狗狗的“分離焦慮”可能不是你想的那樣

最新研究顯示，狗狗的“分離焦慮”可能不是你想的那樣

Not all dogs cope well when their owners leave them at home. Some get so anxious they end up barking all day long, while others destroy the house and precious objects in their cooped-up state. Still, pinning it down to 'separation anxiety' isn't particularly helpful for pet owners.

當(dāng)主人把狗留在家里時(shí)，并非所有的狗都能應(yīng)付自如。有些狗非常焦慮，結(jié)果整天都在叫，而另一些狗則在它們被關(guān)起來的狀態(tài)下毀壞了房子和珍貴的物品。不過，將其歸結(jié)為“分離焦慮”對寵物主人并不是特別有幫助。

Instead, new research suggests this is just a symptom of other underlying frustrations, like wanting to get away from something in the house, wanting to get to something outside, reacting to external noises or events, or even boredom.

相反，新的研究表明，這只是其他潛在挫折的癥狀，比如想要離開家里的東西，想要去外面的東西，對外界的噪音或事件做出反應(yīng)，甚至是無聊。

Thus, the study authors write, "there is a danger that a syndrome such as 'separation anxiety' is seen as a diagnosis, when the relative significance of emotions such as fear, frustration and the panic associated with loss of an attachment figure may be fundamentally important to understand for effective treatment."

“因此，”該研究的作者寫道，“有一種危險(xiǎn)是，‘分離焦慮’等癥狀被視為一種診斷，而恐懼、沮喪和與依戀缺失相關(guān)的恐慌等情緒的相對重要性，可能是有效治療的基礎(chǔ)。”

Separation-related problems are quite common in dogs - somewhere between a quarter to half the general population show these signs.

與分離相關(guān)的問題在狗身上很常見——大約四分之一到一半的普通狗都有這種癥狀。

This inconsistent terminology along with the fact there is no clear diagnostic test means that studying this issue is incredibly difficult, and the results so far have been confusing, inconsistent, and even contradictory.

這種不一致的術(shù)語以及沒有明確的診斷測試的事實(shí),味著研究這個(gè)問題是非常困難的，到目前為止，結(jié)果一直是混亂的，不一致的，甚至是矛盾的。

In an online questionnaire, the researchers gathered information on more than 2,700 dogs, including over 100 breeds in total.

在一份在線調(diào)查問卷中，研究人員收集了2700多只狗的信息，其中包括100多個(gè)品種的狗。

The large-scale survey included questions that were supposed to illuminate 55 cardinal indications of separation issues, including "exit frustration", "social panic", "elimination", "redirected frustration", "immediate frustration", and "noise sensitivity."

這項(xiàng)大規(guī)模調(diào)查的問題旨在闡明55種主要的分離癥狀，包括“退出挫敗”、“社會(huì)恐慌”、“消除”、“重定向挫折”、“即時(shí)挫折”和“噪音敏感性”。

Grouping these dogs into robust hierarchical clusters based on their behaviour, the authors identified four main forms of the condition, each with distinct psychological causes that can be tested and inferred.

根據(jù)狗的行為，作者將這些狗按等級(jí)分類，并確定了四種主要的癥狀，每種癥狀都有不同的心理原因，可以進(jìn)行測試和推斷。

Cluster A is the smallest group, and it's characterised by signs of exit frustration, social panic and redirected frustration.

集群A是最小的群體，它的特征是退出挫敗、社會(huì)恐慌和重定向挫折的跡象。

We propose that the most parsimonious explanation for this profile is that these dogs find being separated aversive (social panic signs) and try to go after the owner (exit frustration), but, because they are unable to do so due to barriers within the home, they struggle to find an alternative way of coping (redirected frustration), the authors explain.

“我們建議對此種情況進(jìn)行最簡約的解釋是，這些狗發(fā)現(xiàn)分離厭惡(社會(huì)恐慌跡象),并試圖追隨主人(退出沮喪)，但是由于內(nèi)部障礙，他們無法這樣做。在家庭中，他們努力尋找另一種應(yīng)對方式(重定向的挫敗感)。”作者解釋。

Cluster B, on the other hand, is characterised by redirected frustration, social panic, and, very rarely, frustration towards the owner, probably because these dogs are highly aroused, want to get at external stimuli and struggle to find an alternative way to cope.

另一方面，集群B的特征是重新定向的挫折感，社交恐慌以及極少的對主人的挫敗感，這可能是因?yàn)檫@些狗被高度激起了，他們希望受到外界的刺激并努力尋找另一種應(yīng)對方式。

Cluster C is the largest group identified, including over a third of the dogs surveyed, and it's characterised by barking and social panic. Unlike Cluster B, these dogs are aroused by external stimuli, but instead of wanting to get at it, they are more generally anxious and avoidant.

集群C是最大的群體，包括超過三分之一的調(diào)查狗，它的特點(diǎn)是吠叫和社會(huì)恐慌。與B組不同的是，這些狗會(huì)被外部刺激喚起，但它們不是想要得到它，而是更普遍的焦慮和逃避。

Cluster D is the last group, and, as a result, it's a sort of catch-all basket for those dogs who don't really fit into any of the other clusters. Until we know more about it, the authors suggest we think of it as the "boredom" group. Because yes, even dogs can get bored.

集群D是最后一組，包括所有那些不能真正適應(yīng)任何其他集群的狗。在我們對它了解更多之前，作者建議我們把它當(dāng)作“無聊”群體。因?yàn)槭堑?，即使是狗也?huì)感到無聊。

Labelling the problem of the dog who is being destructive, urinating or defecating indoors or vocalising when left alone as separation anxiety is not very helpful, says veterinarian Daniel Mills from the University of Lincoln.

林肯大學(xué)的獸醫(yī)丹尼爾·米爾斯說:“把狗的破壞性、在室內(nèi)排尿、排便或獨(dú)處時(shí)發(fā)出聲音的問題貼上‘分離焦慮’的標(biāo)簽并沒有多大幫助。”

It is the start of the diagnostic process, not the end. Our new research suggests that frustration in its various forms is very much at the heart of the problem and we need to understand this variety if we hope to offer better treatments for dogs.

“這是診斷過程的開始，而不是結(jié)束。我們的新研究表明，各種形式的挫折是問題的核心，如果我們希望為狗狗提供更好的治療，我們需要了解這種多樣性。”

While the study didn't look at the effectiveness of any specific solution, the authors hope this could be a new way to implement more precise and less demanding treatment programs.

雖然這項(xiàng)研究沒有考慮任何具體解決方案的有效性，但作者希望這可能是一種實(shí)施更精確、要求更低的治療方案的新方法。