Dogs tearing down the house is not revenge: identification and staged training of separation anxiety
Tearing at doors, howling, and only happening after you leave is separation anxiety.
Let’s first distinguish between three situations: Boredom-type house-breaking occurs after being alone for a long time, destroying random objects; Exploratory-type house-breaking usually occurs in the puppy stage, chewing the edges of furniture; Separation-anxiety type only starts within ten minutes of you leaving, accompanied by howling, door-opening, incontinence, and drooling.
The way to judge is to use a camera to record the fifteen minutes after you go out. If it starts howling, pacing back and forth, and scratching at the door within five minutes, you can basically confirm that it is separation anxiety and not "retaliation."
The training is divided into four steps: 1. Break down the action of going out. First, just take the key and not go out, repeat until it becomes unresponsive; 2. Start from leaving for ten seconds, and gradually extend it to five minutes and 30 minutes; 3. Do not say a grand farewell 20 minutes before going out, ignore it when you get home, and wait for it to calm down before saying hello; 4. Give it a chewable toy that only appears when you leave.
Severe cases require the intervention of a behavioral doctor, and in some cases anti-anxiety medication may be used. The entire process is measured in weeks and requires regular practice every day.
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