Back to school Blues
Separation anxiety can show up in various ways. When school starts up again, you can may see
your dog and cat acting up in naughty ways or showing signs of anxiety. Dogs and cats live by routines. They feel the secure and happy when feeding
time, walks and play time are all on schedule.
When the family schedule changes, their schedule changes. This shift in routines
can cause stress in our pets. Back to
school season means more hustle and bustle in the morning, less walks and
playtime. Pets associate the backpacks,
school buses, and children studying mean less time for walks and play. This change in routine and separate time from
family causes the anxiety.
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| Do you know your dog's signs of separation anxiety? |
Mild separation anxiety will show as pacing, gathering up
socks and putting them in the pet bed, whining, or even house soiling. Cats may
meow more, avoid using the litter box, knock things off the shelves or have
more spats with other house cats. The
change in routine is creating stress - how do we help these pets?
If your pet is showing signs of high anxiety, please contact
your veterinarian as soon as possible.
Chewing their way out of a crate, soiling in the home, not eating or
pacing and panting are signs of severe anxiety in a pet. The stress hormones
increase, and this can have a harmful impact on the heart, the kidneys, skin
and intestinal track. Medications, supplements and a behavior plan are
needed immediately. You can help by
establishing new routines and sticking with them despite the business of back
to school. Life is predictable when
there is a routine, and that predictability reduces anxiety. Start by creating regular feeding times. Take your dog on a walk every morning. Sniffing new smells and the sustained
exercise of walking settles the body and the brain preventing boredom. You may need to get up earlier or assign a
task to an older child as part of life’s responsibilities. When you get home, walk your dog again! Cats need play time routines too. Play with your cat for 10 minutes every
day. Be sure the homework and backpacks
are not crowding out perching places for your cats.
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| Even if your walks are shorter, keep on schedule with the walks |
Brewing health problems may be aggravating separation
anxiety in older pets. Your older dog may
have trouble rising on that slick kitchen floor to move out of the way of the
busy kitchen. Your older cat may hiss as
kids rush past in the hallway. Arthritis, poor vision, deafness may have crept
up so the difficulty of moving away from the hustle and bustle increases
agitation and anxiety. If you have a dog
or cat over the age of 7 acting irritated or anxious make an appointment
immediately to have a check up and screen for early aging problems. A video of how your dog or cat is acting
during the busy times helps the veterinarian tremendously to understand the
behavior and ability of this older animal.
Anxiety is triggered by the sounds, movement, location,
people or objects in an area that tell the animal something unpleasant is going
to happen. If the sight of the backpack
causes your cat to run out of the room, then the backpack is the trigger. If the school bus arriving in front of your
house causes your dog to pace, and whine then the school bus is the
trigger. Removing or reducing how much
the pet sees the triggers is the first step to improve behavior. The second step is to toss treats, or a toy to
provide a pleasant experience when this trigger is present. For example, your cat will get a saucer of
canned food when your kids come in with the back packs. Your dog will get a squeaky toy tossed away
from the window when the school bus arrives. Now fun things happen when the trigger is
present, changing the meaning of the trigger. If your pet will not eat, or play at these
times, the anxiety is high and medication, supplement or other aids are needed
to help the pet calm to learn.
In veterinary
medicine we use medication to facilitate learning. A dog who is so upset that it cannot stop
pacing needs medication to learn to focus on the food puzzle when you are
gone. When they eat out of the food puzzle,
they make the association that good things happen when you leave.
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| A fun food puzzle can help for dogs of all ages |
If they do not eat, they cannot make the
association because they are too anxious.
This is where medication plans need to be tailored to the pet, according
to the age and health of the pet and the degree of anxiety. After the animal
has learned to be calm in the face of the triggers, medication can be weaned
down. The new routine does not stop –
this routine is what creates the calm now.
Some pets need to stay on medication even when following the plan. Be sure to stay in contact with your
veterinarian, and any behaviorist you are working with.
Have a safe and happy school year to all our families.
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