Jack Russell With Separation Anxiety

by Abby Pycha
(Tumwater, WA)

My companion dog Roxy, a 2 year old Jack Russell Terrier. She recently lost her dog sitter and is going through a lot of anxiety. This sitter was allowing Roxy to eat all kinds of food and was going against all training I was trying to do with this dog. The dog was very attached to his man but he has a adult child who is violent and I cannot let her stay with them. What can I do to help her out. I have been spoiling her and spending all my time with her and she is starting to get better but still I'd appreciate any advice you could give me.

Thank you!



Vet Suggestion for Dog Separation Anxiety



Hello Abby,

You are doing exactly the right thing for Roxy. Her life has recently been upended and what she needs most is attention, love, and understanding. This is not the time to focus on small behavioral or training problems. Let them go for now as you work on improving her ability to deal with anxiety. Once she has settled in to her new normal, you can begin to work on her behavior again, but only use positive training methods. Any form of punishment in an anxious dog will almost always make the situation worse rather than better.

Talk to your veterinarian if you find you are unable to overcome Roxy’s anxiety. Some of these dogs benefit greatly from receiving anti-anxiety medications in addition to going through a well-thought-out behavioral modification plan. Over the counter nutritional supplements (e.g., Anxitane) and dog appeasing pheromone can also help dogs deal with stress.



Best of luck,
Jennifer Coates, DVM