Does Your Puppy Have Separation Anxiety?

There is a lot of dumb stuff on the internet. It seems that the internet is a magnet for fools to say foolish things.

I saw a post about puppies and separation anxiety. In this case, the young puppy vocalizes a distress call and tries to be wherever the owner is. The so-called dog trainer said, yep, that is separation anxiety, and the owners are at fault. Then, this person wants you to start being aloof, distancing your relationship standing tall and confident, and disciplining the puppy.

Buzzer. Ding, Ding, Ding. Wrong answer.

Ok. Don’t any of these guys ever consider anything about animal behavior, other than what they are copying from some other internet dog training guru Jedi Master?

(Rant almost over)

When puppies do this, it is NOT separation anxiety.

Let’s take another species. Between 8 months and 2 years of age, a human will cry and make efforts to be reunited with his or her mother if they are separated. Do all those kids have separation anxiety? Or is that normal ontogeny (“the development of an individual organism or anatomical or behavioral feature from the earliest stage to maturity” – Google)?

No, the puppy isn’t suffering from separation anxiety. It is a normal survival behavioral mechanism that helps ensure survival of offspring by tethering the mother to the offspring until they young are more able to be independent.

In other words, the puppy will outgrow this. However, dogs are social creatures and will retain drive to be with you their entire lives. That is not abnormal. So, expect your dog to be happier when you are around and want to be with you and follow you around the house. If you don’t want that, don’t get a dog.

Are there things you can do to make it more comfortable for your puppy to not be with you (since you probably need to go to the store or work or pick up the kids from school)? Yes, but that is a different matter. What we are talking about today is separation anxiety.

Plan accordingly.

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