Small Dog Anxiety

Small dog anxiety is a very common issue that small dog owners face.  At best, small dog anxiety is just annoying, at worst though, it can cause real problems around your home such as incessant barking or your dog making messes and destroying your house or items in your house.

Common Causes of Small Dog Anxiety

Dogs love being a part of the pack.  Since you represent the pack to them, they are very attached to you and sometimes become unsettled when you leave.  Even though your dog might not like being left alone or left without you, there really isn't any reason this should develop into a problem issue.

Sometimes a part of the problem with small dog anxiety is that you the owner are reinforcing the behavior.  Anxiety is reenforced when you give attention to your agitated and anxious dog before you leave and when you return.  As a result you dog will have a very difficult time controlling its anxiety while you are gone.

How To Reduce Small Dog Anxiety
There are lots of ways to go about trying to reduce dog anxiety.  I'm only going to list a few, but hopefully that will start you thinking about other things you can try.  You might also look into some general small dog obedience training products, because those will go a long way in reducing small dog anxiety problems.

1.  Don't have the same routine every day, especially before you are leaving the house.  A dog will easily learn your routines.  If they are struggling with anxiety then this routine will be a trigger for their anxiety to start to build.  Little variations to your routine can really help, so be creative.

2.  Do not reinforce small dog anxiety.  When you see that your dog is in an anxious state, don't give them lots of attention.  This will only reinforce the anxiety.  Many of us small dog lovers want to comfort our anxious dog.  Remember, dogs aren't people and you can't treat them as if the are.  It might be wise to comfort an anxious child, but not so for a dog.  If you stop giving attention when your dog is anxious that will go a long way in reducing anxiety.  Using a crate might be a good idea also.  Put them in the crate/cage and then leave them for a while coming back at varying intervals.  This can help them build the association that when you leave you also come back.

3.  Leave for shorter periods of time and slowly build up the time you are gone.  This is the same concept as using the crate.  Start with leaving the room or house for only a few seconds before coming back.  Keep varying the times.  You need to try the adjust the dog's expectations for how long you are going to be gone.  If you almost always only leave for 8 or 10 hours at a time, your dog will learn that.  However if you consistently vary that time through your training then you will be adjusting your dogs expectations.  Changing your dogs expectations around your absences will help reduce small dog anxiety.

Remember, You Aren't Being Mean

Again, many people make the mistake of thinking of their dog as a person.  To them it feels mean to ignore their dog's anxiety.  This is a dog and not a person, so by not reinforcing this behavior you are actually helping them to relax and trust that you are the pack leader and that they are safe.

Even if your dog doesn't destroy your house because of their anxiety, small dog anxiety still needs to be dealt with.  You need to help your dog reach a calm and relaxed state so they can focusing on just being a pack member and enjoying life.

I hope these tips are helpful.  Feel free to ask some questions.

Check out our Small Dog Training Resources for more help with this problem.