Separation Anxiety
We were at a dog training in Forsyth County yesterday evening working on a long list of canine behavior a dog obedience issues. One of the issues that we began to address was their dog’s separation anxiety. According to our client, their dog goes nuts when he leaves the house. He barks and attempts to destroy everything. The neighbors have told him that they think there is a “possessed being” in his house.
After nine years of dog training experience, we have come to the conclusion that separation anxiety is one of the most difficult problems to fix in a dog’s behavior. It is brought about because of prior experiences as an abused dog, lack of current leadership, or unknown issues while in a shelter. Separation anxiety could easily be the subject for a complete book and not just one blog article. I will start off by giving you some simple hints and expand the process in future articles. Let’s get going…
What we need to understand is that all dogs are very attuned to the sounds around them. If their territory (home) “sounds like everything is fine”, they will feel that it is fine. The way that they come to this conclusion is based on the “white noise” they are are used to hearing. If they hear their owner doing the laundry or opening the refrigerator, everything is fine, no big deal. If they don’t hear this, they begin to increase their adrenaline and wonder where the rest of the pack actually are.
Many people leave the TV on for their dogs as “white noise” to simulate that someone is home. This could actually be a negative thing if the TV is not always on. Our dogs learn “A=B”. If the TV is on, you are not here. Oh my gosh, I have to react to you not being here! I will bark and destroy! (Just for your information, this is bad.)
I have an interesting solution. What I want you to do is to record about 30 minutes of daily household activities you would normally perform. About 10 minutes before you leave, turn on the recording. From this point until you leave, be very quiet. Now, leave the house while your continuous loop recording continues to play.
Your dog now is focused on your natural noises. His focus has been redirected from your departure what would have caused his separation anxiety.
Please call us at (770) 718-7704 it you are in need of any dog training help. We have a lot of good dog training advice at Best Dog Trainers Forsyth County Georgia. Find all our phone numbers, text addresses and email contacts at Dog Training Help Center Forsyth County Georgia.
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