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While it should come as no surprise to most people that their collies are smarter than they seem, the idea of separation anxiety is still not widely accepted. Though there are horror stories of collies that were left along for long periods of time, some owners attribute it to simply bad behavior and something that should be accepted as part of the collie. This is far from the truth as collies were not bred for destruction! Just like humans, collies can suffer from mental anguish that needs special treatment. Instead of simply thinking that separation anxiety is caused by inherent animal instinct, maybe it’s time to think about it as something you can help your collie control.

Defining Separation Anxiety

Collies are naturally social creatures; they like to be with other people, other dogs, and other stimuli. When they are left by themselves without anyone to interact with, they can become restless and prone to bad behaviors. What happens is that when a collie becomes attached certain people, they want them to be around all the time. This makes sense. But when you leave them alone, the collie begins to become anxious about this separation. They can begin to think or wonder if their owner is ever going to come home. This anxiety can manifest itself in a number of different ways and is often seen when collies are left alone for only hours at a time.

Separation anxiety can also be triggered by a traumatic event in the collie’s life – i.e. illness, change of owners, abuse, etc.

The good news is that separation anxiety is treatable with a number of different therapies. So if you notice that your collie is a bit clingier than they used to be or you realize that you have time away from home coming up, you need to start taking steps now.

What You Might See

It’s fairly obvious when your collie is trying to get your attention. They’ll bark, they’ll yelp and they’ll simply do anything that seems to keep your attention on them. While you might think these behaviors are normal, you can note that they only occur when you are leaving the house or when you are out of the same room as the collie.

Other behaviors can include:

Whining and yelping

Urinating in improper places, even when they have been house trained

Defecating in the wrong areas, even when they have been house trained

Chewing of things they shouldn’t be chewing

Scratching at things they shouldn’t be scratching, especially doors

Tearing up any objects, pillows, or shoes in their path

When you start to notice these signs upon leaving the room, you may have a collie that is experiencing separation anxiety. They simply want to be around you, so the anxiety they are feeling is manifesting itself in these destructive behaviors. For example, they are scratching at the door because they want to find you or to have you return.

How to Limit the Anxiety in Your Collie

One of the first things that typically happen when the collie begins to show signs of separation anxiety is that the owner tends to yell at them and punish them for the behaviors. And while this seems like the right thing to do, it can cause several things to happen.

First, the collie can begin to see this attention as a good thing, so they continue the behaviors as a way to get you to interact with them. Or two, the collie can become even more anxious – this is especially true when the collie has come from an abusive background. Collies are by nature extremely sensitive, so being yelled at when all they want is your love greatly confuses them and depresses them.

You also don’t want to put your collie into a crate when you leave for a few hours as this is not only upsetting to the collie but can make separation even more intense for them.

Here are some other ways to start helping your collie be less anxious when you leave:

Don’t make a big fuss when you are leaving in the morning or coming home at night. This will help calm the collie down and not make one part of the day more exciting than another other part.

Leave the collie something that smells like you to help them feel calm.

Desensitize your collie to your absences by leaving the room for a few minutes and then coming back, getting your keys, then coming back, etc. This will help your collie realize that you are coming back. Gradually increase these training session times over the course of a few weeks.

Let the collie know that you’ll be back by saying a key phrase every time you leave. The collie will begin to associate this phrase with your return

Getting Help from Your Vet

If, no matter what you do, your collie does not seem to be able to calm down when you leave the room or your house, you might want to ask your vet if you can start your collie on a short term drug therapy program. Medications like valium can be used in conjunction with separation anxiety training to help your collie begin to settle down.
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About the Author:

Grant Eckert is a writer for VetRxDirect. VetRxDirect is a leading provider of Pet Medications

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