Does having two dogs reduce your separation anxiety?

currently dog They are another member of the families. For this reason, many owners suffer when the dog suffers separation anxiety.

In an effort to reduce that furry dogs suffer from anxiety when away from their owners, many believe that the solution to this problem is to adopt a second dog to keep their company.

But science has discovered that this apparent solution to the problem does not work, but on the contrary, it causes more worry. Here we explain everything about the topic.

(Photo: Pixabay)

separation anxiety

Many decades ago, he studied modern psychology separation anxiety between children and their mothers. A phenomenon that in recent years has begun to be studied in pets as well.

In the case of dogs, it happens when their owners leave them alone at home, which generates great anxiety in dogs that is reflected in various ways.

Primarily, once they realize that their owners have left them, dogs begin to ‘cry’, making various noises to try to make their owner understand that they don’t want to be alone.

In addition to barking and howling, a dog with separation anxiety tends to have this smashing things in the house, In addition to urinating, defecation, and vomiting in areas that you usually do not want to.

This problem occurs due to an overabundance of dog With his owner, the dog is calm only when he is close to his owner.

Does having two dogs help?

Many owners realize this dog Experiencing anxiety when alone, he thinks the solution is to adopt another dog, so that they both remain accompanied at all times.

but according to New study Made in Switzerland, what actually happens is the opposite. why?

According to experts, the barking and howling with which dogs seek to show that they miss their owners, is a clear indication of separation anxiety, increased in families with multiple dogs compared to families with only one dogs dog.

Experience

Swiss academics have installed surveillance cameras in several homes dogTo monitor the behavior of dogs when their owners are away from their homes.

The researchers analyzed the behavior of 32 dog Those who lived in homes with only one dog and 45 families with more than one dog dogIn all cases, animals are usually left alone at some point in the day on a daily basis.

And so they discovered greater signs of anxiety in dog That they have a canine companion, from more barking to overall movement.

The greatest signs of separation anxiety occurred in the first hour the dogs were alone.

It is important to note that only 22% of dog Separation anxiety symptoms lasted for more than a few minutes, and most did normal activities after the owners had little to leave.

Why do dog pairs suffer more from separation anxiety?

Specialists discovered that, in families with several dog, especially in the first hour of parting, there were even greater signs of separation anxiety.

Although there is no definitive answer to explain this phenomenon, specialists have preliminary approximations.

From the start, they thought that the new dog Can learn and imitate behaviour dog They are anxious, so they will share the anxiety and bring it back to normal as a common thing when they see their owners leave.

Additionally, they will prolong their anxious state by seeing their canine companion keep it up as well.

Interestingly, experts found that females showed a decrease in their anxiety the longer the owner was away, while females dog Males showed increased anxiety with prolonged absences.

Study conclusions suggest that although the company of new dogs generally generates increased anxiety, it can help with individual cases and litigation. dog To deal with separation from your personalities related to human attachment.