Separation anxiety could spike when quarantine ends, royal dog trainer says

Separation anxiety in our canines may spike when the coronavirus quarantine ends, according to the British royal dog trainer.

Separation anxiety in our puppers could spike when the coronavirus pandemic quarantine finally lifts, whenever that is.

The British royal dog trainer, an animal psychologist named Dr. Roger Mugford, is quoted in The Independent as saying that “With such an overload of quality time with their families, dogs are building up a huge reservoir of over-dependency which could see them suffer” when pet pawrents return to their normal working lives and kids go back to school.

While it would depend in some part on the dog’s individual genetics (which task was he traditionally supposed to do?), some of the symptoms of dogs experiencing separation anxiety could include excessive barking, going to the bathroom indoors, or chewing on the furniture.

Dr. Mugford is the trainer of the royal Corgis owned by Queen Elizabeth, whose love for Pembroke Welsh Corgis has been well-documented on this website and many others. The Jonas Brothers even parodied it in their music video for the reunion single “Sucker.”

Dr. Mugford recommends easing your dog back into normal life by staying separated for about a half hour, preferably several times a day. This would not only give you a break (canine coworkers can be more of a hassle than a help sometimes), but also re-accustom Sparky that Dad won’t always be around again, and hopefully make the transition less frightening.

Dr. Stanley Coren, a well-known figure in canine science and psychology, has written that the average dog has an understanding of about the same level as a 3-year-old human, and an average 3-year-old would be very scared if her parents disappeared without warning one day.

So while canine separation anxiety could become a problem in the future, hopefully it won’t cause too much of a problem in your household.