How to Help your Dog Overcome Separation Anxiety - part 1
Like 2 Dislike 0 Published on 19 Mar 2017
REMEMBER! If you are struggling with separation anxiety, or SA, these videos show you half of the answer. You also have to be HIGHLY STRUCTURED thru obedience training and VERY ROUTINE until the SA is gone. It may take 4 days, it may take 4 weeks. It all depends on how much structure you give your dog.. If you are unclear of what I mean, keep reading...
Banging on the crate and saying "nope" are ways to interrupt his anxiety which is part of the equation. But you also need to be making sure you're giving him plenty of ROUTINE structure. Make it VERY routine because he will start to learn what comes next just by the habit of it all. Structured obedience work is so tiring for a dog. And often when it's crate time they just use that time to relax and recoup before you start all over and they learn to be calm during that time.
When I am training dogs I employ a very structured routine that I repeat multiple times a day. I use a crate during the day when I am in the house but not working with the dog hands-on. (But remember, this crate time is training/learning time for the dog tho.) Think of it in two or three-hour blocks: Dog is in the crate for an hour or so. Then you let him out to go for a potty. Then do a 10 min (for puppies under 7 months) or 20-30 min session (for non puppies) training session on an obedience command, ending that session with a play time for him whether it's tug, fetch, etc. Something that he enjoys to do with you that's not about obedience training. Then you go for a short structured walk and then you can do another obedience training session for another 10- 15 min. session, again ending with a play session. After that play session, he goes back into the crate. Repeat an hour or an hour or two later. You should do this for 2 weeks and see if it changes anything. You can gradually add more time to those crate sessions during the day.
Don't expect him to be in it at a random times, totally alone in the house for long periods of time during these 2 weeks. However, you can go outside as if you were checking the mail or something. Just for few minutes and don’t talk to him AT ALL whether he is quiet or not. Just act like you are going outside to turn on your lawn sprinklers or pick veggies in the garden, etc. When you do these chores that bring you outside, pretend you don’t have a dog at all. It needs to be NOT a BIG DEAL. Don’t look at him, don’t talk to him upon exiting or entering, just go about your chores ignoring him. Once you try this routine for two weeks then you can work toward leaving the house for longer periods of time.
During board and trains, all client dogs follow a pretty routine schedule - all day long - for the first week (especially with SA dogs!!) including what I mentioned above. In addition, I do the following - In the morning I wake up and when the dog is quiet I let him out of the crate for a potty. Then I would put him back in the crate until I was ready to feed him. If he got excited or noisy while I'm preparing the food I would just make him wait until he's quiet before I put it down. If he stays quiet the whole time then I set it down, open the door and then he has to look at me, not the food, before he's allowed to go out and get it. Again use the word "yes" as a marker to get him to look at you. Once he understands that he doesn't get food until he's laying down in the crate, you can practice with the door open now....preparing the food, etc. Then I progress into the day with the structured routine I gave you in the above paragraph. In the evening, when I'm preparing dinner for the family, the dog is in the crate watching me but needs to be quiet. They can be nearby but they need to be in the crate. When it's time to feed him I do the same thing as I described above. So there's lots of going in and out of the crate all day long and they learn that the crate is part of the routine of a day. To be in the crate is okay and they can learn this. And often when it's crate time, they just use that time to relax and recoup before you start all over and they learn to be calm during that time. I definitely spend a lot of time teaching a dog what to be doing, and often what they shouldn't be doing (SA) goes away....The good behaviors replace the negative behaviors.
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