If humans are having a hard time adjusting to going back to offices, think about how their dogs feel.
As the coronavirus pandemic ebbs, dog trainers are seeing a predictable increase in separation anxiety and undersocialized pups as their humans venture back into the world for longer periods of time.
“I called this about three weeks into the pandemic,” said Cathy Brooks, owner of The Hydrant Club in downtown Las Vegas.
The dog trainer — canine counselor, really — didn’t know how long stay-at-home orders would last, but she said that she knew, once the dust settled, that “dogs are gonna be screwed.”
Dogs who were young pups at the pandemic’s outset more than a year ago or were born during the lockdown never socialized normally, and older dogs regressed.
Humans can reason and verbalize their thoughts, Brooks said. Dogs, though intelligent, have much less complex processing. Their person is either there or not. If they’re not, that can be deeply distressing.
Henderson dog trainer Antonio Diaz said many of his clients are still working remotely, but even going out socially has been triggering for their pups. He said most have isolation anxiety, a milder form of separation anxiety.
“Separation anxiety is a really traumatic thing for a dog to experience,” said Diaz, who sees about four clients a day with his Leader of the Pack service.
A dog with isolation anxiety may whine, bark and howl, he said. A dog with separation anxiety can do that plus charge at and damage doors, windows and blinds, and destroy other items, to the point of self-injury.
“Separation anxiety can be very, very intense for people and the dogs.”
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recommends trained professionals to correct serious separation anxiety. The local experts can vouch for this.
“Dogs are extremely emotional beings, so they will latch on if given the opportunity,” Diaz said.
He said prevention is better than cure. So even if an owner is still working from home, they can help a dog be independent by training them to lounge in a crate or bed even while people are home. Resist the urge to let the dog shadow.
Owners can also keep their arrivals and departures low-key. Exuberant greetings or saying farewell to a dog only teaches them that lots of love happens at the door, and then, when the person leaves, vaporizes, letting the dog down.
True separation anxiety can be complex, Diaz said. It can take weeks to correct with dedication and gradual progress, down to desensitizing a dog to seeing its person putting on shoes or grabbing a purse.
Brooks’ “day school,” a structured training experience that goes beyond doggy daycare, keeps pooches sharp. At her facility off Fremont Street, a remodeled former lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the furry pupils are calm, content and engaged.
The dog’s black-and-white nature means that consistency and structure are the two most critical elements of their behavior, Brooks said. Stick with those and good behavior will emerge or return — showing your dog as the very good boy or girl they are.
“Dogs, while not easy, are simple,” she said.