Dealing With Beagle Separation Anxiety

Learning to treat your Beagle's separation anxiety problem will be a long gradual process. He acts the way he does for a reason, and that reason may have been something that was very traumatic to him. Be forewarned that this will take effort and maybe some time. But if you stick with it, you will see results.

Exercise

You can start by giving your Beagle plenty of vigorous exercise. This is no time to complain about how much time you have for this, Beagles are a breed that need lots of attention.

Vigorous exercise for your Beagle means plenty of running. To make it fun for both of you, try riding a bike while he runs leashed next to you. Or, if you prefer, attach his leash to him and have him pull you down the street while you are wearing roller blades or skates. You could substitute a skateboard for the roller blade/skates if you like.

Another option is to play catch with a Frisbee or ball. Also try taking a long walk with him carrying a weighted dog backpack. The extra weight makes him work harder which in turn wears himout faster. Anything that will occupy him for about an hour should do. The idea is to time your session with him to end just before you leave so that he is worn out.

Separate Yourself

Any dog that suffers from separation anxiety will tend to follow you from room to room like he is attached to you at the hip. What you need to do is to try to distance yourself from him.

For example, when he follows you into the living room where you are going to be spending some time for awhile, place his bed in the room. Tell him to go to his bed and lay down. Make sure that you reward him with a chew bone or his favorite toy for doing this. That reinforces in his mind that he has done good, you are still close by and all is well.

Once he has mastered this, gradually work up to the point that he is in the next room when he lays down in his bed. This will help diminish his need to be next to you to keep an eye on you at all times.

Desensitize Him

We don't realize it, but we give off subtle and often not so subtle clues to our dogs as to what we are doing. You need to remember that dogs are masters at body language as that is one way that they communicate with each other. Reading our body language is easy for them to do.

It is those certain habits that we have that tip off our dogs as to what we intend on doing. It could be changing your clothing, putting on shoes or a coat. Or it can be as simple as jingling keys in your pocket. These are all things that we do prior to going somewhere. Dogs notice that kind of behavior and their anxiety level goes up a few notches.

Your Beagle needs to be desensitized to the sights and sounds of your habits. You can start by practicing your going out the door rituals once every couple of minutes.

For example, you can pick up your coat and put it on and then jingle your car keys. This signals your Beagle that you are moving. Then promptly take your coat off and stop jingling the keys. Keep practicing this throughout the day severeral times a day. It may take a couple of days, but eventually your dog will take less notice of you coming and going.

The next step is to practice leaving for short periods of time. Start with about five minutes at first and gradually work up to 20 to 30 minutes at a time. Just make sure that the ten minutes before you leave and first ten minutes after you come back you don't smother your Beagle with affection. Greet him, just don't hug him. If you do give him more than a small amount of attention, he won't learn that your going away for a while is okay.

Soothing The Savage Beast

There are things that you can do to help sooth your Beagle while you are out. One thing that often helps, if you don't mind, is to leave a piece of clothing that you have worn in his bed or sleeping area. Just having your scent nearby can help him feel less on edge.

Alternately, when you go out, try leaving a radio or tv on. The voice can help to make him feel that he is not alone. It may seem silly, but it does help some dogs.

Beagles have quick and agile minds. If they don't have something to occupy them that you provide, they will take matters in their own paws. There are plenty of products to help keep him busy. Toys that release food or snacks after being flipped over a number of times. Or that can contain the snack inside where he has to work hard to get at it. These toys can keep him busy for hours.

In the case that these types of things don't work for your Beagle, it may be time to speak to your vet about medication. These medications are prescribed by your vet specifically for your dog. They are intended to help decrease his fears and get him to relax. Once he is relaxed, he should be much more receptive to the type of training needed to solve his separation anxiety problem.

When Things Go Wrong

Things sometimes just happen. If one of those things is when you come home to a house that is destroyed, don't punish your Beagle. The deed is done now, punishing him after the fact won't make him understand that he has done wrong.Your dog is already suffering and is tense and unhappy enough. He doesn't need to have you add to it by punishing him. All that it will do is to add to his anxieties.

Your beagle's separation anxiety issues don't need to be the end of your relationship with your dog. This is a problem that can be overcome with time, effort and training just like any other.