Analysis of Effective Methods of Identifying and subsequently Treating Separation Anxiety in Domestic Dogs through Training and Pharmacological Intervention

Distress is defined as pain or suffering affecting the body, a bodily part, or the mind (MerriamWebster, 2011). Separation anxiety in dogs is a distress response to separation from the figure to which the dog is most attached (Palestrini et al., 2010). This paper will focus on separation anxiety in the absence of the owner. The complex aetiology of separation anxiety means that the underlying cause of the behaviour may be elusive. Thus, a range of authors has supported symptom-based treatment as an effective means of treating separation anxiety (Palestrini et al., 2010). This paper will investigate advances in the welfare of domestic dogs showing separation anxiety, including methods to accurately observe separation-related behaviours, as well as effective treatments to alleviate anxiety and modify behaviour, such as dog-appeasing pheromone (DAP) and systematic desensitisation.