Dogs living with other dogs often bark more than those in single-dog households when their owners leave home for a few hours 鈥� and they whine and howl just as much.
The discovery suggests that getting a second dog might not be a reliable way to resolve the anxiety that some dogs experience when they are separated from their humans. It also overturns a popular belief that dogs that are separated from their owners but are in the company of others of their kind are 鈥渘ot that alone鈥�, says at the Academy for Animal Naturopathy in Switzerland.
鈥淲e do not suggest that dogs in single-dog households [in general] are better off when left alone, but we observed more separation-related behaviour in multi-dog households,鈥� he says. 鈥淐anine company may help dogs cope with separation from human attachment figures in individual cases, but our results indicate that this is not [a given] and should be checked carefully by owners.鈥�
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In fact, because one dog barking can set off barking in other dogs, a person attempting to calm separation anxiety in their first dog by getting a second one might make the situation worse, he says.
Stephan and his colleagues reached these conclusions after studying videos captured inside the homes of dog-owners and recording dogs鈥� reactions when their humans left the house without them as part of their regular routine. They looked at footage of 32 dogs living alone and 45 dogs living with others.
Most of the time, the dogs lay around doing nothing, says Stephan. Minor activity 鈥� like sitting or standing still, or raising their head 鈥� took up 22 per cent of their time, and the animals were actively moving around for less than 2 per cent of the time.
During the first hour, though, those in multi-dog homes typically showed a 鈥渟triking鈥� difference in activity compared with those in single-dog homes, with more walking around, barking, whining and howling, says Stephan. There was almost no dog-to-dog activity, like playing or licking each other, and that was true even after the dogs calmed down. This particular finding emphasises the importance of the dog-human bond, says Stephan.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a common misconception 鈥� and often given as poor advice 鈥� that a dog with separation-related anxiety will fare better and show fewer stress responses if another dog is added to the household,鈥� says at Eastern Institute of Technology in New Zealand, who wasn鈥檛 involved in the project. 鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 address the underlying problem for the dog with separation anxiety, and it often results in another dog showing anxious or excitable behaviour.鈥�
In the new study, male dogs barked more when separated from their owners, especially in multi-dog homes, says Stephan. They also spent more time lying down in front of the door through which the owner left. Female dogs, meanwhile, tended to whine more than male dogs, especially when they were in single-dog homes. Neutering had no clear effect on any of the behaviours.
鈥淭he key is to understand the causes of problem behaviour to be able to manage or treat those effectively,鈥� says Waran.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science
