Train Your Dog Positively by Victoria Stilwell

Author:Victoria Stilwell [Stilwell, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-60774-415-3
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Published: 2013-03-18T22:00:00+00:00

DESENSITIZATION TO DEPARTURE TRIGGERS

Desensitizing dogs to departure triggers is an important part of any good behavior modification plan, as some dogs become anxious as soon as they see their owners picking up keys and putting on coats. Masking these triggers by hiding coats, putting keys in a different place, and using a different handbag can help, but dogs quickly become wise to our human tricks, and an owner’s departure energy is difficult to hide. However, putting on a coat and exiting the home followed immediately by a return allows a dog to see the trigger in a different light. The dog learns that the act of putting on a coat does not necessarily signal an owner is going to leave for a long period of time. Constant repetition over a number of days helps desensitize the dog until departures no longer trigger a response. Time spent away is gradually increased until the dog is confident that the owner will always return.

Shirley started by putting on her coat, walking out the door for a few seconds, returning, removing her coat, and sitting down. She repeated this many times, gradually getting to one minute and then building up to five minutes by the end of our session. By the twentieth departure, Bob began to lose interest in what Shirley was doing. The first thirty minutes after an owner’s departure can be the worst for a dog that suffers from separation problems, so building up the time slowly was critical, and Bob’s response was exactly what we wanted to see. Shirley and I were exhausted, but Bob was quiet and had taken himself off to his bed. Breakthrough!

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