Compassionate and comprehensive support for dogs with Separation Anxiety
What is separation anxiety?
Separation anxiety is an anxiety or panic disorder. Just like some people have a phobia of spiders, dogs with separation concerns have a phobia of being left alone.
How do you treat separation anxiety?
Separation anxiety treatment only works when it goes to the root of the issue and addresses the anxiety itself. Because all dogs experience anxiety differently, the only way to treat this anxiety is through individualized training protocols. These protocols rely on systematic desensitization to slowly introduce your dog to absences at the pace and level at which they can handle. To date, this method of separation anxiety treatment is best practice and industry-leading.
What is systematic desensitization?
Systematic desensitization refers to the process of exposing your dog to their scary thing (being left alone) at a low enough level where they notice it happening but it does not elicit feelings of “oh no!”. Over time, as they learn those exposures aren’t so bad, we are able to expose them to longer and longer absences without pushing them into “oh no!” territory. At all times, your dog sets the pace and guides their own progress.
Can I leave my dog alone for long periods AND do this training plan?
Unfortunately not. This would be like if we were working on your fear of spiders, but every few days we dunked you in a tank of tarantulas! We ask that you ‘sign a contract’ or ‘shake hands’ with your dog, promising that you’ll never leave her alone longer than she can handle. If that sounds hard to do, don’t worry - we got you! This is the part of the plan that we can get really creative with and it is possible to suspend absences until your dog is ready for them!
How does the actual training day-to-day work?
Separation anxiety training is a gradual process and because it is a complex behavior, we work extremely closely with you, 5 days a week. We create individualized exercises for you (which we call Missions) and provide considerable feedback daily. You don’t have to think about the training plan each day - we do that for you! All you need to do is log on to your computer and follow the steps we’ve created for you.
During these missions you will be practicing leaving your dog alone for small increments of time (we’ll tell you how long, don’t worry!) and watching them via Zoom or other digital camera. You will be making note of what your dog does during that time, sharing that with us, and we will use that information to write the next day’s training mission for you. Each mission is created daily based on feedback you and your dog provide us.
At no point in your training journey will we be pushing your dog into their “oh no” zone. This means that you don’t have to worry about barking, pillows being torn apart, or doors being scratched again!
What is the time commitment required?
Once you complete your Initial Assessment, we require a 4 week minimum commitment to start as this is the very least amount of time that we feel will allow us to get a beginning foothold on the behavior and also start to teach you how the separation anxiety protocol works. You can expect to do 30 minutes of training each day, 5 days a week with 2 rest days.
Do you come to my house?
Nope! Separation Anxiety is most effective when done remotely, within your own home and with the use of video technology. This technology is extremely simple and can be done using anything from your laptop, a tablet, your smartphone or an inexpensive easy to use camera that we can advise you to purchase. Don’t worry! You don’t have to be super tech savvy to get this part right! We got you!
Wait.. how long is this going to take?
This is the question! As you may have guessed, the very true but somewhat un-sexy answer is “it depends!” Training success depends on a wide variety of factors, some of which are in our control (ability to commit to management and training) and some of which are out of our control (genetics, learning history, external day-to-day stressors). Generally, it is best to think about progress as occurring over weeks/months as opposed to days/weeks. We often work with separation anxiety dogs and guardians for multiple months.
While we cannot make guarantees, we can promise you that this form of separation anxiety treatment is industry-leading and has supported hundreds of dogs to feel better about being alone. We will always be updating our knowledge to bring you the best support possible and will always be your cheerleader and your dog’s #1 fan! Separation anxiety is a challenging condition for dog guardians as well as their dogs - we do our best to support YOU just as much as we support your dog.
Who am I going to be working with?
You’ll be working with Liz through your separation protocol. She has studied under the industry leader in separation anxiety treatment - Malena DeMartini. You can learn more about Malena DeMartini’s work here.
Here are some great resources if you’re looking for more info about separation anxiety
Separation Anxiety in Dogs - Next Generation Treatment Protocols and Practices
If you have any more questions, let us know! We can’t wait to work with you and your pup to help them feel more comfortable about being left alone. It is possible!
