TREATING SEPARATION ANXIETY IN DOGS by DeMartini-Price Malena

Author:DeMartini-Price, Malena [DeMartini-Price, Malena]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Dogwise Publishing
Published: 2014-04-20T21:00:00+00:00

The dog is comfortable with in-view absences and is willing to chew on his Kong or get kibble from his Treat & Train when the owners exit the confinement area. He is also comfortable resting there when his goodies run out.

The owners are now showing more ability reading body language and are starting to point out body cues to you regularly.

To begin out-of-view absences with the owners remaining within the house, you can use some everyday household noise initially to allow the dog to orient to the owner’s whereabouts. This extra step can help keep the dog under threshold. As for the household noise, you could have the owners wash dishes, walk about while talking in normal voices or something else the dog has often been exposed to. After a few trials, increase the duration of the absences. When the dog seems relaxed about the out-of-view absences, it’s time to move on to the front door exercises.

Front door exercises

Most dogs suffering from separation anxiety have learned when the owners approach and open the front door that they are going to be left alone. So the criteria you set in relation to the front door must be broken down into minute steps. For many dogs, seeing the owners simply stepping out the front door, even with the door remaining open, is much too difficult and will cause an immediate spike in anxiety. Determine a number of splits in your criteria that the dog will be able to handle with ease. For example, start by walking halfway to the front door and returning. Repeat this exercise for a while until the dog is quite uninterested in the activity. Your next step might be going all the way to the front door without touching it, and the next might be touching the front door knob, but not opening the door. You might still break it down further by cracking the door a few inches for several repetitions before you get to the point where you are actually opening and closing the door fully. When this has been repeated enough times so that the dog isn’t reacting, or is barely paying attention, the owners can begin to briefly step out the front door and then immediately step back in without closing the door behind them.

Note: If the front door is not your clients’ main exit door, ask them to use whichever door is. In other words, if they leave the house through the back door most of the time and reserve the front door for special occasions and royalty, then have them practice with the back door.

The number of repetitions you engage in is important. You want the owners to rehearse at each level until the dog is quite relaxed with the activity. Mind you, even dogs who don’t suffer from separation anxiety will look up and notice their owners are walking out, so some sort of reaction is normal. You are looking for ho-hum here rather than uh-oh. Go as slowly as you deem necessary.

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