Your Dog s Evaluation Result: Separation Anxiety

Your Dog s Evaluation Result: Separation Anxiety

about Your results We understand this is a very hard issue to live with both for the dog and owner. Destruction caused by anxiety can be costly and stressful, and although it can be one of the tougher issues to work through, there is hope! the information in this guide Will: c Help you understand where separation anxiety comes from c Teach you how to help your dog work through it c Show you some options for correcting this behavior 1. The Dog Wizard

Have You Become Your Dog s Prisoner? Many of our new clients describe themselves as prisoners, unable to leave their home for fear of the destruction their dog will cause. They go to great measures to make sure someone is always home or bring their dog along whenever possible. Separation anxiety is very stressful for your dog. It causes a panic-stricken state of mind much like a panic attack a human might experience. Believe it or not, being destructive helps dogs relieve stress and cope in just the same way physical exercise improves the mood of humans. Many dogs with separation anxiety actually believe their destruction brings their owners back quicker. To them, it is a proven formula: Owner Leaves Dog Destroys Owner Comes Home It s important to note that not all dogs with separation anxiety choose to be destructive, as some will self-mutilate, howl or bark constantly, pace frantically, drool, urinate and/or defecate. 2. The Dog Wizard

Potential Causes of Separation Anxiety EARLY MATERNAL SEPARATION. When a dog has puppies, it should have a chance to connect with its litter for 2-3 months before the pups go find new families. Puppies pulled away too early didn t have time to learn important skills from their mother skills like patience, bite inhibition, and how to be alone. When humans attempt to socialize a pup in place of its mother, the puppy doesn t get to learn the same skills in the same way. LEARNED FROM ANOTHER DOG. Sometimes puppy education from mother to child goes wrong. A mother with separation anxiety can inadvertently teach her pups to be anxious, too. It can also be learned from another dog in the house. Usually, this happens at a young impressionable age. COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE CONDITIONING. Low confidence at birth that was not properly understood, boosted, or advocated in the right ways. Example: a dog is nervous, and upon returning home, the owner immediately sits and holds, comforts, and soothes the dog. By doing this, they are inadvertently telling her, Good dog. What a very good girl for being nervous, hence re-enforcing the anxiety. BEING HUMANIZED. Oftentimes well-meaning dog owners will treat their dogs more like human babies than canines. As great as human life is, dogs would prefer to be dogs. A dog that eat from the table, sit on the couch and sleep in the bed results in a highly confused pet that isn t comfortable in his own skin. VACCINES OR MEDICAL REACTIONS. Just like humans, dogs can have reactions, good and bad, to medications and vaccines. Some have resulted in dogs becoming anxious. 3. The Dog Wizard

NEVER LEARNED INDEPENDENCE. Sometimes owners can do everything right, but they still inadvertently teach their pup to be dependent on them. A great example of this is a teacher who is off work for the summer and decides to get a dog. They know bringing a dog into their life is a big responsibility, so they wait to get a puppy on the first day of summer break in order to spend the necessary time with the pup. Then three months later, when it is time for their owner to go back to school, the dog is expected to be home alone for eight hours and has no idea how to handle that independence. This can cause extreme stress. It is certainly not a bad idea for a teacher to get a pup on summer break, but they need to practice leaving the pup early on and teaching her how to be independent so she doesn t experience a rude awakening three months down the road. important Facts about separation anxiety c Dogs do not have emotions like humans and it s detrimental to both the dog and the owner to assume they do. If your dog is chewing up your baseboard, it s not because he is mad you left him or being vindictive. c It s possible for your dog to start out having separation anxiety and for that anxious behavior to become routine, meaning they are no longer reacting destructively or verbally because you left them, but more out of habit from practicing so long. This is just what they do now when you leave. c Resolving separation anxiety takes time and patience, more so than almost any other dog behavior. c Just because a dog chews when left alone does not mean it has separation anxiety. Some dogs are bored and are not being provided enough mental stimulation. 4. The Dog Wizard

Resolving Behavior vs. Harmfully Suppressing It Suppression of a behavior is when a problem behavior is seemingly solved, but the psychological damage is still being done. In effect, the bad behavior has been masked. A good example would be a dog that barks continuously when left alone. To stop the barking, the owner put an electronic bark collar on the dog. The dog may quit barking, but the root of the problem is still there since they have done nothing else to resolve his core issue: anxiety about being alone. Since the dog is still uncomfortable with being alone, he may develop a different problem, like chewing or self-mutilation, to release his anxiety because he cannot bark to express it any longer. In contrast, resolving the behavior, helps the dog be more comfortable when alone. The problem doesn t persist because the stress that precedes the bad behavior is solved instead of just the behavior itself. This addresses the root of the problem and prevents further damage. 5. The Dog Wizard

Your Dog s Future: treated vs. untreated Behavior If left untreated: c Anxiety will definitely not improve and stands to get worse over time. c Your dog can become more of a burden than a buddy. You may already be wrestling with this issue. c Dog ownership can become a stressful, anxiety-inducing ordeal as you become increasingly restricted in how long you can leave home for and what you can do. However, if the anxious tendencies are corrected now: c You ll most likely see a dramatic decrease or elimination of the problem behavior. c You ll obtain clarity and a clear understanding of your dog, allowing for the constant worry about the what if to be gone. c You ll enjoy the relationship with your dog more without worrying about what might happen every time you leave the house. And if a problem does occur, you ll know how to handle the situation to minimize problems in the future. 6. The Dog Wizard

How to Work through separation anxiety Our research shows there are 3 components that ALL have to be addressed in order to make your dog more sociable and happy: 1. Boost your dog s confidence in a healthy way. 2. Add structure to provide clarity and make him feel secure. 3. Transform his negative opinions of being alone into positive feelings. Most training programs will stress the confidence element (#1 above) but often fail to incorporate structure or work on changing the negative opinions. Our programs focus on all three simultaneously, which is why we have an unbelievable satisfaction rate among graduates. And we re often the second or third trainer some dog owners have tried! 7. The Dog Wizard

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS: Brittany l. Absolutely love this place!! My crazy 7-year old German shorthaired pointer suffered from some major separation anxiety. She has completely changed for the better. We are still working everyday to keep her on track. Life is so much better that I can actually leave my dog and not worry about her injuring herself in the kennel. My trainer has helped and trained me in regards to handling and dealing with Cookie when certain situations may arise that could trigger her anxiety issues. This is has been the biggest key to success for Cookie. I know how to respond better and can help redirect her in those situations. Not to mention, the constant support I get from my trainer. This is not just a one and done deal, and no more communication. I have been in constant contact with my trainer and it s has been almost 3 months since Cookie completed the program!! Cait N. I can t express how grateful we are for the Dog Wizard team! Hands down the best decision we ve ever made. Scout had a lot of separation anxiety, anxiety in general, and huge issues with strangers inside and outside of the home. Having company over to the house, going to the vet, walks, or anything that had to do with going out in public around new people was an absolute nightmare. Scout s legs would tremble, he d bark and growl at strangers, and show every sign imaginable that he was extremely anxious and uncomfortable. After two weeks, Scout came home a completely different dog. He still had his same lovey and cute personality, but he was much more confident and calm. We couldn t have asked for a better trainer. They showed nothing but love and care to our boy and transformed him into the confident pup he is now! Life is so much fun and relaxing now! Highly, highly, highly recommend. 8. The Dog Wizard