Separation Anxiety… I’m not seeing it at my Place!

One of the biggest issues that clients call me about is Separation Anxiety. A dog owner calls me with issues ranging from simple whining in a crate, to dogs jumping through windows from the second floor to get to the owners who have left to go to work or the store. Massive amounts of destruction, not only to the physical property of the owner’s home and the dogs crate, but also the dog’s physical and mental condition are usually what owners arrive home to find.
I have heard so many ways for folks that have struggled. They have tried so many different “remedies” to stop this type of behavior, most with little or no success. Most of them are based on keeping dogs busy doing something, such as food based, exercised based, running around based. As far as I see it, all of it is Adrenalized behavior that will most likely create the same results or even make it worse.  Unfortunately, in a good amount of these cases, the behavior leads to the surrender of the dog (this happens often). So many dogs are returned to rescues by Foster Families for excessive barking as well as separation issues. I get a good amount of calls from families that rescue dogs and they are struggling with separation issues. Most vets will suggest medication, and although I have seen this work in some cases, it is not the norm for it to work. I have also seen dogs get TONS of exercise but the issues still exist. I am a huge advocate of lots of structured exercise for dogs to help with this issue, but that is far from the solution to extinguish Separation Issues.

dog trainingI want my readers to know that you can actually “correct” separation anxiety. I look at it this way, when a dog is in a state of panic and stress, they are suffering and in mental pain. It is our obligation as dog owners to be advocates for our dogs, we should be protecting them both mentally and physically. Most dogs do not self soothe out of separation issues, so it is our obligation to help them out of it asap. Most dogs that have separation issues continue to repeat the behavior over and over, they need our guidance to stop the viscous cycle that will not end.

One of the things that I do not see within 24 hours of a dog with separation issues arriving for a board and train IS separation anxiety issues. We excel at being pro-active and preventing it but I also have absolutely no problem correcting it.

Lets first talk about being pro-active and working on prevention.

A few things I notice with folks that have dogs with separation issues is that, they make their dogs too much the center of attention, they do not have enough structured alone time for their dogs, and do not work on controlling space.

This is what we do to prevent and eliminate separation issues:

1) Structured walks of at least for 60 minutes a day. Having the dog in proper heel position, which means your dog has his head at your knee walking on a loose leash, no pulling, sniffing, marking, lunging or barking. Your dog should not be meeting or greeting people or dogs on the walk. All that does is get your dog even more Adrenalized and excited and the goal is to teach your dog how to be calm. The proper structured walk is the foundation of GREAT behavior both on leash and off leash.

2)  Crate train your dog. When you have a dog that is anxious, nervous and has separation issues and you find them soiling and destroying your house, you need to have your dog safely contained in a crate. Not only does this prevent destruction and soiling but it also prevents injury or even death to your dog who ingests something they happen to destroy. Removing something from your dog’s insides can be thousands of dollars in vet bills and dangerous tot he dog’s health.

3)  Control the space in your home. Teach your dog the PLACE command and use it. You should NOT have your dog moving about your house, following you around, going from window to window, responding to every sound and sight. This creates a more anxious dog that just can not learn how to settle down. I look for a dog that is calm and even bored in the house. A dog that is content on just existing in your home is going to do a lot better with any anxiety issues when the humans leave.

4)  Create the right atmosphere. The inside of your house should not be a dog park for your dog, it should be more like a relaxation spa. The goal is for your dog to learn how to relax, how to exist calmly in a world of chaos. You actually can teach your dog to relax by utilizing long duration exercises like Place and Down.

5)  Keep calm. When coming and going from your house, keep your energy calm. Do not enter rooms excited to see your dog, using a high pitched voice with lots of petting, and allowing your dog to jump up all over you. I realize you miss and love your dog, but the message you are sending to your dog is that if they start jumping and being excited you will give them attention. You want your dog to be calm around you not Adrenalized.

6)  Minimize physical, verbal and food praise. The greatest reward, in my opinion, for a dog is EXISTENCE, having a dog exist in our world with us is huge. In order to do that, we need to have our dogs mentally and physically behaved. I am not saying you should not pet your dog, or not give your dog treats, or not tell your dog how good they are. But I am saying that I see too many dogs already excited and anxious that get all ramped up with the constant rewards, praise, and treats. These rewards may benefit the owner and their feelings towards their dogs but are not benefiting the dog long term.

7)  Treat k9 training like a lifestyle and not a series of tricks. Treat dog training like a book full of chapters and do not skip any pages or chapters along the way. You need to keep up with the small things daily in order to prevent any of the big things from happening.

8)  Don’t question your dog to get it excited. Stop saying phrases like “Do you want to go for a walk” “Do you want to go for a car ride” “Do you want to eat”. All of these thing get your dog wired up or Adrenalized while you feel good because your dog is excited about something. In my book, all it does is cause too much excitement. What do you want the dog to do? Say yes or no? The dog is going for a walk, going for a car ride and going to eat, because you said so and that is just the way it is.

9)  Add more exercise. Adding walking on a treadmill to your daily routine. This has helped dogs decrease separation issues.

dog trainersIf all of the above things are still not working, you can actually correct anxious behavior. In my book, that is one of the kindest things you can do for your dog. Having your dog live in a state of anxiety just sucks for your dog as well as the people around you. You can use remote collars at very low levels to stop the whining. You can use a good quality bark collar (not the citronella type, those are quite abusive in my book) but the collars that give a light stimulation to your dog for barking. By doing this, you are stopping all of the anxious and Adrenalized behavior which keeps building up and is very harmful to your dog. Keep in mind, the only thing that is mean and abusive about separation anxiety is NOT fixing it, and leaving the dog in a state of unbalance or returning the dog to the shelter that the dog came from, which happens A LOT.

Remember, we NEVER see separation issues for more than 24 hours on my property, so a dog suffering from this for years, can come to us and it stops. This is why I am so passionate about all of the rules I outlined above. Follow these, and with small daily changes you will see dramatic results.

 

Solid K9 Training Providence, RI (401) 527-6354

Solid K9 Training 210 24th Street Brooklyn NY 11232 (401) 527-6354

For more information on training dogs visit us at http://solidk9training.com.

 

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0 Comments

  1. Thanks for the article. I will work on the aformetioned steps and look for improvement. Look forward to speaking with you one day soon. Do you ever get into seminars? Do you host them at all?

  2. An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a co-worker who has beenconducting a little homework on this. And he actually bought me breakfast because I stumbled upon it
    for him… lol. So let me reword this…
    . Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time to discuss this issue here on your blog.

    1. my pleasure, thanks for sharing..this is such a big issue with so many families struggling which leads to surrendering of the dog.

  3. We adopted a 3 year old White Shepherd two weeks ago. The previous owner could not take care of him. From what I can gather they lived in an apartment where he slept in her room. I appreciate your videos demonstrating the use of the prong collar.
    He is responding to the prong collar really well. He sits, heels and does down well. This has made going for walks much more enjoyable for both of us! Thank you.

    He was never crate trained so I am introducing him to that because I can’t leave him alone in the house. When we are away or outside without him he manages to break out of the cage. He has ruined two walls by doing so, and then went to the bathroom (#2) all in the matter of 25 minutes. I feel stranded at home, do you have any suggestions? So far he is fine sleeping in our mudroom at night with a baby gate separating him from the rest of the house. even though he has shown us that he can leap this as well when we are not home. Someone told us if he was neutered he wouldn’t be so wild. We are walking with him more too.
    What should I be doing?
    I am feeling stranded at home and helpless….

    1. there are many things you can do, can you call into my weekly radio show I can give you lots of guidance..you are going to have to get a crate that the dogs cannot break out of for starters..or keep in the mudroom and install a higher gate, or 2 gates, leave the one in place and then install another one up higher..call my show at 888.345.0790 on Saturdays from 9-11amEST

  4. Can I walk a dog for 40 minutes and still get results? I leave at 8:00a.m. for school Monday-Friday. Also I don’t own a treadmill, is there something else I could try that would give the same results? Thank You,God Bless.

    1. if all you have is 40 minutes, than that is all you have, your walk should be highly structured though, at a good pace and not just wondering around looking for a spot to go to the bathroom. you can also look into doggy daycare and a dog walker, but how old is your dog? is it a sporting breed? high energy? there is many variables. but I always look for folks to do 2 or 3 good walks a day

      jeff

      1. Thank you for answering. I don’t have a dog yet. I was asking this for future reference. I was hoping to get a cavalier king Charles spaniel…an older puppy(7 months to a year old). Thank You, God Bless.

  5. I am so glad I found your site! I surprised my wife with a puppy for Christmas this year and have come to find SA in her – bad at that. Constant whining, crying, or a howling cry. Jumping trying to escape the gate or pawing and clawing at her kennel door.
    So, today 12-18-13 I began teaching the PLACE command. I started at 10 am and by 3 pm, there is only minimal whining when I leave the room and she has begun to learn where her place is. I say PLACE and she goes and lays on her bed and will for the most part stay put.

    Thank you for your videos and help. It has given me great peace of mind.

    Blessings,
    Jason

    1. jason
      i am so excited that you are making progress, keep up the work..it is work and if you commit to it you will see even more results..great job

      jeff

  6. We have a 10 week old yellow lab. When we first brought her home at 8 weeks we started trying to crate train her. She screeched so badly when in there and pooped and peed within minutes of being put in. Even if she had just done her business outside. With a lot of work and walks it has gotten better but still not great. At night we still can’t put her in the crate(I have her in a big Rubbermaid container in our room. If we put her in her crate at night (and sometimes still during the day) she uses it as a bathroom even though she has not be in there long and just been outside. And she screeches and yelps especially at night(daytime has gotten immensely better as mentioned but it still happens). What do you suggest, we are at a loss with the going to the bathroom in her crate. Oh and we have tried smaller crates too so that she has only room to turn around and she still goes to the bathroom in it.

    1. lisa
      crate training can be very frustrating and better described as a big pain in the butt, the good thing is that if you stick to a system you will get over it..I cannot answer questions directly online, in this format but I will answer the question on my radio show this Saturday…info is on my website

  7. Can you recommend a crate that a dog cannot get out of? My dog has ruined two crates, broken his teeth, and bloodied up his paws and my carpet getting out of crates. I’ve had to use extra locks and zip ties just to keep the crates together, but this has just encouraged him to fight harder to get out of the crate.

  8. I can crate my blk shepherd/lab cross but whether in crate, left in car or at home, she spins like a top, biting her tail, barking the whole time, spewing slobber on her hind end. It is gross.
    In the car I found a solution that I chain (chews anything else) tether her short enough that she can sit or lay down but not spin. Should I try tethering her short in the crate also? I have no idea if she will bark or not as it has always been a spinning, tail biting issue.

  9. Just found your website from 1 of your YoutTube videos! We have rescued an adult Lab Retriever. She is almost always panting/breathing rapid shallow breaths. Full physical clean (after treatments for kennel cough, infections, cuts)- she had been abused possibly by a ‘breeder’ (stretched mammary glands & bleeding vagina). She has seperation anxiety, lunging, walking with fear of cars/trucks passing by, chases birds/cats/bugs, and barking issues with other dogs ..and more. She’s house broken and loves/wants fetch – will bark if stop with fetch -unless she’s tired. We ordered your recommended prong collar and hope that it will get the walking/lunging solved using your videos. We live in Northern California, so your training center is out-of-reach for us. Can you recommend any thing that would help our overgrown puppy with lots of energy, strength, and seems to have lived a sheltered breeder life ?? My wife has been threatening to “Return her to the Pound!” Thank you! Regards, Henry

  10. Thank you for this great article!
    I also see that Separation Anxiety is a big issue. It can be so stressfull I you don’t know what to about it. There are many dogs returned to the shelther because off it. And that so sad! In this article you will read the best way to deal with this problem! I had a dog who had some issues including Separation Anxiety. I followed these steps and her Separation Anxiety was history.
    For her other problems I used a few other easy applicable techniques. These techniques will definitely help you solve other dog obedience problems! Go check it out! http://www.dogsfix.com/s/dog-training-secrets/

    Thanks again!

  11. I have a dog who likes his crate, but still can’t bare to be left alone. I can leave him in there for long periods while I am home, but its a problem if I leave. After about 30 minutes he will start thrashing and chewing everything in his crate. Is this okay? I don’t see how I can progress this further in a way that allows me to leave for longer periods of time. I am already doing many of the things suggested, such as keeping calm, and not making a big deal of out coming and going.

    1. thanks for asking Tony, we fix this, eliminate it and do not see it at our Place, I feel that it is created by humans and can be fixed by humans. If you watch my video on separation anxiety on YouTube you will learn what you have to do, the things you mentioned are just 2 of the things and are not enough, you are going to have to also correct the unwanted behavior or it will NEVER stop. This along with a bunch of others things that I walk you through step by step in the video. jeff

  12. I cannot thank you enough for advice and steps for separation anxiety. We have been working on this for months by following other advice and while it may work if we followed it to the T (slowly working up towards being gone the whole day), there is no way one of us can afford to quit our jobs to stay home and we both leave for work before dog boarding/daycare facilities are open. I think it is time to change up what we are doing and follow these tips!
    The only problem we may have is we do not have a treadmill or the space for one at the moment. Can I run with my dog for exercise instead? Also, usually I prefer to run in the mornings during the summer (as it is much cooler), but would that not be structured enough to do before leaving for the day? Mornings are about the only time other people are not out walking their dogs, so unfortunately that is also the best time for structured walks as we are still working on his reactivity to other dogs.

    1. so glad you found this helpful, don’t forget we do Facebook Live and Periscope live to also help you jeff

    1. the best thing to do is become a fan of my Facebook page that i updated daily, there is a link to it on my wepage top right corner.
      jeff

  13. Hello I am glad I have found your website my dog has really anxiety issues. The biggest problem is that he is barking when left alone and I have watched ur video that you have mentioned the bark collar. I have tried so many anti barking devices and none of them seemed to work. Can you suggest any good brand which could solve the problem? I would really appreciate it answer.

  14. Hi, Jeff, I have 2 Husky-Malamute, they are very good dogs, very well behaved and very smart I trained the dogs since they were puppies, and I only having issues with a thing, anxiety by separation, they don’t do really bad, but they are mom and daughter, and the mom howls sometimes and by default the daughter too.
    I did all your tips and is working really good, but I can not make the mum stop howling when I am not at home, is just a few minutes when I leave the house, but I want to help her to don’t do it. so I would like to know if the barking collar can work for howling issues.
    Thanks so much,
    you saved my life with your separation anxiety video.

    1. belen
      yes they make a sensitive bark collar, try that one, it works on vibration of vocal cords so it should work jeff

  15. Why do you think the spray collars are abusives rather than a shock collar? Very interested in knowing as I’m looking into which collar to purchase and most of what I’ve read states that spray collars are more humane. Thanks!

    1. spray collars you cannot increaser the intensity, you are looking for results and that is the big concern, more human or not is really not the issue, lets say your dog is running towards the street and the spray collar is not enough and you cannot increase the intensity, so your dog gets hit by a car and dies..not very humane, I train for results and nothing else.

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