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Old July 23rd, 2012, 07:56 AM
Niall Niall is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Ottawa, CA
Posts: 10
RE: Separation anxiety

Good morning,

I'm new here, and just read your post, please accept my suggestions as such. When in doubt find a qualified trainer in your area.

The symptoms you are describing could be anxiety, relief of boredom, stress or amazing skills. For me the question is have you trained your dog to use a crate? They are a great tool, think of a crate as your dogs bedroom. You have one, even when you were a young child you had your room. Were you sad in there, scared, or did being in your room mean you were being punished? Do you ever go in to your own room to get away from things or for some piece and quiet? Why shouldn't our dogs have the same association with their crate?

When crate training, a key is to train before you need the crate or before you leave for the day. Your dog will need to learn that he doesn't have access to you or the house 24x7, that's just a fact of life. Start by having your dog go in to the crate to retrieve a treat or toy, do this as often as you can for a day or two (min 15x day). Step two have them go in to the crate and then give the treat. Step three, they go in and wait for a treat. Step four they go in, the door closes. If they are okay with this open the door (this is the treat) and they get to come out. Repeat increasing the time the door is closed. When you are up to 5 minutes of door closed without barking or other inappropriate behaviour you can start moving away from the crate (duration then distance).

What to do if he barks and fusses? Wait it out. Like putting a toddler down for a nap, if they yell and cry and Mommy doesn't wait it out it takes longer the next time. Same goes for fido. It's an extinction burst, you have to wait. Once the temper tantrum is over, you can reward by opening the door and letting him out.

Good luck!!
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