AVA Conference Adelaide 2016

Separation anxiety is one of the most common behavioural problems in dogs and has very important effects on their welfare. A brief summary of the epidemiology and clinical signs f separation anxiety will be given in the lecture. Although some dogs with separation anxiety show hyperattachment to their owners, many others don´t, suggesting that separation anxiety has many different causes. Conditioned fear has long been proposed as one cause of separation anxiety in dogs that do not have hyperattachment, whereas more recent research indicates that other dogs may develop separation anxiety as a result of “inadequate” attachment. The reasons leading to such “inadequate” attachment as well as its implications for the prevention of separation anxiety will be explained in the lecture. Another aspect of separation anxiety that has been recently revisited is the treatment protocol. In contrast to traditional recommendations, it has now been suggested that providing cues that allow the dog to distinguish between actual and “fake” departures may have a positive effect both on its welfare and on the resolution of the problem, as the dog’s perception of control and predictability is increased. The details and practicalities of the suggested treatment protocol will be discussed in the lecture