Once your puppy or maturing dog and you have really bonded, your Bulldog may experience separation anxiety. A low level of anxiety in your pooch might produce barking and scratching at the door when you depart. Higher levels of anxiety might lead your dog to create some real problems – destroying items or furniture in your home, non-stop barking that annoys the neighbors, having “accidents” about the house, and much more.
Since dogs are natural followers of the pack leader – in this case, you – they will naturally experience some anxiety when you are not there. They may feel abandoned or confused. Left to follow their own inclination, chaos might ensue. Since you probably say goodbye to your dog before you leave the house, giving it lots of love and attention, he or she will be in a heightened emotional state when you depart and the dog’s emotions crash as you close the door behind you. Not having the ability to handle those feelings, your pooch may act out.
The good news is that there are specific ways you can help your dog overcome this issue. Give these a try and you’ll likely find one or more that offer significant assistance.
Mix Up Your Schedule: Dogs respond to certain physical cues in their environment. It is inherent to their survival in the wild. Your alarm clock, for example, lets the dog know the day is starting. Your routine in the morning informs the dog that this is a typical day and you will be soon leaving, and be gone for quite a while. To counteract this, change what you can. Switch your alarm clock from ringer to radio. Take your Bulldog for a short walk some mornings. Leave by a different door, if possible. Vary any detail you can and your companion will be less conditioned to expect the worse – a long day without you.
Be Nonchalant about leaving and returning: When you pour attention on your Bulldog when leaving and when returning it reinforces the fact that you will be, or have been away. Walk out the door with little fanfare. Come in the same way. Communicate to your dog through your actions that your leaving is not a reason for hysteria. Save your affection for your pooch till later, when you are both relaxed and when extra attention is not associated with your being gone.
Train your Bulldog to handle your absence: The best way to do this is to leave your pooch for a few minutes and then return. Stay away for intervals of varying lengths. This effectively changes the expectations your Bulldog will have when you leave the house. Problems arise when he or she has been habituated to expect that you’ll be gone for hours when you walk out. In time, your Bulldog will accept your going as normal and will learn to get on with its day, so to speak, without you present.
Don’t be hard on yourself: It is in your Bulldog’s best interest to lose interest in your coming and going. Don’t feel bad about ignoring your dog when leaving or returning. When the dog has learned the lesson and gained some maturity, a hearty good-bye and friendly greeting might be in order again. Until then, remember that those habits may cause your dog more stress and anxiety than good. Stress is bad for your Bulldog’s mental and physical health, so do all you can to reduce it in their lives.
To summarize what we are saying, work to make your leaving and returning a natural part of your Bulldog’s life. Eventually they will acquire the confidence that they can handle the absence of their leader, that they are not abandoned, that you will return and all will be well. Reinforce these concepts and your companion will be content in your absence.
Jill B