Destruction While Alone - Separation Anxiety or Something Else?

As a certified separation anxiety trainer, the way I help dogs feel better about their people leaving is by very gently, over time – and based on the individual dog’s behavior and body language – help them feel safe about being alone at all and then helping them feel better about the things that predict that (now safe) alone time. I use extremely careful systematic desensitization to the entire picture of humans leaving a dog alone which includes things like keys, locking the door, putting on shoes, and the actual duration of the alone time.

In this episode, I explain operant and classical conditioning and how to ethically help dogs with big feelings improve not only their behavior - but their feelings about triggers. There are compassionate and ethical ways to change big behaviors. This explanation may also help you know which "training" advice to follow, and which to skip.

Some dogs are extremely sensitive and need a little extra care with their paws and nails. I talk through what scratchboards are and how to teach your dog to use them for both front and back nails!

Dogs who are home alone sometimes destroy things. For example, pet parents may return home to find a ripped-up couch, a destroyed remote, the window sill chewed, or curtains ripped off the windows. This episode explores some common misconceptions behind this behavior, and how they relate to possible separation anxiety.

I explain how and why to practice these four training games to help your dog control their automatic impulses. Look away leave it, It's Your Choice with Slow Cookies, Playful Premack Get Drop and Wait, and The Bucket Game.

In this blog-cast I talk about how I create a safe and supportive environment for your dog separation anxiety training by Encouraging questions and conversation with transparency, Keeping your information safe and private, Having an open mind and focusing on your dog(s) and your needs for this training.

Learn from Liz Fisher, a certified separation anxiety trainer, about how to adjust or account for weather events during your separation anxiety protocol. Also, some quick tips on how you might start weather desensitization/counter conditioning to help your dog feel better!

Liz Fisher, certified separation anxiety trainer, starts your program with one-on-one dog training and online course materials. You get personal feedback while you learn how to train independently to lower the monthly cost of training while still getting an expert trainer on your team.

Some dogs may seem to suddenly develop separation anxiety, reactivity, or other surprising and undesirable behaviors.When deciding what training or management to use, consider possible causes of the behavior change.Health, Recent and Past experiences, Age, and Unrecognized communication signals may all be possible causes. In this episode I dive into examples of these changes and some ideas for helping your dog on the way to recovering and changing their emotional and physical responses.

Learn from Liz Fisher, certified professional dog trainer, about how to help your dog relax in a variety of ways! This includes how to use music and sound to help any dog learn how to relax as well as improve an anxious dogs experience with fear of noises.