pet in the crate, the dog in the crate for example.

This animal might be whining and digging and actually forces his way out of the crate.

Or I've seen this, you have the dog who's like, "I'm kind of bored.

Ooh, there's that handle on the crates.

If I look at the certain way, ping!

It pops open."

Just like solving a puzzle.

So it's more like the fun of solving a puzzle and that's the boredom.

Sally: Or you come home and it's like, "Ugh, the garbage is knocked over and he's tore it all up."

He's knocked all the pillows off of the couch.

Well again, it could be he's bored so he gets in the garbage.

It's not because he's destroying it out of being a bad dog.

Or he knocked all the pillows off the couch because it was Tuesday and when the garbage truck went by, he jumped on the couch barking out the window, and in all his agitation knocked all the pillows off of the couch.

It wasn't about the separation anxiety, it was about the noise and the reactivity.

And then lastly in aging pets especially in our older dogs, when they start to have what's called cognitive dysfunction syndrome or brain aging problems or especially pain like arthritis or any other chronic inflammation in the body that's causing some low level of pain, you may then see pacing and panting and drooling which is also the body language signs of pain.

So you maybe think, oh my goodness.

He's got separation anxiety.

Well he may have that also popping up, but the primary signs we're seeing are related with pain.

So that's the beauty of sharing these video clips with your veterinarian or a behaviorist like myself to work this all out.

Kelly: When I was doing some reading about separation anxiety I discovered, now obviously when the pet owner leaves that's an obvious trigger.

But there are some other triggers too that I thought were rather interesting, a move.

If you're picking up and moving the animal to a different location.

And then a new baby.

Sally: Yeah.

Kelly: And I never thought of anxiety could be caused because pet mommy or pet daddy's not giving me as much attention.

Sally: Right.

So separation anxiety, if you want to think of the part of the base reason it happened it's all about how bonded is this animal to say the owner or another animal or the environment?

It's almost like, "Oh Kelly, I can't function unless I'm sitting right next to you.

And when I do I'm okay."

So then when you leave for work and you're gone it's like a coping skill, "Where's Kelly?

Where's Kelly?

Oh my gosh.

Where's Kelly."

That's where the anxiety comes from.

Or, oh, I love this window where I can look out the window and bark at that neighbor or watch the birds go by or I know this route on my walk.

I know this home, this space and it's I'm bonded to it, right?

This is what I know.

Especially dogs who do not get out for walks a lot and they spend all their time in the backyard and they spend their time primarily what's called on that home turf.

Now you move to a new home in a new location, it's all new and they're just like, "Whoa!

What happened to my old house?"

That's where the anxiety comes up.

Lastly again, going to the amount of attention given.

So yes, prior to the birth of a child the pet is the only other whatever, companion let's say in the home, creature to give care for.

That animal is getting a lot of attention, a lot of, oh, I got up I'm going to be right by your side.

Especially if I could be sitting right by your side, laying right by your side, laying right at your feet.

Now I have the new baby.

And with a new baby we still love our dog a lot, but now we're trying to train the dog like, "No.

You have to lay on the floor not up on the couch, because I'm nursing the baby or taking care of the baby."

Or, "You can't sleep in the bedroom because we have the bassinet in the bedroom."

And that separation even though you haven't left the home it's called virtual separation anxiety, that's like suddenly we've shifted the bond.

And because of that and the dog has not learned how to sleep in the other room with you in the bedroom with the bassinet before the arrival of the child, that's how it's causing them the signs and the separation anxiety.

Kelly: We need to get to the meat and potatoes now.

So we have all of these problems- Sally: [crosstalk].

Kelly: ... That Fido is not behaving properly.

So now we need to help Fido.

Sally: Yes.

Kelly: So let's get into that.

Again in some other readings that I was doing, it is a process for the pet owner.

And it's not a one-time time, two-time, one week, two week, this is a lengthy process that's built on repetition and patience, I guess.

Sally: Yes.

As I say to my clients when I have a separation anxiety case to work through and to consult with, and I'm always in concert collaboration with the primary care veterinarian on these cases.

Because as I say to my clients say, "Listen, separation anxiety is a basket of different, oftentimes, different co-anxieties culminating together in an animal who doesn't know how to be independent."

Okay?

So we've got two or three different kinds like barrier frustration meaning, I don't like that closed door.

I'm in a crate.

And this dog is chewing or barking trying...

So we got to deal with the barrier frustration, we have to deal with maybe noise fears and noise phobias, because oftentimes they're not so anxious until the garbage truck goes by or the siren goes off or a tornado.

And then they really ramp up on those days because it's the two together.

You have to have the plan, it has to include all these other co-anxieties that you're going to be working on while maintaining the brain chemistry to help keep the brain calm and not pop up to panic.

And panic is the digging, the chewing, the barking constantly.

And when their brain pops up to panic, it's difficult.

They can't learn in that phase.

So that's where that clean come, getting the right med plan.

And then you're right, you've got to break the steps down for what we call counterconditioning, changing the meaning.

So we had to change the meaning of when you put your shoes on, getting ready to go to work.

Change the meaning of when you show up in the kitchen in your nurse's uniform, because you work over at the hospital and today's the day you're going to work.

Kelly: How do you do that?

Sally: Okay.

Guess what?

It's a way of oftentimes.

Every day I tell clients, "You're not going to feed them out of a bowl anymore, you're going to take all their food and guess what?

As you put your shoes on, you're going to be tossing nuggets of food to Fido that just at the site of your shoes, he's getting rewarded."

As you're putting the shoes on, he's getting rewarded.

And you're going to do this, and you're going to take your shoes off and going to do this every day in the morning or the evening whether or not you're leaving the home.

So we're neutralizing that trigger.

And then, maybe especially for managing the really severe cases we want to identify all of the triggers.

And yeah, we might have a list 30 triggers long.

Your shoes, your keys, your picking up your purse, showing up in your uniform, walking toward the door, putting your hand on the door knob, opening the door, closing the door, the sound of the car pulling out of the driveway, going down the street.

Every single one of those has to be counter-conditioned.

So what can we eliminate?

Maybe I'll say, guess what?

You're going to get dressed in your nurse's uniform at the hospital.

Don't wear it in the house, right?

That's one thing we could strip down to help make this plan a bit easier.

Maybe you won't wear this specific shoes you wear for work in the house, but we'll focus on, you got to get out the door, right?

Kelly: Right.

Sally: The process of going in and out the door and I call that the peekaboo game.

So every day, morning at breakfast you're going to say, just toss food for like, I'm walking to the door.

Oh, you're busy eating the food on the floor.

As I walk to the door and I reach for the handle.

And as long as the animal is eating, their anxiety level is low enough to have appetite.

This is really important.

If they stop eating they're like, "Oh my God, Kelly."

Where are you going?

Kelly.

Kelly."

Okay, whoa.

We have to stop this training process of you leaving at this point.

Like maybe you want to go and put your hand on the door knob and now your dog's like, "No, I'm not going to eat."

Okay.

So we're going to spend a lot of time of the tossing the food as you just walk toward the door.

And all you're going to do is reach, you're not even going to touch the doorknob.

So you're right, it's many repetitions.

But the way to make it easiest I tell clients, "This is how they're going to earn their meals, morning and dinner."

It's going to be maybe 10 minutes a day, but it's going to be every day.

And we're going to [inaudible] the plan of how you're going to do all these different steps every day.

And then it'll build up where you can put your hand on the doorknob and then he's going to be ignoring you.

Because he got counter-conditioned to all those preceding steps.

So when you reach, go to the next trigger that really says you're really going his brain is coming from a lower level of anxiety so he doesn't pop up as high.

Kelly: I would have to bet, and you being the doctor can attest to this, pet owners are like, "I just can't do this.

Just give me the meds."

Sally: Of course, yeah.

Kelly: "I don't have time for all of this.

I just don't."

I mean, there's got to be some discussion with the pet owners as well as like you can't just- Sally: Yeah.

Medication isn't going to fix it.

Kelly: ...

Exactly.

Sally: Right.

So that's the first thing to say is, medications will improve behavior up to 25 to 35%.

It's the best that they can do.

They're not going to change behavior 100%.

We know there's no drug that's going to get that.

We need that 25 to 35% to really help improve the behavior, but you always have to have a blended, what's called behavior modification plan.

The plan specific for your animal in your space, your home with what the triggers are for your pet to be changed with the help of the medication.

So the medication is helping just like my eyeglasses I wear to drive a car.

If I didn't have my glasses you don't want me driving a car.

Yet I couldn't just put on my glasses like, bingo, drive a car, right?

I need to learn how to drive the car, but I need both.

Okay?

So that's how I explain it to the clients.

And at times, yes, there might be times where it's like, "I've got to get out of the house, I have to go to work."

Understood.

So we're going to have then at those times even either higher or combinations of medications that's frankly going to get your animal sedate.

They're going to sleep through it.

Because that's what they need to do to stop the pattern and almost experience one time of, I didn't go to the door and try to chew the handle off, I didn't spend the whole time pacing and whining and barking.

And while frankly you're right, this is what I call the drug resistant client.

But there is a resistant thing like, "Oh my gosh.

I've got to really med my pet this much."

Yes, but only in the first few times.

Because if you put your homework in to this other training each day, then when you do need to leave he won't need to be sedated so much and it will improve.

It is a process.

Yes, it is a process.

So that's why it's so important, going back to when we were first talking when I said, tell your veterinarian about these early signs before they get really bad.

Just like a disease.

I want to know if he's just a little gimpy on his leg before he can't walk.

It's a lot easier to change it, to help it to improve when it's an early whining, pacing, drooling than when they're trying to tear the door off and chewing up all the trim and having a high degree.

Honestly, separation anxiety is also the leading reason why dogs are surrendered to the shelter.

So many of our rescues that have been adopted, they may not show it in the shelter because they're never really alone.

They've got another dog that are right next to them or they're in a foster home with many other dogs.

But oftentimes it will show up then after this adopted or rescued animal is now in the new home, and also too the change may have triggered it to escalate in the new home.

Kelly: I just wonder if vets are experiencing a larger load these days- Sally: Oh, yes.

Kelly: ... Because of the pandemic?

Because pet mommies and daddies were working at home for the last year and a half and now they're going back to the office.

Sally: Yeah.

Like if they already had the pet they might've had some mild symptoms, it wasn't anything bad, they didn't tell the vet, it wasn't creating any problem in the home, no big welfare issue for the animal.

And then we've had this year plus of working from home and now people are... Or even just going out socially now.

The blessings of the vaccinations and opening up of the country, people can go out to work, we can take a trip, we can go out to dinner.

And they're like, "Oh my goodness.

I left the dog home alone for an hour."

And there's all this pool of drool, and he was just exhausted and he's way worse.

It's because that year of always being at home increased the bonding and he lost, if you will, whatever independent skills he had.

And so now we're seeing a pop up of it.

So yes, a lot of veterinarians are working with giving their clients medications and what general advice they can have.

But then they've referred to me and that's really a lot of what I'm seeing right now is the separation anxiety cases that I'm helping clients with.

Kelly: What should pet owners not do when they know that their pet is suffering from this?

I guess my first thing is, don't just shove them in a crate- Sally: Correct.

Kelly: ... As punishment.

Sally: Yeah.

So we want to avoid using crates or confinement as a place for banishment or punishment, number one.

Because when that act of punishment they're anxious and now you're putting them in confinement, [inaudible] they're anxious in confinement.

So certainly that's going to just increase the whole barrier frustration as well as anxiety about confinement.

The second thing is a lot of people miss those early signs of being anxious and just don't realize what the animal is trying to tell them.

So then they're like, "Oh, you won't get in the crate.

I'll just pick you up and I'll put you in there."

Sure that's a solution, you put them in the crate, right?

You got them in there, they didn't bite you, they're not whining or barking in that moment, you close them up in the crate and like, "Bye-bye.

I'll be back."

And then when you go out the door you hear the barking and the whining and they're chewing on the crate bars.

But it's because the resistance to go on the crate was their way of saying, "I don't like this confinement.

I don't like the crate."

For that, you need to work on what we call crate games.

Where you're going to again, don't feed them out of a bowl, don't put the bowl in the crate.

You're going to take that food and toss it in the crate where he goes in and he finds it and he comes out, he goes in and you close the door a little bit and he finds it.

You go in, he goes in, throw a couple of handfuls, close the door, you leave the room for 30 seconds, you come back, right?

You keep switching it up.

So then the dog is more like, "Oh, okay.

It's not so bad getting in here."

And you did it daily to change the meaning of it.

Sometimes even changing the crate.

But right, banishment and forcing, if you will, the animal to just, look, you just got to be in here and deal with it, that is discounting the effect of anxiety.

And that's why then it escalates up and then we don't hear about it until it's way advanced, so.

Kelly: So the key, as we wrap up our discussion here, is at least for pet owners is commitment and homework and they have to be patient.

And also, if anybody out there has maybe some questions or concerns your website is a wealth of information.

Foote and Friends.

Sally: Yeah.

Kelly: And there's videos and all sorts of help segments on there to maybe get you going and to inspire you and to help you and to maybe calm your nerves when you're dealing with Fido, who doesn't want to be away from you.

Sally: Yeah.

Kelly: Dr. Foote, thank you so much for our conversation.

Again today as always, it's a pleasure to have you.

Sally: Oh, thank you.

Kelly: And thank you for the information.

Sally: You're welcome.

It's wonderful being on the show.

Thank you.

Kelly: Thank you.

And thank our viewers who join us every week for The Paw Report.

Until then, we'll see you next time.

Rob: Dave's Decorating Center is a proud supporter of the Paw Report on WEIU.

Dave's Decorating Center features the Mohawk Smartstrand Silk Forever Clean carpet.

Dave's Decorating Center, authorized Mohawk color center in Charleston.

Rameen: The Paw Report on WEIU is supported by Rural King, America's farm and home store, livestock feed, farm equipment, pet supplies and more.

You can find your store and more information regarding Rural King at ruralking.com.

Katelyn: Fetchers Pet Supply on the north side of the Charleston square.

Serving the EIU community since 1991.

Fetchers welcomes all pets on a leash.

Is open seven days a week and offers made in the USA food.

Pets supplies for dogs, cats, reptiles, and fish.

Fetchers Pets Supply in Charleston.

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