SEPARATION ANXIETY

Separation Anxiety will cause some pets to become so nervous that they start licking and biting their paws. 

They are so afraid that you will not come home that they worry constantly.

Owners who work and only see their pets in the early morning and late at night are the ones who have to deal with this separation anxiety.

A pet cannot tell time.  He has no sense of time when you leave.  That’s why when you leave the house to take out the trash, your pet is overjoyed to see you again. 

He thought you’d been gone forever because he has no way to measure time.

One way to help your pet is to train him to know that you are going to leave and it’s not his fault that you are leaving and that you love him very much.  Sounds silly?  No way.

Start by getting your coat, purse and keys and jingle them and be sure your pet knows you are leaving. 

Then wait a few minutes and come back into the house and praise your pet for behaving. 

Then do it again, this time staying away longer and longer until your pet is not afraid when you leave.

One of the main reasons a pet chews his feet, after you rule out foreign objects, is that he/she is anxious.

I have seen it so often that a pet will have brown feet.  It’s more noticeable on a white pet but there will be a brown stain on all four feet. 

This could be caused by a yeast infection but many times it is caused by plain old stress.  Is there a lot of stress in the household? 

Do you or someone in the family yell a lot and have arguments?  This will certainly communicate itself to your pet. 

Many times they will get so anxious that they will bite their own foot and make it bleed.

Well the same kind of stress can affect your pet too. 

Pets need a quiet, comfortable environment with a set routine. 

You mess up a pets routine and they will show it by excessive licking and biting.  Calm your life down.  It will be better for you and better for your pets.