A More Effective and Safer Treatment of Separation Anxiety

Tongmo Yi

doi:10.54254/2753-7048/3/2022477

Research Article

Open access

Published on 1 March 2023

Download pdf

Yi,T. (2023). A More Effective and Safer Treatment of Separation Anxiety. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,3,121-130.

Export citation

A More Effective and Safer Treatment of Separation Anxiety

Tongmo Yi ¹

¹ Mogong Dog Behavior Treatment and Research Center, Zhuangzi Village, Beiwu Town, Shunyi District, Beijing, 101312, China

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/3/2022477

Abstract

Separation anxiety is one of the most common canine-related disorders in dogs (Canis Familiaris) and charactered by the presentation of unacceptable levels of anxiety related behaviors in the absence of the human companion. While pharmaceutical treatment with antidepressant drugs shows some evidence for effectiveness, the impact is limited, and negative side effects are reported. In contrast, behavioral modification is proposed as an effective and safe method to address separation anxiety, but clinical research is lacking. This work reports the application of associative theory to animal behavioral treatment that considers the role of three senses for a treatment plan; vision, audition, and olfaction and has accumulated 129 successful cases in ten years. Summary data demonstrates the practical advantages including safety for the dogs and perceived effectiveness for the owners.

Keywords

Medication, Behavioral Modification., Association learning, Separation anxiety

View pdf

References

[1]. Dreschel, N., (2010) The effects of fear and anxiety on health and lifespan in pet dogs, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 125: 157-162.

[2]. Chrousos, G.P., Gold, P.W., (1992) The concepts of stress and stress system disorders. Overview of physical and behavioral homeostasis. 267(9):1244-1252.

[3]. McEwen, B.S., (2005). Stressed or stressed out: what is the difference? J. Psychiatr. Neurosci. 30: 315–318.

[4]. Kogan L.R., Hellyer P.W., Rishniw M., Schoenfeld-Tacher R..(2020) Veterinary Behavior: Assessment of Veterinarians' Training, Experience, and Comfort Level with Cases. J. Vet Med Educ. 47(2):158-169.

[5]. Salman, M., Hutchison, J., Ruch-Gallie R.. (2000) Behavioral reasons for relinquishment of dogs and cats to 12 shelters. J. Appl. Anim. Welf. Sci. 3: 93-106.

[6]. Topál J., Miklósi A., Csányi V., Dóka A.. (1998) Attachment behaviour in dogs (Canis familiaris): a new application of Ainsworth’s. Strange Situation Test. J Comp Psychol. 112(3):219–229.

[7]. King, J.N., Simpson, B.S., Overall, K.L., Appleby, D., Pageat, P., Ross, C., Chaurand, J.P., Heath, S., Beata, C., Weiss, A.B., Muller, G., Paris, T., Bataille, B.G., Parker, J., Petit, S., Wren, J.. (2000) Treatment of separation anxiety in dogs with clomipramine: results from a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multicenter clinical trial. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 67(4):255-275.

[8]. Herron, M.E., Shofer, F.S., Reisner, I.R.. (2008) Retrospective evaluation of the effects of diazepam in dogs with anxiety-related behavior problems. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 233(9):1420-1424.

[9]. Tiira, K., Lohi, H.. (2015) Early life experiences and exercise associate with canine anxieties. PloS ONE. 10(11): e0141907

[10]. Simpson, B.S., (1998). Canine separation anxiety. Contin. Educ. Vet. Tech. and Staff: Expo 98: 66-70.

[11]. Takeuchi, Y., Houpt, K.A., Scarlett, J.M., (2000). Evaluation of treatments for separation anxiety in dogs. JAVMA 217: 342-345.

[12]. Lund, J.D., Jørgensen, M.C.. (1996) Behaviour patterns and time course of activity in dogs with separation problems. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 63(3):219–236.

[13]. Stephen, J., Ledger, R.. (2007) Relinquishing dog owners’ ability to predict behavioural problems in shelter dogs post adoption. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 107(1–2):88–99.

[14]. Cannas, S., Frank, D., Minero, M., Aspesi, A., Benedetti, R., Palestrini, C.. (2014) Video analysis of dogs suffering from anxiety when left home alone and treated with clomipramine. J Vet Behav. 9(2):50–57.

[15]. Gaultier, E., Bonnafous, L., Bougrat, L., Lafont, C., Pageat, P.. (2005) Comparison of the efficacy of a synthetic dog-appeasing pheromone with clomipramine for the treatment of separation-related disorders in dogs. Vet Rec. 156(17):533-8.

[16]. Simpson, B.S., Landsberg, G.M., Reisner, I.R.. (2007) Effects of reconcile (fluoxetine) chewable tablets plus behaviour management for canine separation anxiety. Vet. 8(1):18–31.

[17]. Pineda, S., Anzola, B., Olivares, A., Ibáñez, M.. (2014) Fluoxetine combined with clorazepate dipotassium and behaviour modification for treatment of anxiety-related disorders in dogs. Vet J. 199(3):387–391.

[18]. Landsberg, G.M., Melese, P., Sherman, B.L., Neilson, J.C., Zimmerman, A., Clarke, T.P.. (2008) Effectiveness of fluoxetine chewable tablets in the treatment of canine separation anxiety. J Vet Behav. 3(1):12–19.

[19]. Butler, R., Sargisson, R.J., Elliffe, D.. (2010). The efficacy of systematic desensitization for treating the separation-related problem behaviour of domestic dogs. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 129(24):136–145.

[20]. Stephen, J., Ledger, R.. (2007) Relinquishing dog owners’ ability to predict behavioural problems in shelter dogs post adoption. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 107(1–2):88–99.

Cite this article

Yi,T. (2023). A More Effective and Safer Treatment of Separation Anxiety. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,3,121-130.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Disclaimer/Publisher's Note

The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Educational Innovation and Philosophical Inquiries (ICEIPI 2022), Part II

Conference website: https://www.iceipi.org/

ISBN：978-1-915371-09-6(Print) / 978-1-915371-10-2(Online)

Conference date: 4 August 2022

Editor：Abdullah Laghari, Nasir Mahmood

Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media

Volume number: Vol.3

ISSN：2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open access policy for details).