Many owners dote on their furry friends, providing everything they can possibly need. However, according to veterinarian Tsou Kum-lin, this can cause the animal to become overly attached to their owners and develop separation anxiety disorder.
Pets with separation anxiety can exhibit a variety of symptoms including panicking, fear, loss of appetite, whining, biting furniture or even self-mutilation. In general, dogs are more prone to separation anxiety than cats.
Tsou says that separation anxiety tends to occur when owners and their cats or dogs become overly attached to each other or when owners dote on their pets, typically by sharing food, making fresh homemade meals for the animal, and spending little time apart.
Photo: Tu Yu-an, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報涂宇安
To prevent separation anxiety, owners should avoid doting on their pets, or over preparing their food. Most of the time, providing food that meets their basic nutritional needs on a meal schedule should be good enough. On the other hand, the owner should also avoid constantly giving their pets attention.
According to Tsou, if the owner cannot handle the situation, then they could find a veterinarian who can help train the pet. One possible way is to let the pet stay with the veterinarian for a period of time, during which they would use a variety of techniques, including verbal corrections, and withholding attention, feeding it only kibbles to correct the pet’s behavior. Signs of improvement in the pet’s behavior can be expected within a week.
(CNA, translated by Tu Yu-an)
許多人無微不至寵愛毛小孩，但獸醫師鄒昆霖指出，若飼主讓犬貓過度依賴，毛小孩可能患上分離焦慮症。
患有分離焦慮症的毛小孩只要和飼主分離，就會出現驚慌、害怕、食慾減退、哀鳴、亂咬傢俱、甚至自殘等症狀。一般而言，狗罹患比例高於貓。
鄒昆霖表示，飼主和犬貓相處關係過度依賴，飼養方式「寵愛過頭」，包括共享食物、精心烹煮鮮食、形影不離，很容易造成毛小孩罹患分離焦慮症。
為避免分離焦慮症，飼主不應過度寵愛毛小孩，平日飲食正常規律即可，相處上也要適度冷落。
若飼主無法處理，鄒昆霖也建議飼主考慮將毛小孩送到獸醫院進行長期寄宿，由院方透過口說、忽視行為、只餵飼料等多種方式並行矯正，大約一週時間即可改善毛小孩的心態。
(中央社)
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