Containment Phobia In Dogs

by Karyn Garvin, Pet Behavior Specialist

Separation Anxiety
Many social animals, like people, are distressed when separated from their companions or loved ones. Feelings of loss and frustration are a result of love and attachment. Dogs are, by nature, social, so they also are more likely to show distress when left alone.

Emotional attachment is especially important for animals that depend on group living for survival. We have all heard the phrase, "dogs are pack animals." While many dogs feel some level of frustration when left alone, certain dogs express it by various behaviors such as chewing furniture, soiling in the house, barking, etc. Separation anxiety is related to the relationship between the dog and owner - not the fear of being contained in a yard, house, crate or kennel.

Containment Phobia
Different from separation anxiety, containment phobia is a fear of being trapped. It is the inability of the dog to move freely from one environment to another regardless of the size of the space. This can be attributed to an animal's genetically pre-programmed survival instinct to a fear of being caught.

Some Escape behaviors include:

• Repeated attempts to break out of a dog crate
• Repeated attempts to escape every kennel run
• Jumping a fence
• Digging out underneath a fence
• Chewing and digging through a fence
• Destroying exits when contained in a room
  (e.g., doors, windows)
• When contained in the back yard, destroying the house trying to get in

A dog with containment phobia that is locked outside in the back yard may destroy the house trying to get in or jump the wall, or destroy the house trying to get out. The dog's destructive behavior is targeted at barriers that prevent freedom to move from one environment to another, namely from indoors to outdoors and vice versa. It is not the size of the space that frightens the animal but being trapped or contained in an area.

Modify the Environment Therapy
The good news is that with the correct diagnosis and modification, containment phobia treatment is very successful in curbing the destruction of home and property as well as damage the dog may cause itself in the process. The environment must be modified because it is the environment that triggers the phobia. In all cases, the remedy is two-fold. First, give the dog freedom of movement. Second, have consequences in place for the escape behavior. It is very important that the modifications to the environment occur simultaneously. We have to support the dog in making the right choices in the owner's absence.

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