Dogs Social Separation Anxiety & Other Neuroses: Expert Breed Behavioral Report Recommends Remedies

Dogs Social Separation Anxiety & Other Neuroses: Report Recommends Remedies

While there is scant hard data on neuroses per se, surveys indicate that over three-quarters of dogs experience behavioral problems such as excessive barking, aggression, and anxiety.

Many studies have concluded that dogs are apt to mirror their owners' stress.

As My Best Bark's report explains, while some breeds may be more genetically predisposed to neurotic behavior, factors such as socialization, hormonal imbalances, and traumatic events in the dog's past can also play a significant role.

Rescue dogs, for example, may have had an abusive owner, but a simple frightening incident as a puppy - the dog's tail caught in a door, for example - could be a sufficient trigger for otherwise welladjusted pets.

Neurotic dogs often display separation anxiety, a condition that afflicts up to 40% of dogs and is typically expressed in destructive behavior away from their owners.

If they don't get enough exercise, many dogs, especially working breeds, become neurotic.

Exercise releases endorphins that make your dog feel better, in addition to providing an outlet for their physical energy.

In more serious cases, dogs can be prescribed medication such as lorazepam.

"One thing the report makes clear is that the dog owner needs to first understand the source of the neurosis," commented a spokesperson for My Best Bark.

"It's not one size fits all - the owner may want to mix and match different therapies to see which ones prove the most effective."

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