Predictors of Separation Anxiety in Dogs

McKenna Yohe Author

04/02/2021 Added

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This presentation explores characteristics of dogs and their owners that are associated with separation anxiety in dogs.

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[00:00:01.100]Hello, my name is McKenna Yohe
[00:00:03.040]and I worked with the UNL Canine Cognition Laboratory
[00:00:05.760]to investigate predictors and risk factors
[00:00:08.000]associated with separation anxiety in dogs.
[00:00:11.890]In dogs, separation anxiety is the term
[00:00:14.190]used to describe animals that exhibit stress
[00:00:16.140]or problematic behaviors when they are separated
[00:00:18.190]from their owner.
[00:00:19.360]Signs that a dog may be experiencing
[00:00:21.070]separation anxiety include inappropriate eliminations
[00:00:24.010]in the home, excessive drooling, vocalizations
[00:00:27.010]such as howling, barking, and whining,
[00:00:29.370]escape attempts that may result in self harm,
[00:00:31.605]pacing and other repetitive or destructive actions.
[00:00:36.950]This topic is especially relevant today,
[00:00:39.710]as these headlines illustrate
[00:00:41.100]how rates of pet adoptions from shelters
[00:00:43.190]have noticeably risen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
[00:00:46.260]Behavioral problems associated with separation anxiety
[00:00:49.220]are likely going to be on the rise
[00:00:50.810]within many of these dogs adopted during this time.
[00:00:53.990]Because of the stay at home orders that were issued,
[00:00:56.140]the dogs adopted during the COVID-19 crisis
[00:00:58.520]are unlikely to have been left alone
[00:01:00.220]for many extended periods of time,
[00:01:02.100]making them less familiar with being separated
[00:01:04.100]from their owner.
[00:01:05.180]Because of this, they may have a reduced capacity
[00:01:07.330]to cope with social isolation
[00:01:08.940]and would therefore be more likely
[00:01:10.380]to display separation anxiety when they are left alone.
[00:01:13.060]So, it is important to investigate characteristics
[00:01:15.840]of dogs and their owners that may predict
[00:01:17.700]whether a dog has separation anxiety,
[00:01:19.840]especially because dogs with unresolved
[00:01:21.680]separation related behavioral problems
[00:01:23.780]can often end up being surrendered by their owners.
[00:01:28.500]Previous research has found significant associations
[00:01:31.200]between separation anxiety
[00:01:32.063]and dogs that have an overattachment to their owner
[00:01:35.130]have experienced changes in family or home situations,
[00:01:38.650]have only one owner,
[00:01:40.090]and dogs that are allowed to sleep
[00:01:41.340]in the same room as their owner.
[00:01:43.060]Significant associations have not been found
[00:01:45.280]for factors such as dog sex,
[00:01:47.150]neuter status or spoiling activities
[00:01:49.270]like feeding the dog from the dinner table.
[00:01:51.720]While these studies provide insight
[00:01:53.090]into several possible risk factors
[00:01:54.930]and predictors of separation anxiety,
[00:01:57.030]there is not consistent agreement
[00:01:58.420]across all factors due to differences in sampling methods,
[00:02:01.660]definitions of relevant terminology
[00:02:03.900]and interpretations of diagnoses.
[00:02:06.030]So, the present study aimed to further investigate
[00:02:08.510]several of these known factors
[00:02:10.150]and explore the relationship between dog separation anxiety
[00:02:13.300]and how often the dog is left alone, and
[00:02:15.410]how much time the dog spend with their owner.
[00:02:20.030]For this study, it was hypothesized
[00:02:21.900]that dogs acquired through adoption
[00:02:23.780]rather than a breeder, would have higher rates
[00:02:25.800]of separation anxiety because these dogs
[00:02:27.880]may have experienced abandonment or relinquishment
[00:02:30.070]by previous owners.
[00:02:31.570]Dogs that are fed table scraps, were also hypothesized
[00:02:33.750]to have higher rates of separation anxiety
[00:02:35.940]because this spoiling behavior could lead the dog
[00:02:37.890]to form an unhealthy attachment to their owner.
[00:02:40.360]In addition, dogs with one primary caregiver
[00:02:42.800]were predicted to show higher rates of separation anxiety
[00:02:45.480]due to their dependence on one person for all their needs.
[00:02:48.380]Lastly, dogs who are left alone less frequently
[00:02:51.020]and spend more hours of the day with their owner,
[00:02:53.000]were hypothesized to show increased rates
[00:02:54.840]of separation anxiety,
[00:02:56.570]since they would have less experience being by themselves.
[00:03:01.090]To collect the data used for analysis in this study
[00:03:03.860]a Qualtrics survey was given to 111 dog owners
[00:03:06.800]that allowed their dogs to participate in a study
[00:03:08.850]that was conducted by the UNL Canine Cognition Laboratory.
[00:03:12.270]To hear more about this study,
[00:03:13.410]please watch the video presented by Megan Herridge
[00:03:15.690]on Spatial Choice and Impulsivity in Dogs.
[00:03:20.040]The response variable of separation related behaviors
[00:03:22.770]resulted in 57 dogs that were reported
[00:03:25.050]as never showing separation related behaviors,
[00:03:27.440]and 50 dogs that were reported to have displayed
[00:03:29.530]separation related behaviors currently or in the past.
[00:03:33.860]The demographic variables included in analysis
[00:03:36.610]were dog age, sex, and weight.
[00:03:38.640]And hypothesized variables included
[00:03:40.700]how the dog was acquired,
[00:03:42.270]whether the dog is fed table scraps,
[00:03:44.080]who is primarily responsible for the dog,
[00:03:46.400]the frequency the dog is left alone,
[00:03:48.350]the number of hours the owner spends with the dog,
[00:03:50.730]and whether the dog owner thinks
[00:03:52.320]that their dog has separation anxiety.
[00:03:55.880]A significant finding was found for the owner's assessment
[00:03:58.890]of whether their dog has separation anxiety,
[00:04:00.780]in that owners who reported their dog
[00:04:02.130]as having separation anxiety, also tended to report
[00:04:04.723]that their dog displayed separation related behaviors,
[00:04:07.640]which is shown here in Figure 1.
[00:04:09.690]In addition, an exploratory analysis of the frequency
[00:04:12.470]the dog is left alone revealed an interesting pattern
[00:04:14.960]within the rarely left alone category,
[00:04:17.170]shown here in Figure 2 indicated by the arrows.
[00:04:20.560]Owners who reported rarely leaving their dog alone,
[00:04:22.900]were about 3.5 times more likely to report that their dog
[00:04:25.890]had never displayed separation related behaviors.
[00:04:31.387]Overall, the findings of this study
[00:04:32.290]did not provide significant results
[00:04:34.010]for dog and owner characteristics that predict
[00:04:36.110]whether the dog is more likely
[00:04:37.450]to exhibit separation related behaviors
[00:04:40.269]for the variables of the dog's age, sex, weight,
[00:04:42.810]number of caregivers, or acquisition,
[00:04:44.920]which is shown here in Figure 3.
[00:04:46.870]In addition, no significant relationships were found
[00:04:49.470]for feeding the dog table scraps, shown here
[00:04:51.650]in Figure 4 or the frequency the dog is left alone
[00:04:54.900]and how many hours the dog spends with their owner.
[00:05:00.339]As many of the behaviors associated
[00:05:01.440]with separation anxiety are quite evident,
[00:05:03.530]like destruction of objects, soiling in the home
[00:05:06.400]and vocalizations, it is not surprising
[00:05:08.770]that many owners are aware of their occurrence.
[00:05:11.396]Therefore, in the context of this study,
[00:05:12.939]it makes sense that owners
[00:05:13.932]who reported their dog is having separation anxiety,
[00:05:16.610]also tended to report that their dog displayed
[00:05:18.620]separation related behaviors.
[00:05:21.340]When analyzing the frequency owners leave their dog alone,
[00:05:23.770]it was interesting that people
[00:05:24.920]who rarely leave their dog alone, tended to report
[00:05:27.013]that their dogs do not show separation related behaviors.
[00:05:30.080]Perhaps this is because owners
[00:05:31.330]who very rarely leave their dogs alone, do not know
[00:05:33.890]whether their dog displays separation related behaviors
[00:05:36.500]as the dog is seldom in a situation
[00:05:38.250]which would allow them to experience separation anxiety.
[00:05:41.290]Due to the null findings of this study
[00:05:43.050]and the lack of consistent results from previous studies
[00:05:45.405]that investigate potential predictors
[00:05:46.990]of separation anxiety, it is hard to say with certainty
[00:05:49.510]what dog and owner characteristics can predict
[00:05:51.630]the incidence of separation anxiety
[00:05:53.340]and future research should continue to explore this topic.
[00:05:57.947]Listed here are the studies referenced in this presentation
[00:06:01.039]for anyone interested in reading more on the topic.
[00:06:05.450]I would like to thank Dr. Stevens, London Wolff
[00:06:07.620]and Billy Lim for their feedback
[00:06:09.100]and critique of this project.
[00:06:10.560]I would also like to extend gratitude
[00:06:12.320]to the members of the Canine Cognition Lab
[00:06:14.340]who helped collect data for this study.
[00:06:16.080]Kylie Hughes, Megan Herridge, Brianna Moser,
[00:06:18.750]McKenna Rezny, Destiny Vail, Rose Felice,
[00:06:21.716]Toria Biancalana, Katie Trevino, Meredith Batten,
[00:06:25.108]and Maddie Mathias.
[00:06:26.191]I would also like to sincerely thank
[00:06:27.540]all of the dog owners who took the time to bring their dogs
[00:06:29.780]into the lab for us to study,
[00:06:31.826]as well as the dogs for being willing participants.
[00:06:34.631]Thank you all for listening.

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Predictors of Separation Anxiety in Dogs

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