最新研究显示，狗狗的“分离焦虑”可能不是你想的那样

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.

当主人把狗留在家里时，并非所有的狗都能应付自如。有些狗非常焦虑，结果整天都在叫，而另一些狗则在它们被关起来的状态下毁坏了房子和珍贵的物品。不过，将其归结为“分离焦虑”对宠物主人并不是特别有帮助。

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，这只是其他潜在挫折的症状，比如想要离开家里的东西，想要去外面的东西，对外界的噪音或事件做出反应，甚至是无聊。

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，”该研究的作者写道，“有一种危险是，‘分离焦虑’等症状被视为一种诊断，而恐惧、沮丧和与依恋缺失相关的恐慌等情绪的相对重要性，可能是有效治疗的基础。”

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

与分离相关的问题在狗身上很常见——大约四分之一到一半的普通狗都有这种症状。

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.

这种不一致的术语以及没有明确的诊断测试的事实,味着研究这个问题是非常困难的，到目前为止，结果一直是混乱的，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.

在一份在线调查问卷中，研究人员收集了2700多只狗的信息，其中包括100多个品种的狗。

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."

这项大规模调查的问题旨在阐明55种主要的分离症状，包括“退出挫败”、“社会恐慌”、“消除”、“重定向挫折”、“即时挫折”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.

根据狗的行为，作者将这些狗按等级分类，并确定了四种主要的症状，每种症状都有不同的心理原因，可以进行测试和推断。

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

集群A是最小的群体，它的特征是退出挫败、社会恐慌和重定向挫折的迹象。

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.

“我们建议对此种情况进行最简约的解释是，这些狗发现分离厌恶(社会恐慌迹象),并试图追随主人(退出沮丧)，但是由于内部障碍，他们无法这样做。在家庭中，他们努力寻找另一种应对方式(重定向的挫败感)。”作者解释。

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，社交恐慌以及极少的对主人的挫败感，这可能是因为这些狗被高度激起了，他们希望受到外界的刺激并努力寻找另一种应对方式。

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是最大的群体，包括超过三分之一的调查狗，它的特点是吠叫和社会恐慌。与B组不同的是，这些狗会被外部刺激唤起，但它们不是想要得到它，而是更普遍的焦虑和逃避。

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是最后一组，包括所有那些不能真正适应任何其他集群的狗。在我们对它了解更多之前，作者建议我们把它当作“无聊”群体。因为是的，即使是狗也会感到无聊。

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.

林肯大学的兽医丹尼尔·米尔斯说:“把狗的破坏性、在室内排尿、排便或独处时发出声音的问题贴上‘分离焦虑’的标签并没有多大帮助。”

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.

“这是诊断过程的开始，而不是结束。我们的新研究表明，各种形式的挫折是问题的核心，如果我们希望为狗狗提供更好的治疗，我们需要了解这种多样性。”

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.

虽然这项研究没有考虑任何具体解决方案的有效性，但作者希望这可能是一种实施更精确、要求更低的治疗方案的新方法。