By Joe Camacho of Dog Squad U, based in Tuscon, Arizona. — Reprinted here with explicit permission from Joe. There is an old antage that goes: “The only thing two dog trainers can agree on is what the third is doing wrong.” That being said, I’d like to talk a little bit about MY philosophy on the issue of Separation Anxiety. A dog will usually exhibit signs of Separation Anxiety in one of the following ways: • Barking /Crying when you leave • Destructive Chewing • Hyper Read more [...]
Separation Anxiety in Dogs — The Hardest Of All Behaviors To Fix
November 28, 2011 by
A friend online (in a private Jiu Jitsu forum I host) had a question about separation anxiety, and a few others chimed in, also: Trixie writes: “I have some friends that moved here back in July. The moving process took them a while, they had a new born and had to make several trips between states. They had to leave their dog with various friends for days at a time. Now that they are here and settled in their new house their dog (she’s a 7yr old, boxer mix) has started tearing their house up when Read more [...]
Dog Seperation Anxiety on the Leash
September 9, 2011 by
Whiteshepherd wrote to me about dog separation anxiety: I had a really embarrassing moment this afternoon. I and my 8 months old GSD live with my cousin. My cousin usually takes him out potty in the morning and feed him when I’m not home. My dog is house trained and stays in his crate during the day. he doesn’t bark when we’re not home. This afternoon we took him out for a walk since it’s the first sunny afternoon after 2 raining days. I started teaching my cousin some basic concepts and Read more [...]
Train Your Dog to Avoid Accidents In Crate
September 6, 2011 by
Yorma writes to me: Our 11 year old puppy obviously hasn’t read the dog crating rules and doesn’t know NOT to poop/pee in his crate. He does use wee wee pads when outside the crate and we give plenty of time to relieve himself before placing him in the crate. But after we leave him alone for 30 minutes to an hour…we return to a crate full of poop. We’ve made the area quite small within the crate, where he can barely turn around but it keeps happening. (little if any bedding). Something is in Read more [...]
Separation Anxiety and Clomicalm– Prozac for Dogs! Does It Really Work?
July 3, 2011 by
Separation anxiety is a behavior that many dogs begin to exhibit when away from their pack, or family. As the name implies, they are literally “anxious” about being “separated” from their pack. However, this “anxiety” can be as mild as: excessive drooling, barking and hyperventilation… to more extreme behaviors such as: self-mutilation, chewing anything and everything in sight, jumping through glass windows, and literally chewing through drywall… and even doors! Separation anxiety also Read more [...]
Overcoming Your Dog's Boredom
July 7, 2010 by
Dogs are a lot like children. They need stimulation or they will get bored and we all know the trouble children can be when they get bored. Bored dogs are generally unhappy dogs and they are also the dogs that are most likely to get into trouble with other animals and humans. The happiest dogs are often the working dogs as they not only have a purpose in life but they also get the praise and regular attention of their owners. Even simply getting your dog some toys of it’s own to play with can Read more [...]
Separation Anxiety
July 1, 2010 by
Many people are unaware that separation anxiety even exists with their dog. There are many different traits that can be seen in a dog due to separation anxiety. When we leave home for work each day, most people are unaware of what their dog is experiencing, and for many of them it is separation anxiety. We assume that because the dog appears to be happy when we arrive home at the end of the day, that it has been happy all day long. In many instances, the dog could have had quite a traumatic day. Read more [...]
Stop My Dog From Whining
July 1, 2010 by
So you have a problem with a whining dog? It is not unusual for people to have problems, particularly with puppies whining all day long. Most puppies will outgrow this behavior. They generally whine for two reasons: For attention and when they are anxious. If they want attention, they will continue to whine if that attention attracts a reward. It is better just to give your dog attention in the form of eye contact rather than a reward to stop it from whining, as a reward will only encourage it Read more [...]
When You And Your Dog Are Apart
July 1, 2010 by
There are times when you and your dog will need to be apart Unless you have no intention of ever being apart from your dog, then it is a wise decision to train it to be happy while you have periods apart. As we have our pets for many years there will generally be times when there is no alternative but to leave your dog alone or with someone else. The sooner they become accustomed to staying on their own as puppies the easier it will be for both you and your dog. It is a lot harder to leave an older Read more [...]
How To Train Your Dog To Accept "Being Alone"
November 3, 2009 by
Exercise and obedience training go a long way in teaching your dog how that “alone time” is a necessary part of every dog/owner relationship. This article explains the necessary elements to do it successfully with a new dog. A common problem that occurs between dogs and owners comes from how the dog reacts to being left alone. In this type of situation, we have to keep in mind that our dog is a pack animal. He was not built to be on his own. The whole point of living in a pack is to be able to Read more [...]
The World's Smallest Violin & What It Has To Do With This Dog Owner
November 3, 2009 by
A reader writes: I recently bought a boxer puppy. We love him dearly. He is part of our family. I am having some trouble with Tucker (all of which is my fault). I am unsure of how to solve my problems. The problem is that I have three small children. My time is very limited. I am a stay at home mom, so the dog is not alone. That is not what I mean by having limited time. I mean that I am busy caring for my kids, and doing everything else a wife and mother does, and don’t have the Read more [...]
More Bulldog Problems: Is it House Training or Separation Anxiety?
November 2, 2009 by
Marilyn writes: I adopted Sophie, a 3-year old 60-lb female English Bulldog, four months ago. The problem is twofold–one, she pees in the house (and occasionally poops, too), and two, being an incredibly strong dog, she easily butts her way out of ANY crate, from airline-style to an all-metal crate (and I even wired the latches shut, and strapped the crate to slider door handles!). I’ve tried leaving her in an enclosed space, but she busts up everything in the room in an attempt to get to a window Read more [...]
Dog House Training – Leaving Your Dog Alone In The House
November 2, 2009 by
Leaving a Dog Alone At Home Did you know that you need to train your dog to be alone in the house? Many dog owners don’t know what age you can reasonably expect to leave your dog alone in the house, without having any problems. The answer to this question really depends on you and your dog, but generally speaking– If you’ve adopted your dog as a puppy, and you’ve followed all of the instructions in Adam’s excellent dog training book … then you will be able to start leaving your dog alone in Read more [...]
