What separates a BORED dog from one who suffers from separation anxiety?
The term is used frequently by people who are looking for an explanation for destructive behavior when their dog is left alone. The distinction, however, is that separation anxiety is exactly that. Anxiety. A dog that causes destruction in your home is not necessarily an anxious dog, but could very well be a bored one. I used to dismiss terrier destruction in my home as separation anxiety until I experienced the problem severely with my Jack, Gritty. Let me tell you, there is a vast difference between what my bored dogs did when left alone in the house as compared to what little Gritty goes through when left at home alone. For example, while a bored dog might lazily chew up a rug, gnawing on it for a half hour, a dog with separation anxiety will rip things apart in a frenzy. The damage little Gritty will do to things could be best compared to what you may expect from the Warner Bros. Tasmanian Devil. An object will look “attacked” rather than gnawed on or casually ripped apart and chew
