I have had very little to do with this breed of dog in all my years of experience, so when I got a call from a retiree whose dog was very stressed when he was out of the house and making so much noise, the neighbors started complaining and really understand my client because the dog was very disturbing.
The breed is usually a very well balanced breed and this male was no exception. In the house, he has learned to behave as he has done thanks to the interaction of his owner. You will have read this before on my blogs and this one is not about the dog, it is about the owner because while it is important to talk about the dog, the characteristics of the dog and how they behave so that you can recognize any similarities. in your own dogs, it’s just as important to recognize behavioral traits in yourself so you can truly understand how you’ve shaped your own dogs’ behavior.
I have also discussed in other blog posts how we as humans are wired to be reactive and how easily we focus on correcting our dog’s behavior and how our dogs interpret that.
What I want to detail in this blog is how corrective we can be as owners and how easy it is to ignore good, laid-back behavior. When you’ve read this, you’ll have a better understanding of how separation anxiety occurs.
When I arrived the dog was in the kitchen and barked when I got to the hallway and was told to shut up. She let him into the hallway and he jumped on me and she told him to get down which she did. Then he jumped up again and she told him to get down. As we walked into the room, he got in front of me and jumped up and she told him to get down.
When I sat on the chair he jumped on me and again the owner told him to get off and get off. She sat down on her sofa and the dog jumped up next to her and settled down and relaxed. She do not do nothing. Absolutely nothing. She asked me if she wanted a cup of tea, I have never refused, so she got up and went to the kitchen. Immediately the dog got up and went with her so he asked why he was following her. She made the tea, went back in, sat on her sofa and the dog jumped up next to her and settled down, relaxed and got nothing. When he wanted attention, he rolled over her and she pampered him. This would cause him to get off the couch and walk over to me so she would scold him and force him back onto the couch where he would curl up and relax and receive nothing.
I hope now you can see the emerging behavior pattern and how the dog has been taught that he must be doing something to get his owners attention and he must not only be active but also feel stressed and confused because he is being forced to being constantly active and stressed is not a natural behavior for dogs, they do not appreciate it because they prefer to be relaxed and enjoying our company while they relax.
When our dog associates being with us to being stressed and feels that he has to be stressed to get his owner’s attention, the owner has to be close to him to give him the constant attention that the dog has become accustomed to. So when you leave the house, you’re not close enough to the dog to give him the reward for being stressed, so he gets more stressed when you’re away.
This is further strengthened when you return. When you come back the dog runs up to you and you tease him because you’re glad to be home and happy to see your dog, but you’re really just rewarding the stress and telling your dog that it’s worth being stressed while you’re away. because you give him a great reward when you get home.
Wait until your dog has calmed down before talking to him and make sure you only interact with him when he is calm and this behavior can be easily reversed.