Debbie  Thomas  CPDT-KA
  • Home
  • Puppy and Adult Training
  • Separation Anxiety
  • ABOUT ME
  • Services Available - Fees
  • Why choose Positive
  • My Training Philosophy
  • What others have said
  • Facebook
  • Gallery
  • Enrichment and Brain Work
  • More
    • Home
    • Puppy and Adult Training
    • Separation Anxiety
    • ABOUT ME
    • Services Available - Fees
    • Why choose Positive
    • My Training Philosophy
    • What others have said
    • Facebook
    • Gallery
    • Enrichment and Brain Work
Debbie  Thomas  CPDT-KA
  • Home
  • Puppy and Adult Training
  • Separation Anxiety
  • ABOUT ME
  • Services Available - Fees
  • Why choose Positive
  • My Training Philosophy
  • What others have said
  • Facebook
  • Gallery
  • Enrichment and Brain Work

Separation Anxiety

Are you stuggling to leave your dog alone?

Separation Anxiety is real - and it is not easy living with a dog that has it.

The panic and anxiety can start before you leave and continue until you finally come home.

Crating does not work, leaving food and toys does not work, it seems there is nothing you can do to help.

You may feel overwhelmed by all of this, but remember

Every Journey Begins with a Single Step 

This is where I come in to help you in this  journey 

We start with small steps in practicing absences while the dog is comfortable and relaxed. 

Then we gradually increase our time, always keeping the dog feeling safe and secure.


HAVE A NEW PUPPY THAT IS SHOWING SIGNS OF SEPARATION ANXIETY?

It is never too early to start training.

Call me to see how early training can prevent Separation Anxiety


 

I am Certified as a Separation Anxiety Pro Trainer 

Having trained with Julie Naismith - Author of the book  

"BE RIGHT BACK"

 a great reference book on Separation Anxiety. 


 


Whats the First Step??

Starting with a FREE  consult where we gather lots of information about your dog and where we think the best starting point would be.  We will discuss the importance of video monitoring and how to do this effectively.  

I encourage all clients to discuss Separation Anxiety with their veterinarian, as there are medications, both prescription and OTC, that may help.


Keys in training

When treating Separation Anxiety, you  teach your dogs that being home alone is safe.  We do this by gradually exposing them to short absences and always returning before they feel stressed or panicked. 

This means that absences that are long enough to send your dog into a state of panic must be suspended. The more your dog experiences these emotions, the harder it is to progress and the more regressions you will have.  

Training Under Threshold

The Key to success is always training below the threshold -

 Levels 1 or 2

The 4 Levels of Threshold

1. Dog is perfectly comfortable and relaxed.

2. Dog is alert, maybe moving around the home, but not stressed.

3. Dog is showing signs of stress, lip licking, panting, pacing the floor, and hyper-alert. May start to whine.

4. Dog is in a panic, heavy barking, howling, destructive behavior, and elimination inside in an otherwise 

house-trained dog. 

We are Treating an emotion

There is a common misconception that letting your dog cry it out will help them get over it.  Not only will this not work, but it can make the problem worse.  Some people will also advise you not to reward the behavior of fear.  And in comforting your dog, you are making them worse.  While it is true, that we do not reward behaviors we don't want - fear is NOT a behavior - it is an EMOTION.   These are 2 very different things!

Let's say you are afraid of snakes and you were locked in a room full of them - you screamed to be let out.  When your friend heard your scream, they let you out of the room and comforted you, did that make you more afraid of the snakes? NO, it gave you relief.  

Now imagine you are locked in the same room with the same snakes.  You panic and scream, but your friend tells you he isn't letting you out until you stop panicking ...   You may stop screaming, but the real sense of panic does not go away, in fact ,you may be even more fearful of snakes after this event.  And, you probably will not trust that friend in the future. 

Comforting a person or animal when they are frightened does not make them worse, your comfort provides them with a  sense of security. 

What's the Next Step?

Let's get started by helping you and your best friend live a life free of anxiety and fear—email or call to set up a consult. 

I am available for the consult seven days a week.   Let's get started today!  

Email me at DebbieThomasCPDT@Gmail.com

or TEXT   412-496-0451   

Copyright © 2020-2021 Debbie  Thomas  CPDT-KA - All Rights Reserved.

Powered by GoDaddy Website Builder