2024-01-25 21:43
If your dog has separation anxiety it will help if you ignore them for a few minutes before you leave, and for a few minutes after you return home.
This is common advice I see on the… Read More
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A Separation Anxiety Trainer's Blog
khriserickson.com/blog
Tags:
dog
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digging
treat
house
behavior
quinn
develop resilience
separation anxiety
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Blog posts cover dog separation anxiety training, with other posts discussing dog training, canine exercise and enrichment and puppy socialization.
2023-11-30 14:00
Dogs have been living with humans for thousands and thousands of years. Many of us have dogs that live in our homes, share our lives, and develop close relationships with us. We think we kno… Read More
2023-10-26 16:00
It can be gratifying to know your dog loves you so much that they're excited to see you. And there are huge benefits to having a dog who is such a social butterfly that they never have met a… Read More
2023-09-28 16:53
Have you ever had to put eye drops in your dog's eye and needed to restrain your dog in order to do so? Or have a dog with an ear infection needing daily cleaning and ear medication, who ran… Read More
2023-08-24 13:00
It was a year ago that I was becoming much more interested in the way that meeting a dog's needs, and providing appropriate enrichment can help with behavioral issues. In one of my many dog… Read More
2023-07-27 13:00
I actually had a completely different blog post prepared for this week. Instead, I am going to post about something that happened to me last weekend. This occurrence was bad and a bit trauma… Read More
2023-07-06 13:00
It’s so exciting to bring home a new dog or puppy! Hopefully you’ve been planning this addition for some time and are prepared for all the changes that will occur in your life no… Read More
2023-06-15 13:00
Is your dog a digger? Is your previously nice yard turning into a landscape of divots? There are many reasons a dog may dig in the yard, and how you prevent it will depend on why it’s… Read More
2023-05-25 13:00
In a previous blog post I wrote about how important it is to help your dog develop resilience. Dogs with resilience are better able to adapt to change and cope with stress. They are also mor… Read More
2023-05-04 13:00
Do you know if your dog is an optimist, or a pessimist? Optimistic dogs are more likely to expect good things to happen, while pessimistic dogs are more likely to expect bad things to happen… Read More
2023-04-13 13:00
“My puppy is about 4 months old. Sometimes if the kids are running around she chases them and bites their clothes and jumps on them. She gets pretty aggressive about it too almost like… Read More
2023-03-23 19:36
There are many reasons an owner may want to crate their dog:They may want to use the crate as a tool for housetraining a puppy or untrained adult dog.
Crating can prevent destructive beha… Read More
2023-03-02 14:04
I used to walk my dogs solely as a form of exercise, both for them and for me. Back then my goal was to get a decent workout and tire my dogs out. It was all about how fast I could complete… Read More
2023-02-09 14:02
When I worked as a Humane Educator at an animal shelter, one of my favorite programs was called No More Bullying®. It was a program held in classrooms for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders to tea… Read More
2023-01-19 17:17
“He can’t be crated even if we’re in the next room. I know we should have worked harder at getting him to like his crate.”
This is what I recently heard from a clie… Read More
2022-12-29 14:00
“If you let your dog sleep on your bed, he might become dominant”.
That’s what I was told when I got my first dog as an adult almost 30 years ago. It sounded foreboding e… Read More
2022-12-15 14:00
Many people assume that the dogs belonging to dog trainers are highly trained, responsive dogs that always obey every request. Some trainers may have dogs like this, but in reality, most of… Read More
2022-12-01 14:00
“My dog will chase the ball, but doesn’t bring it back.” Or “My dog will play fetch for two throws, but loses interest after that.”
I hear this all the time f… Read More
2022-11-17 14:00
Laura and Tom’s dog Baxter had separation anxiety. Unlike typical cases in which the dog is ok as long as he is with a person, Baxter would become extremely anxious and panic anytime L… Read More
2022-11-10 14:00
If you’re planning on bringing a new dog into your family, you have some choices as to where to obtain one. Your decision should be based on knowledge as far as what the advantages and… Read More
2022-11-03 13:00
I think most people who are considering adding a dog to their family want to be a good dog owner. Being a good dog owner doesn’t start on the day you bring your new dog home; it should… Read More
2022-10-27 13:00
The key to house training is to have your dog eliminate in the correct area 95% of the time. You also need to be able to interrupt them as they are making a mistake the other 5% of the time… Read More
2022-10-20 16:19
It makes me just a little bit anxious to even think about moving, and everything that it entails: Sorting through your belongings to decide what you're going to keep and what you're going to… Read More
2022-10-13 13:00
I admit it. I used to be a mat training skeptic. “Why use a mat when you can just train a good stay?” was my line of thinking. But then I started training my dog Whimsy to settle… Read More
2022-10-06 13:03
My dog Quinn can be sweet, loving, funny, and well behaved. He can also be a jerk. No, that’s not official trainer speak, that’s just me as his Mom using a word to describe Quinn… Read More
2022-09-29 13:00
You’ve worked with your dog on a behavior, they’ve performed it hundreds of times and you believe your dog is well trained to do it. Then one day you cue your dog to do that beha… Read More
2022-09-22 13:00
As a species we speak many languages. Personally, I only speak my native English fluently, and a little bit of the High School German I took many years ago. I’d be completely at a loss… Read More
2022-09-15 13:00
I love reading about research and all the really cool, interesting and relevant things that are being discovered about the dogs we share our lives with. The problem is that I’m really… Read More
2022-09-08 13:00
You’re watching TV, reading a book, or talking on the phone. You suddenly glance over at your puppy who is walking through the room with one of your new athletic shoes. You yell &ldquo&hell…Read More
2022-09-01 13:01
Because dog separation anxiety most likely has a genetic component to it, people sometimes believe that if their dog is destined to develop separation anxiety there isn’t anything they… Read More
2022-08-25 13:00
In the old days it was common to go to the zoo and see animals pacing back and forth in cages made up of concrete flooring and metal bars. Zoos started changing the design of housing to make… Read More
2022-08-18 13:00
The statistics of dog bites to humans are fairly well documented in the USA. According to the Center for Disease Control, most dog bites are to children between the ages of 5 and 9 years old… Read More
2022-08-11 13:00
Do you have a dog that won't come when called? Maybe you have to chase him all over the neighborhood after he gets out by accident. Or perhaps you have a new canine addition to your house an… Read More
2022-08-04 13:00
A while ago I had foot surgery and for several months couldn’t attend the weekly canine agility class at my local dog training club. I spent much of that time on the couch with my foot… Read More
2022-07-28 13:00
An extremely common question from owners with dogs suffering from separation anxiety is “What causes separation anxiety in my dog?” It’s really hard to understand why the d… Read More
2022-07-21 13:00
I used to teach an intermediate group manners class. It was made up of owners and their dogs that had already taken a puppy kindergarten, and then a puppy level 2 class, so they all had a pr… Read More
2022-07-14 13:00
If you Google “how to stop separation anxiety in your dog”, not only will you get a ton of results, but a good many of them will be incorrect. There are a lot of websites out the… Read More
2022-07-07 13:00
If you’re anything like me, you “can’t wait to get there”. Sometimes in my effort to get to my destination, I forget to look out the window and enjoy the view. And th… Read More
2022-06-30 13:00
Impulse control with dogs means that they wait patiently for something they want, rather than rudely trying to get it. To be fair dogs really don’t have a sense of rudeness or politene… Read More
2022-06-23 13:00
In a former life I worked as a Humane Educator at an animal shelter. When I told most people my title and where worked, it was assumed that meant I ran the dog training department, when in r… Read More
2022-06-16 13:00
Signs of a Velcro dog
I sit on the couch, and Whimsy sits next to me. Sometimes it’s not next to me, but rather draped on top of me. I get up to get something from the kitchen and she… Read More
2022-06-09 13:00
“My dog isn’t allowed to have people food”. I’ve heard this a lot over the years working with families on teaching their dogs basic manners.
Usually it’s in r… Read More
2022-06-01 16:44
Table of Contents
How Common is Separation Anxiety in Dogs?
What is Dog Separation Anxiety?
What are the Signs of Separation Anxiety in Dogs?
Other Things to Rule Out Before Deciding it's… Read More
2022-05-26 13:01
Before I meet with clients by Zoom, I have a little set-up to do first. I have a portable laptop desk that I move into position, move my mini-ring lights in place, get my headset out, and pu… Read More
2022-05-19 13:00
I was in the backyard with my dog Whimsy working on some agility drills. Agility is a lot of fun, but it can be a difficult sport to learn for both the dog and the handler. We were struggli… Read More
2022-05-12 13:00
“If your dog is suffering from separation anxiety, then just get another dog.”
This is common advice that I’ve heard, and it’s also one of the biggest myths about r… Read More
2022-05-05 13:00
I remember many years ago struggling with the car chasing behavior of my first dog, a sheltie. It wasn’t as easy as just keeping him on leash, because Chester would still chase cars ev… Read More
2022-04-28 13:00
ORIENT > EYE > STALK > CHASE > GRAB-BITE > KILL-BITE > DISSECT > CONSUMEThis is the canine predatory motor sequence. In other words, notice the prey and turn to look, cr… Read More
2022-04-21 13:00
“But I don’t understand”, the owner of the American Eskimo puppy said. “She’s well socialized to other dogs; we have two other dogs at home.”
This was… Read More
2022-04-14 13:00
I’ve talked about how using food to treat separation anxiety can interfere in the process and isn’t a good choice. But that doesn’t mean you can’t give your dog treat… Read More
2022-04-07 13:00
One my dogs is very fearful of strange dogs coming near him. At the age of 9 years you most likely wouldn’t know it if you saw us walking past other dog walkers, because this is someth… Read More
2022-03-31 13:00
Imagine you’re working on training absences with your dog that suffers from separation anxiety. You have the camera set up and you’re watching on your phone, when the dog leaves… Read More
2022-03-24 13:00
When your dog keeps barking so much that the neighbors are complaining, the landlord is threatening eviction, and/or the police are visiting and warning there will be a citation issued on th… Read More
2022-03-17 13:00
I used to work in an animal shelter with the fantastic benefit of taking my dogs to work with me each day, where they could comfortably hang out in my office while I worked. It was only afte… Read More
2022-03-10 17:12
Owners who can't leave their dog home alone because of separation anxiety. In previous posts I’ve talked about how when correctly using desensitization we always want to keep the dog u… Read More
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