S.A.D. -Separation Anxiety Disorder
Our goals this week are to effectively deal with your dog's anxieties. To do this, we
have to think like a dog!
The three things every dog absolutely needs to be psychologically fulfilled:
1. Leadership (Trust, submission, respect, etc. are all established by your gentle but
clear leadership position in all walks of life.)
2. Exercise (Minimum of 30 to 45 minutes of aerobic exercise is required DAILY.
- Check with a vet, if your dog has physical disabilities, or has not had rigorous exercise in the past!)
3. Affection - Dogs administer affection to each other only when it is deserved.
Be sure you are not encouraging your dog's brain to practice inappropriate behaviors
(aggression, nervousness, excitability, etc.), by giving affection at the wrong times.
Dogs only lavish affection on another dog when it is being appropriate.
There are no exceptions to the three things listed above. Every dog, in every
life-situation, needs leadership, exercise, and affection to be mentally stable.
Sound too simple? What about your dog's physical needs?
Those are simple too: food, water, shelter. Nothing impossible about that.
The same applies to your dog's mental health. Give your dog leadership, exercise, and
affection - in that order - and we should see a turn-around.
Separation Anxiety Exercises:
1. Be sure the dog is getting 30 to 45 minutes of daily exercise. A tired dog has
less energy to devote to being stressed out and destructive.
2. Do the 'superstar' routine. If you saw your favorite celebrity coming in and out of
your house every day, 20 - 50 times a day, for the next 6 weeks, I'm betting you wouldn't
think of them as very exciting anymore. Same thing with your dog. We need to desensitize
your dog to your arrivals and departures. This means you need to go through the routines
of coming and going 20 to 50 times per day - IGNORING your dog the entire time.
Note: Your dog may 'figure you out' very quickly when you do this, and be able to 'tell'
when you're actually leaving, and when you're doing the arrival/departure routine. If this
is the case, you need to think about where you would be going, or what you would be doing
when you leave.
For example: Even if you're just picking up your keys and walking out the door and coming
right back for the sake of your 20 to 50 arrival/departure repetitions for the day, you
need to THINK about actually going to work, or to the store, or movies or wherever as you're
picking up your keys and going out the door.
If your mind is preoccupied with these boring arrival/departure repetitions, your body
language will tell the dog it's not really real. But, if your mind is preoccupied with
where you're going (as it would be on your way to work, etc.), your body language will be
more convincing to the dog.
3. On a long-playing audio tape, tape record a busy morning or afternoon of activities
around the house: phone calls, television, washing dishes, blow dryer, etc. When you
actually leave, play the tape from a room or location where the dog can hear it as
background noise, but cannot be sure if you're really home or not.
You can also use the tape recorder to record the dog when you're not home, to see what
type of activities (howling, barking, digging, destruction) are happening and for how long,
when you're gone.
4. Use a Kong Toy or other long-lasting treat when you leave. DON'T make the mistake of
making the kong a 'cue' that you're really leaving. Give the dog a kong randomly -
sometimes when you're staying home, sometimes when you're not.
5. Do the 'Settle' exercise from across the room: Tie the dog to a doorknob, giving it
just enough leash to lie down. Sit down across the room from the dog for 30 minutes. Do
not pay attention to the dog the entire time. Your job is to IGNORE the dog. The dog's
job is to lie down at least once in the 30 minutes time period. This exercise should be
done daily.
6. Ignore your dog. What? Hmmm? Surely she doesn't mean MY dog. My sweet, needy,
afffection-craving dog?! He'll just DIE if I'm not petting him, touching him, looking at
him, talking to him every time he demands it!
Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrooooong. Dogs with attachment disorders crave
attention in an extremely unhealthy way. Why would you want to nurture an unhealthy,
unstable state of mind?
As hard as it is, as much as he begs, you must ignore him for at least the next 3 weeks.
That means the only time he gets affection or attention of ANY kind is when he is working
for it. You have ample opportunities to have your dog work for your attention. A few
examples are: 1. when you're practicing the 'leave it' exercise with food. 2. When
you're practicing the 'wait' exercise at doors. 3. when you're practicing heeling,
sitting, staying, lying down, coming, etc. All of these moments give you a chance to
interact with your dog on a HEALTHY level for the dog. How? Because you're exercising
leadership, providing mental exercise, and giving affection/attention for a job well done.
This gives the dog a clue as to what to expect from its environment, which automatically
leads to a calmer disposition. (If you know what to expect from any given situation, don't
you feel calmer?)