Brittany Spaniels are well known for their high energy levels, intelligence, and desire to please their owners. For Brittanys to thrive, they require adequate love and attention from their parents, making them among the neediest breeds. But despite their neediness, do Brittany Spaniels have separation anxiety?
Brittany Spaniels are prone to separation anxiety. These dogs live for their owners’ attention and will almost certainly develop destructive behavior like chewing, digging, and barking excessively if left alone for long. As a result, they should be trained well and never left alone for too long.
In this article, I’ll let you take a closer look at Brittany Spaniels, their separation anxiety, and how to deal with the problem before it becomes destructive.
How Brittany Spaniels Can Develop Separation Anxiety
Brittany Spaniels can develop separation anxiety for a variety of reasons. Generally, any type of abrupt or significant change to the dog’s lifestyle or living situation could affect him and cause symptoms to develop.
Change of Family Situation
This issue affects other breeds as well and not just Brittanys. However, a Brittany Spaniel is more likely to be affected by separation anxiety when his owner surrenders him to a shelter, relocates, or dies. The dog should be carefully introduced to his new family members through play and feeding to avoid separation anxiety and establish trust.
Additionally, Brittany Spaniels are sensitive to the extent that they might struggle to cope when their favorite family member leaves. This frequently happens when children leave for school or parents working from home experience a change in work patterns.
Change in Schedule
A significant change in your day-to-day schedule can trigger the separation anxiety of your Brittany Spaniel. And as mentioned earlier, Brittanys love spending time with their owners and will almost certainly struggle to cope with new work schedules.
Therefore, you should avoid drastic schedule changes or, if possible, help your four-legged best friend to adjust gradually to the changes.
Change of Environment
Most dogs will struggle to cope with environmental changes. However, the problem will be more prominent when dealing with Brittany Spaniels as they’re very possessive of their owners and, well, their immediate environments.
How Long Can Brittany Spaniels Be Left Alone For?
Brittany Spaniels tend to experience separation anxiety a lot more than other dog breeds and shouldn’t be left alone for long. Ideally, you should get a Brittany Spaniel if you have enough time on your hands and want him to accompany you in your day-to-day activities.
Brittany Spaniels can only be left alone for 30 minutes if they are not trained to be left alone, especially if you don’t observe a regular schedule. Leaving an untrained Brittany Spaniel with separation anxiety may result in the dog displaying destructive behaviors, such as chewing and digging.
While there is no standard amount of time to leave your Brittany Spaniel alone, you should observe his patterns during training and start with a few minutes before transitioning (gradually) to hours.
Leaving him with other family members should be enough to prevent destructive behavior. However, you should never leave your Brittany unattended for extended hours if he’s only used to you!
Signs Your Brittany Spaniel Has Separation Anxiety
If you’re worried that your Brittany Spaniel might be suffering from separation anxiety, here are some signs that could indicate this to be true:
Your Brittany Spaniel Makes Escape Attempts
One of the signs that Brittany Spaniel is experiencing separation anxiety is escape attempts. Your Brittany might try to chew through doors and dig through tiles, which could result in potentially severe injuries like damaged nails, broken teeth (and jaws), and scraped paws. You would often expect this issue when dog owners relocate to new environments.
Your Dog Starts Chewing and Digging
Besides trying to escape, your Brittany Spaniel might start biting, digging, and chewing as a way to keep himself busy when you’re gone. You’ll know it’s separation anxiety if your dog stops his chewing and digging behavior whenever you’re around.
Your Dog Is Pacing Whenever You’re Leaving
If your Brittany Spaniel has started walking or trotting in fixed patterns when separated from you, chances are he has separation anxiety. On most occasions, the pacing will begin as you prepare to leave and stop once you pretend not to leave.
Your Brittany Keeps Barking and Howling
You’ll know your Brittany Spaniel has separation anxiety if he keeps barking or howling whenever you leave. And while barking might be normal for Brittanys, the barking will be persistent and always align with your exit times if he has separation anxiety.
Your Dog Defecates of Urinates in Your Absence
If your Brittany Spaniel defecates and urinates anywhere when you leave but helps himself in the right places when you’re around, chances are he’s dealing with separation anxiety. But you might want to consult your vet to rule out other medical issues. Some dogs might even eat their feces when left alone for long due to anxiety.
How To Prevent Separation Anxiety In Brittanys
The thought that your loving canine companion undergoes enormous stress when you’re not around can be devastating and also negatively affect your day. Here are some ways you can deal with separation anxiety in Brittany Spaniels:
Start Training Your Dog Early
Training your Brittany Spaniel early enough (preferably during puppyhood) is the best way to prevent separation anxiety from occurring. Ideally, it will help if you reward your Brittany pup every time he sees you leave but doesn’t react by either barking, pacing, or acting anxiously. Brain Training for Dogs will help you develop training techniques to help with this.
Exercise With Your Brittany Before Leaving
As high-energy dogs, Brittany Spaniels need all the exercise they can get. You can exercise with him, too, by going for a walk or jogging with him before you leave. This can help him cope better when you’re away.
Ideally, you should feed your Brittany Spaniel once you come back home from the physical activity. This should leave your canine companion feeling relaxed and well taken care of as you leave.
Keep Your Brittany Spaniel Occupied
Try adding some adventure to your Brittany Spaniel’s day by keeping him occupied. You can do this by hiding treats at strategic locations where he’ll have to hunt. Investing in toys will be good, too. Give your dog some brain-stimulating pet toys to play with, like the Dog Food Puzzle Feeder from Amazon.com. It’s perfect for mental stimulation and encourages slow eating to prevent bloat.
Consider Hiring a Pet Sitter
Hiring a pet sitter might be the best option when dealing with a Brittany Spaniel that’s overly reliant on you, especially if you’ll be gone for hours. Ensure that you get a pet sitter who gets along well with your Brittany, lest you end up doing zero work!
Wrapping Up
As can be observed throughout the reading, Brittany Spaniels are needy dogs that can’t do without their owners’ attention. Due to this, you must take extra care to ensure your pup doesn’t end up with separation anxiety.
Try as much as possible to introduce your Brittany to other family members and to spend as much time as you can when free. The trick to a happy Brittany Spaniel is keeping him active and entertained, so it’s best to tag him along for walks and jogs and, even more importantly, train him early enough.