Cynthia Smillie's 11-year old dog named Tao-tao unexpectedly started to 'virtually break down the door' when she went to bed. Every night, when it got dark, Tao-tao would become more and more anxious, and try to hide. Eventually, Smillie suspected the cause of her pet's distress was the low-battery sound coming from a mobile phone.
With a condition called separation anxiety, some dogs that are left alone suffer anxiousness and negative behaviour.
'Separation anxiety is a fairly common behaviour in dogs,' Smillie says. 'They will show fairly marked signs of distress when the owner goes away. Some destroy doors or demolish kitchens - they can literally tear the place apart.'
As each dog displays signs of the condition differently, other behaviour can include barking, whining, urination, defecation or destroying personal items such as cushions or shoes.
According to Smillie, any breed can suffer separation anxiety and it can start at any time. 'The cause doesn't have to be related to the owner's departure. It can be a frightening sound for the dog, like the low battery,' she says.
'Any kind of trigger can make the dog anxious while [the behaviour is shown] when the owner goes away.'
