Author archive: Terrie Hayward

Don’t Panic! When it comes to helping dogs with separation anxiety there is relief.

Separation anxiety in dogs can be an extremely debilitating behavioral issue for both the animal and the pet parent. This year I’ll be presenting on the topic of separation anxiety in dogs at ClickerExpo and wanted to have a graphic available that I could hand out and that folks could download.

With an idea for the “Don’t Panic! Helping Dogs with Separation Anxiety” graphic in mind I reached out to world renowned artist Lily Chin. She was able to collaboratively help put my thoughts about the different aspects of the poster together into the format that is laid out in this post. (Note: If you would like to download a high resolution version of the “Don’t Panic! Helping Dogs with Separation Anxiety” poster, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

1. Understand: Separation anxiety in a dog is like a panic attack.

Separation anxiety in dogs is like a panic attack. A dog is not naughty and not misbehaving; he’s not being vengeful or trying to get back at you about something. When he displays the types of behavior generally associated with separation anxiety, they are rooted in fear, anxiety, and stress.

Separation anxiety is when the dog is feeling anxious and panicked at the fact that he is alone or without access to you. The resulting behaviors are often involuntary, much like if you were terrified about something and you started to shake. It’s not something that you’re doing on purpose. It’s something that is as a result of that underlying fear component.

2. Remember: An anxious dog is not giving you a hard time. He is having a hard time.

The above quote helps people to reframe what the dog is experiencing if the dog is behaving in a way that they don’t necessarily like. To clarify, there is no good behavior or bad behavior—behavior is just information and communication.

Therefore, if a dog is behaving in a manner we do not necessarily want to repeat, take a look at the reason for the behavior. If the behavior is occurring as a result of fear, anxiety, stress or a combination of those three issues, then these would be the underlying concerns. The anxiety would be the problem to address vs. the behavior the displays while “giving”  you a hard time.

Approaching the issue from the perspective that the dog is the one having a hard time, enables us to be more compassionate about what’s going on. Then we can try to address it in a way that helps the dog versus thinking about punishment strategies, which of course I would never recommend. Thinking about the situation in terms of a dog not giving you a hard time, but having a hard time, helps us compassionately take a look at the overall approach.

3. Recognize: Dogs communicate stress via body language.

Dogs are great communicators but sometimes we find that people may not recognize what the dog is trying to convey. Examples of subtle versions of a dog communicating anxiety and stress might include the following. Anxiety can be conveyed via a behavior called “whale eye.” Whale eye is when the dog looks away, and we see him looking back with a lot of the whites of his eyes showing. Also, dogs might yawn, or do something out of context like panting heavily, when they haven’t been exercising. They might raise just one front paw, or a dog might look away or try to move away from you.

All of these more “subtle signs” of body language are indicative of the dog not feeling comfortable. We say subtler because when we take the behavior up a few notches, and the dog has to communicate more directly, that’s when we’re talking about things like a growl, an air snap, or a bite.

We never want to have a dog in a situation where he feels he has to raise his level of communication to those interactions before we understand that he’s trying to communicate his lack of comfort.

4. Identify: Learning the dog’s history (cargo shipments, schedule changes, singleton pup, etc.) and genetic factors which contribute to separation anxiety.

In this section we’re talking about looking at the possible contributing factors towards a dog suffering from separation anxiety. While there’s currently no one definitive cause, there are several aspects that might influence whether or not we see this type of anxiety in a dog.

As shown in the graphic, some of those circumstances include, a dog shipped via cargo while young. A change in the daily routine or schedule can be a catalyst, too. An example is if someone previously worked outside of the home begins working from home, and then goes back to working outside of the home.

Another issue might be a pup who raised without any siblings, or a singleton pup. There are also some genetic markers that are being looked at now. Often it’s a combination of nature and nurture, as with most behavioral issues.

5. Use More than the single factor solutions like the crate and a KONG.

Both crates and KONG toys have a great place in behavior modification and training. Kongs are fantastic food puzzles for enrichment and they can help to provide mental stimulation. Crates, when of course trained positively, can be helpful for situations where the dog needs to relax, perhaps at the groomers or at a vet’s office, or even during transport.

However, when we’re observing separation anxiety in dogs, frequently a food puzzle or a crate doesn’t address the underlying issue–anxiety. As such, we want to use a more comprehensive approach where we try to help resolve the underlying stress.

6. Resolve: Use a desensitization protocol.

When talking about resolving separation anxiety in dogs, the way that we can get to a point where an animal feels more comfortable when alone is to use a specific protocol dedicated to desensitization. We occasionally pair some aspects with some counter conditioning as well.

What we’re looking to do is to enable the dog to feel comfortable at first with movements, and then with movements associated with departure. We call the types of cues associated with your leaving, “pre-departure cues.” Slowly, over time, we add in the pre-departure cues and expand the duration with the specific desensitization protocol so that we help the dog with separation anxiety to feel comfortable and confident when he’s alone.

7. Support: Work with only positive reinforcement.

Working with positive reinforcement is the key to any behavior modification and training plan. Anytime we have a behavior we don’t want to see repeated, step one is to  identify what is supporting the behavior. Specifically, we want to look at what is causing the behavior to be repeated and to continue to occur. Then we want to look at the underlying cause and see what we can do to change that behavior. We take this approach instead of trying to stop or decrease behavior which can have dangerous consequences.

Working with a qualified dog training professional and working with positive reinforcement will help the dog to build confidence. With positive reinforcement, we observe the behavior, and then we mark the behavior, and then finally we reinforce behaviors that we want to see happen with more frequency. Behaviors that are reinforced are repeated. Ultimately, we want to reinforce those behaviors that we’d like to see more of.

8. Think: Teamwork – collaborate with your veterinarian, trainer, and other support.

When working with a dog who may suffer from separation anxiety my first suggestion is that the family make an appointment with their veterinarian to rule out any potential medical reason for the unwanted behaviors that they are seeing.

During the veterinary appointment I also encourage them to have a comprehensive chat with their vet about what’s going on and the possibility of medications if the vet believes that meds would be appropriate. It is about a teamwork approach to resolving the issue—a teamwork approach between the pet parent, the veterinarian, and the trainer.

Sometimes we might involve other dog care professionals, such as a doggy daycare facility or a dog walker. The goal is for everybody to work together to help the dog ultimately feel more comfortable when he’s home alone.

9. Keep Track: Data helps you to see the nonlinear progress.

Sometimes people will toss out ideas for resolving issues. I always go back to a quote by Doctor Susan Friedman, which is, “Show me the data.” If we can show and demonstrate data, or better yet, scientific data, then we can look at whether or not this is valid information.

When working on separation anxiety in dogs, we’re often working with tiny criteria increases. As such, it’s beneficial to document what’s going on with the dog. It’s productive to document what we’re working on, to document the protocols, and to document any changes in the environment that might affect things.

For example, if a dog has had a lot of exercise at doggy daycare on one particular day, maybe the pup appears calmer on those days. Or, if one person in the house is away for a business trip, perhaps that’s a more difficult week for the dog. Maybe a family vacation where the dog is boarding equates to a particularly challenging week for the dog. All of those factors can play into our overall plan for helping the dog to feel more comfortable when alone. As such, data tracking is a critical point in our overall separation anxiety protocol.

10. Imagine: Relaxation is possible!

Having a relaxed and calm dog is most definitely possible. For example, I have clients who now can go out, stay out away for several hours, and leave their calm dog home alone.

The ability to have your dog comfortable while home alone is life-changing not only for the dog but for human families too. I had one mom who is now able to go grocery shopping–something that we probably take for granted. A dog staying home alone and feeling relaxed when previously he was howling, eliminating, and chewing things up in the house is possible.

I have several clients who now can go out and about their regular daily lives while their dogs are relaxed and nonchalant at home. At the end of my upcoming presentation at ClickerExpo, I’ll be sharing some of these success stories.

But just by way of a few examples, I have one mom who was able to go to a spin class, which entails her being gone from home for two and a half hours with the commuting time back and forth to the class. I worked with a dad who’s able to go out and work from a coffee shop. He works remotely, but this allows him much more flexibility. He can meet with clients during the day because he now has a dog that can relax calmly at home and no longer suffers from anxiety when he’s separated from his people.

If your dog currently suffers from separation anxiety, know that relaxation is possible!

Get relief from the desolation of your dog’s separation anxiety.

Have you been thwarted by previous training attempts? You need a highly-trained specialist—an expert who devotes her days to resolving dog desolation distress.

I offer a distinctively successful approach to separation anxiety issues with daily guidance and extensive encouragement. If you and your dog are suffering from your dog’s separation anxiety, sign up for my Separation Anxiety Program. I’ll help dissolve your despair.

Schedule your first session today

 

**You can download the full sized separation anxiety graphic by clicking on the image below**

 

If you think your dog might be displaying signs of separation anxiety, what is the very first thing you should do?

The signs of separation anxiety in dogs are not always easily discernable. If you think your dog might be displaying signs of separation anxiety, or if you’re worried that your dog is actually suffering from separation anxiety, the first thing that you want to do is make an appointment with your veterinarian. You should do a vet check to rule out any possible medical reasons for the behaviors (excessive barking, urinating, defecating, etc) that you are seeing.

 When you go to the vet, you’ll want to let your veterinarian know how long the behavior has been going on and when it happens. You might even want to chat with your vet about the possibility of medication for your canine. Sometimes people are really worried about anxiety medication, looking to try everything else prior to exploring meds as an option. However, with respect to separation anxiety in dogs, there are some instances where medication is appropriate in combination with behavior modification.

With meds, we are never looking to change the dog’s personality or to completely sedate them, but to allow them to relax enough so that potentially they could work on some behavior modification. Again, having that conversation with your vet is an important piece of the puzzle. 

Who can decide if a dog actually has separation anxiety?

If your pup is having trouble being left alone, and displaying perhaps other signs of separation anxiety in dogs, that is actually something that a veterinarian would need to diagnose. 

How do you know if a dog has separation anxiety, or might be suffering from something else like isolation distress?

If you’re worried about your dog having separation anxiety, after you’ve done a vet check, then you want to parse out whether or not you might truly be talking about separation anxiety or the more common type of anxiety known as isolation distress.

Separation anxiety is a big umbrella term for this behavior problem. But true separation anxiety, where a dog is experiencing something similar to a panic attack, is fortunately, rarer. True dog separation anxiety is when the canine is only comfortable with one specific person. From a management perspective, that is a really difficult situation. With isolation distress, we’re talking about a dog who’s able to relax as long as there is any human present. Again, from the management side of things, this makes it a little bit easier to work on suspending absences while addressing the problem, or the underlying issue of the anxiety the dog is experiencing.

What are some signs that your dog might have separation anxiety?

Possible behaviors associated with separation anxiety in dogs include (not a complete list):

• barking, howling, whining, eliminating in the house, chewing inappropriate objects when alone, panting, pacing, crate escape attempts, confinement escape attempts (from x-pen or a room), drooling/wet muzzle

Often online you might see questions about a dog who’s eliminating inside and people wonder if it’s a house-training issue. People might be talking about their dog barking on and on for a long period of time when home alone and folks are asking how to stop the behavior. Or, someone might be asking for online help about their dog’s destructive behavior. However, many times people might not put together the pieces that all of these behaviors may amount to a dog actually suffering from separation anxiety.

If a dog is eliminating or vocalizing, or being destructive, or even pacing and panting, we want to first address the underlying cause or reason for the behavior. This is the key before thinking about trying to stop or reduce the behaviors. Even more important would be to figure out why the behavior is occurring in the first place. If it’s a result of the dog suffering from separation anxiety, then you would want to address the anxiety and try to help the dog feel more relaxed and calm.

If a dog is showing signs of separation anxiety should the pet parents watch remotely to see what is going on in their absence? 

Yes, one way to take a good look at what’s going on with your dog is to watch what’s happening remotely. If you don’t have a camera you could do a FaceTime to Facetime with your smartphone and another device like a laptop or an iPad.  You could also do that same setup with a Zoom to Zoom or Skype to Skype meeting between your smartphone and another device.

What you would want to do is set up your device in the house in a place where it’s safe from your dog. Perhaps leave it on a counter where you can see what’s going on. If you anticipate that your dog is going to go right to the door when you depart, you would want to set it up so that you have a view of the doorway. Ideally, you’d have a view of the dog coming to the door. You also would want to set up this observation at a time when you can come back. If you’re leaving to go to work all day, that would not necessarily be the optimal time to look in on your dog. If the dog is suffering and is vocalizing or being destructive, you’d want to be able to come back to relieve that anxiety asap. 

Are some signs of separation anxiety in dogs more significant?

Sometimes people will say, “Well, my dog is only barking.” Or  “My dog is only pacing and doing a lot of panting.” Or “I come home and his muzzle is wet like he’s been drooling all day, but he’s not destructive.”

What you want to recognize is that any type of behaviors that are displayed as a result of a dog having anxiety are still things that we would want to address. Even if the dog hasn’t reached the point where they’re eating the doorframe and thus escaping from the home that doesn’t necessarily mean that the separation anxiety is any less of a problem for that dog.

Just like with people, long term chronic stress can produce both physical as well as psychological issues. Addressing the underlying reason for the behavior, in this case, separation anxiety, is equally important.

Whether or not the separation anxiety is demonstrated with behaviors that are hugely problematic or seemingly more benign, stress is stress, and you still want to resolve the reason for the behaviors and try to help get the dog some help and relief.

What do pet parents do if they want to stop the behaviors around separation anxiety?

As I’ve mentioned above, if your dog is showing signs of separation anxiety, what we really want to do is address the underlying cause of the separation anxiety in the dog and use only positive reinforcement. The behaviors frequently are a symptom of the underlying stress. If your dog is fearful, anxious or stressed due to separation anxiety or isolation distress then you want to address that anxiety. You want to help him feel more relaxed, calm, and comfortable when he doesn’t have access to a person. Trying to stop or decrease the behavior doesn’t get at the root of the problem.

Let’s say a dog is being destructive, and someone decides to put the dog in a crate. While the dog isn’t able to chew up the couch while crated, he may decide to try to break out of the crate, he might turn to self-injurious behaviors, or he might begin to exhibit other types of behavioral problems. Maybe he’ll eliminate or maybe he could hurt himself trying to escape from the crate. Just avoiding the destruction hasn’t determined the reason for the destruction.

In the case of separation anxiety in dogs, if the behavioral problems are a result of an underlying anxiety issue, then you need to address the anxiety. Once the anxiety is appropriately resolved, typically through a desensitization protocol, subsequent problem behaviors or behaviors that are problems as a result of the anxiety go away, too.

Separation Anxiety in Dogs Series Episode 3 – Signs of Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Get relief from the desolation of your dog’s separation anxiety.

Have you been thwarted by previous training attempts? You need a highly-trained specialist—an expert who devotes her days to resolving dog desolation distress.

I offer a distinctively successful approach to separation anxiety issues with daily guidance and extensive encouragement. If you and your dog are suffering from your dog’s separation anxiety, sign up for my Separation Anxiety Program. I’ll help dissolve your despair.

Schedule your first session today

One of the animal behavior questions I get asked most often is, “How can you help with separation anxiety in dogs?” Separation Anxiety in dogs is one of the most common behavior problems. If your dog is distraught, appears nervous, or shows other signs of anxiety when you leave your home, or he does not have access to you, there are many ways you can help your dog be more at ease when left alone.

If you are trying to resolve separation anxiety in dogs, how can positive reinforcement training help?

Training with Positive reinforcement is when we add something to the situation in the hopes of increasing or having behavior repeat. So an example would be if, let’s say a dog was to lay down, and we wanted to encourage that behavior. If we wanted to see more instances of the dog laying down we might give the dog a treat each time the dog performed this behavior. We’d know if the treat was reinforcing to the dog if the laying down behavior was repeated.

How do you know if your dog has separation anxiety?

If you’re questioning whether or not your dog may have separation anxiety, which is similar to a panic attack in humans, the first steps are to rule out other possibilities. As with any time we have a behavior issue, we want to eliminate any possible medical cause for the behavior. So, a vet check is step one.

Then, if we have a dog that is vocalizing a lot (aka, excessive barking, howling, whining) or eliminating (defecating or urinating) in the house or destroying things (chewing furniture or ripping curtains), we want to make sure that these behaviors are not attributed to something else. For example, if the dog is barking a lot, we want to make sure that it’s not attention seeking behavior. If the dog is going to the bathroom in the house, we want to make sure that the dog has understood where to go to the bathroom. In other words, we want to be sure it’s not a house-training issue. If the dog is being destructive, we would want to make sure that it’s not a boredom problem.

Often with puppies, too, we are specifically trying to rule out other choices. We want to make sure that the problem is not related to the dog being a puppy. For example, we would want to differentiate between puppy chewing behavior and chewing behavior caused by the underlying issue–anxiety.

When working on separation anxiety in dogs, why you should not punish the behavior?

Anytime that we have unwanted behavior, we want to avoid punishment. We don’t want to try to stop or decrease the behavior. Instead, we first want to understand why the behavior is occurring. Anytime we have an unwanted behavior, step one is to discern why the problem behavior is there. What is motivating the behavior to continue to repeat? Step one also would involve a veterinarian check. We want to rule out the fact that the behavior is present, potentially, because of some medical reason.

Is the dog uncomfortable? Is the dog suffering in some way? Just like with a person if you were in pain, you might act more cranky than if you’re feeling happy. Thus, ruling out a potential medical reason for the problem would be the spot to start. And if the dog were suffering, we certainly wouldn’t want to punish that behavior.

After ruling out a medical reason for the behavior, we would also want to look at other possibilities. For example, if the dog was barking a lot, is the barking due to something that is bothering them? Is it attention seeking behavior? If the dog were eliminating (urinating or defecating) in the house, we would want to make sure that this wasn’t a house-training issue. Punishing a dog for eliminating in the home could cause them to hide and continue to do the behavior.

If the dog was destructive, again, punishing the behavior could result in apathy, aggression, escape-avoidance, or generalized fear. Nothing that we want in any animal, but in particular, if we already have a dog that’s fearful and anxious, with regard to the dog’s suffering from separation anxiety.

What to do if you arrive home to a big mess?

If you arrive home, and you have a big mess, the first thing that you’ll want to do is ignore the situation completely. Because if you haven’t caught the dog in the act, then the dog is not associating your behavior with the mess. Instead, the dog is saying, “Wow, my person came home, and they look really upset. I have no idea why,” which is very confusing.

So, although a lot of times, people may say the dog looks guilty for “bad behavior,” generally that is what’s called appeasement behavior. The dog is looking at you. Perhaps you have a stern, angry face. Maybe you’re upset by what you see, and the dog is reacting to your behavior, rather than feeling, “guilty” in that situation.

To recap, if you come home to a mess you want to clean it up and maybe see if you can puzzle out what’s happened. I would suggest trying to watch remotely. You could do that with a camera. You could also do that by connecting your smartphone and your computer to do either a FaceTime or a Skype to Skype, or a Zoom to Zoom session. See if you can get some eyes on what’s going when you’re not there.

When working with separation anxiety in dogs, how can positive reinforcement training help to build trust and confidence?

Anytime we use positive reinforcement training, it helps to work on the human-animal bond. It helps to build confidence and trust. When it comes to dog with separation anxiety there are other behaviors outside of a specific desensitization and counterconditioning protocol that can aid in the overall relationship.

Other behaviors include options like a “non-follow” or a “settle” behavior. For example, I had a client I was working with on separation anxiety and each time the people moved, the dog began jumping and nipping. We needed to separately address these behaviors by reinforcing an incompatible behavior such as “four paws on the floor.” We did this by using positive reinforcement to mark and reinforce the dog’s paws on the ground. This training complemented our separation anxiety protocol work using desensitization.

Why does my dog experience separation anxiety when I leave the house but is fine in other instances?

With separation anxiety, like many behaviors, dogs don’t generalize well. Too, the answer is often, “it depends.” I’ve had clients where dogs were comfortable at somebody else’s home alone, but at their own home, they panicked and had excessive anxiety. A dog may be okay at home and then they begin to show signs of separation anxiety. Often, there is something in the environment that has changed which prompts the behaviors associated with separation anxiety.

Sometimes dogs are comfortable in one setting but not in another. Again, it’s up to the individual dog. It’s dependent upon the context. There’s no right or wrong answer here but basically, just like Dr. Susan Friedman says, “It’s a study of one.” We want to look at the individual dog, and the individual environment and see where the dog actually can feel relaxed and calm, or not. Then we work from that spot to help dogs with separation anxiety to feel more comfortable when home alone.

What behaviors can be shaped that help with separation anxiety in dogs?

When working on dogs suffering from separation anxiety we can also work on training a number of behaviors in combination with a specific separation anxiety protocol. Behaviors such as “settle” or “station in one spot–on a mat or dog bed” are examples of complementary calm behaviors. And we can teach the dog to relax, again, not in the context of you departing, but separate. Then, eventually, that can help to overlap and find its way into a separation anxiety protocol.

We can also teach four paws on the floor. Frequently I’ve had clients where, when they’re about to depart, and we have a dog who’s suffering from separation anxiety, some of that anxiety is demonstrated in jumping up at the person as they’re trying to leave. So, a separate behavior that you can work on, unique but again complementing the separation anxiety protocol, would be reinforcing four paws on the floor.

Additionally, you could teach other confidence-building behaviors. Things like a hand target, which can help a dog to recognize, “I can get reinforced for this behavior. If I choose not to do this behavior, nothing bad or scary happens. But, if I do choose to do this behavior, opportunities for reinforcement exist.” Teaching things like a hand target, settle, four paws on the floor–again, any behaviors that you can reinforce and continue to build up that trust and human/animal bond outside of a specific desensitization protocol for separation anxiety– can be beneficial.

When trying to resolve separation anxiety in dogs, should you put your pup in a crate?

If your dog’s suffering from separation anxiety a lot of times, anecdotal information will suggest crating the dog, or leaving them with a long-lasting food puzzle like a stuffed KONG toy. Both crates and KONGs have places in training and behavior modification. However we often might find confinement issues comorbidly with dogs suffering from separation anxiety. Meaning that now, not only do we have a dog who’s anxious about being alone at home but they’re doubly anxious because they’re in a confined space without the ability to exit.

Also, if we’re crating the dog because of destructive behavior or inappropriate elimination, what we want to do is go back and look at the underlying cause, which in this case may be anxiety. We address the root of the issue, which would then alleviate the reason for the crating.

In the case of a KONG, or another type of long-lasting food puzzle, with separation anxiety, frequently what we might see is a dog who either has anorexia, which in dogs is defined as anxiety and not eating. We leave an otherwise high-value food puzzle, and the dog doesn’t touch it while he’s home alone. Or, we have a dog who scoffed it back, and after about 10 or 15 minutes, we see the symptoms re-emerge. This happens because we haven’t addressed the underlying issue.

That’s not to say that food puzzles and KONGs can’t have a place if we’re also using a desensitization protocol. But by themselves, usually, they don’t lead to the resolution that we’re looking for.

Helping separation anxiety in dogs with positive reinforcement training.

The first thing that we want to look at, as with any type of behavior modification, is management. We want to manage the situation so that the dog doesn’t continue to rehearse the unwanted behavior. In the case of separation anxiety, unwanted behavior happens when the dog is alone. Therefore, what we want to do is suspend absences, outside of a specific protocol. While at first the idea of suspending absences might sound overwhelming, there are many resources which talk about how to accomplish this. The reason suspending absences is so important is because otherwise, it’s kind of like taking three steps forward, and five backward.

This is because there is no way to communicate to the dog, “I’m only leaving for two minutes, this time.”Our behavior of suspending absences allows the dog to gradually start to feel more relaxed about not needing to be on edge because a departure may be imminent at any moment.

Suspending absences and pre-departure cues

Suspending absences would be step number one after ruling out any medical issues. The next step would be to look at pre-departure cues. Pre-departure cues, which we abbreviate PDQs, are things like, the obvious ones such as shoes and car keys. They may be a purse or a jacket, but they can also be things like filling your to-go coffee, filling up the dog’s water bowl, or starting to put your dog in a crate with some treats.

The dogs can generalize, sometimes back to even brushing your teeth. For example, I had a client whose dog, upon opening his sock drawer, began to show signs of feeling anxious and recognized that a departure was soon going to happen. Identifying those pre-departure cues is key. When we work on a separation anxiety protocol for dogs, using desensitization, the start would be to remove the pre-departure cues and then start to add them in slowly, one at a time.

Some departure cues are more relevant

The reason we would do that is because some cues may be more relevant to that dog. Some dogs may, for example, not react at all when you put your shoes on. But, if you pick up the keys, that causes an immediate sense of panic. In those cases, we maybe be slow down and/or work on desensitization or sometimes even counter conditioning. This means pairing the experience with something that the dog values to create a positive association. We do this in order to help that dog to relax more in response to that particular pre-departure cue.

Desensitization protocol

Then we work on a specific protocol of desensitization. It generally takes about 30 minutes a day. We work on a variety of stuff geared specifically to the individual dog with changing criteria, depending on the dog’s response. Basically, we’re looking to help the dog not to react to your movements which indicate departure. These might be things like standing up, walking to the door, touching the doorknob, and then coming back and sitting down. If the dog responds to that step with a significant response, or significant reaction with his body language that would indicate anxiety, then we may need to repeat that step or even break down the criteria further. Maybe we have to walk halfway to the door, for example.

Whereas, if the dog is relaxed during that step of the exercise, then we might be able to take the next push in our criteria; a next step to walk to the door, open the door three inches, or halfway, close the door again, come back and sit down. Gradually, over time, using a specific desensitization protocol, we can help the dog to feel, “Ho hum,” “That’s boring,” and to feel not anxious anymore about those types of movements.

Eventually, with the pre-departure cues incorporated as well, and eventually, during the overall departure and then, adding duration with that departure, we arrive at a situation where we can have a calm dog relaxed at home for a longer period of time. This allows the people in the family to go about their normal daily life activities.

Separation Anxiety in Dogs Series Episode 2 – Getting Help with Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Get relief from the desolation of your dog’s separation anxiety.

Have you been thwarted by previous training attempts? You need a highly-trained specialist—an expert who devotes her days to resolving dog desolation distress.

I offer a distinctively successful approach to separation anxiety issues with daily guidance and extensive encouragement. If you and your dog are suffering from your dog’s separation anxiety, sign up for my Separation Anxiety Program. I’ll help dissolve your despair.

Schedule your first session today