What is Separation Anxiety?
Separation anxiety is a distressing condition where your dog is afraid to be home alone. A Separation Anxiety dog is not attention seeking and is not being naughty.
They are genuinely panicking.
Separation Anxiety can cause behaviours such as barking, whining, howling, escape attempts, destruction, defecation, vomiting and self harm.
What Causes Separation Anxiety?
The answer is that nobody really knows. Studies have shown that some dogs can be genetically pre-disposed to separation anxiety. Early life experiences may also play a part if they were taken from their mum too early or if they had a bad experience. If mum was stressed during pregnancy, this can have an impact on the puppies. Or, it might just be that they have never been taught how to be alone.
What Is Involved?
Because of the nature of separation anxiety, all lessons are held online. We start by having an in-depth consultation where we will gather information about your dog’s history, your personal situation, what you have tried so far and assess a starting point for your dog. We will also discuss control and management in this session. Once we know what your dog can currently cope with, we can plan your personalised training sessions. Our training is planned carefully so that your dog is comfortable at all times during our sessions and we increase alone time gradually so your dog never gets distressed.
How Long Will It Take?
The short answer is we don’t know. There are no quick fixes. We will never push your dog further than they can cope, so progress very much depends on the individual, the ability to suspend absences and the availability to practice departures to build confidence and resilience. However long it takes, we will be here to support you throughout your training packages.