But my dog hates being alone…

This is a challenge that a lot of dog’s face and will only be exaggerated due to recent lockdowns. Sometimes the stress for the dog is obvious – howling, barking, destructive behaviour, inappropriate toileting, and sometimes it’s subtle – the dog waits by the front door for you to leave or doesn’t eat when left. The question on most people’s mind is, how do I train my dog to be comfortable with being left?

Start Easy

Never set your dog up to fail as this will not allow your dog to progress further. Consider what the initial trigger of stress is for you dog – is it picking up you coat, keys or just walking out of the room? At what point do they start to show those signals to you that they are worried and start here, this point will be different from dog to dog.

Some dogs may be extremely stressed by a simple act of picking keys up for a second so, these dogs may benefit from a treat being paired with the action. Of course, always get advice from a behaviourist if you think your dog is very distressed when being left alone.

Next step is to work around that initial trigger. So, if your dog becomes worried when you pick your coat up, start making picking your coat up to mean nothing. When your dog is relaxed, get up and pick your coat up, then put it back. Repeat this a few times until your dog starts to show less and less signs of stress. Next, pick your coat up and put it on, take it off and put it back. Repeat this again over a few training sessions until your dog no longer reacts. You get the idea! Build this up to wearing your coat for a few mins at a time and having a dog that is no longer associating this with “oh no, you’re going to leave me again!”

Flitting Game

The flitting game is a great way to ensure your pup or dog is building independence by choice. This is game that Emma Judson expertly describes in her article below:

https://www.thecanineconsultants.co.uk/post/separation-anxiety-fact-vs-fiction

Leaving the house

Again, make sure you set your dog up to win. You may want to start this step using internal doors if your dog is particularly worried then move to external doors. Start by going out of sight for 1 second, or less if you need to, making sure you return before your dog shows signs of distress. Slowly build these seconds up to minutes by ensuring you are always under your dogs’ threshold. Remaining under the threshold enables your dog to move along the process quicker, with fewer setbacks.

When your dog is allowing you to leave the house for 10 or 15 mins at a time, you may want to consider giving your dog a Kong or another form of enrichment before you leave – this will both occupy them and allow them to settle a little when you leave.

Things to consider

A video camera is a fantastic way keep an eye on your dog when you are out or progressing to leaving the house. You can buy a doggy cam or just use another phone while watching through your own. It helps remove mistakes and ensures you are more likely to “arrive” before stress.

If you are leaving your dog in a crate, consider if your dog is comfortable using the crate as this may be a factor that is causing distress when you leave. Most dogs need training in order to accept the crate and the best method to use is always positive reward training.

Where is your dog sleeping at night? In most cases of dogs being uncomfortable when left alone, this is true for night time too. It may be worth allowing your dog to sleep in your room and gradually moving the bed to the desirable location. It’s recommended to ALWAYS allow puppies to be near you when sleeping to begin with (whether you sleep downstairs with them, or they sleep upstairs with you).

And finally, if you are really struggling or you think your dog is showing more extreme signs of distress, it is always recommended to get help from a behaviourist. If you think you will need help from Pittville pets/Paws get in touch with us today.

https://www.pittvillepets.com/dog-walking-training-cheltenham