Home Alone:Calming For Seperation

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wvvdiup1
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Home Alone:Calming For Seperation

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Home Alone – calming for separation
Posted on December 27, 2010 by pawsitivedawgs| Leave a comment

Original posting April 23, 2010 <!–Anne–>

Dogs are social animals and bond strongly with their people so it’s no surprise that most dogs will experience some level of distress when separated from their nearest and dearest.

Some dogs however become more upset during separation and separation anxiety has become one of the most commonly complained about behaviour issues.

We generally see two levels of separation problems: separation distress and separation anxiety. Separation distress is the most common and is a little easier to modify than full-on separation anxiety which will invariably require veterinary intervention along with behaviour modification. If in doubt consult a qualified behaviour professional or just ask us for help!

There is a secret third option that dogs don’t think we know about (!): separation fun – some dogs can’t wait until their owners leave the house so they can have a great time in their absence!! These dogs often do things that they wouldn’t do in front of their people. This is often as a result of being told off for these behaviours in the presence of their owners so they take full advantage of their owner’s absence! These dogs need to be left with lots of entertainment while alone.

Dogs with separation issues are usually not calm in other areas of their life.

The main signs of separation issues include:

* destruction while alone (often of exit routes e.g. doors)
* escape attempts while alone
* vocalisation while alone
* salivation during owner absence
* elimination during owner absence
* ‘velcro’ dogs – often follow their person from room to room and are sensitive to their person’s movements
* watch their person and exit routes
* may solicit and seek attention regularly (like to be touching their person)
* evidence of distress upon their person beginning their departure routine (getting keys, putting on coat etc.)
* very excited when their person returns and take a while to ‘come down’ from this excitement
* often find it difficult to settle, particularly if their person is still active and has not yet settled
* they often refuse to eat (and possibly drink) during and shortly after owner absence

If these signs are present, get some help from a qualified behaviour professional – you can ask us for help in locating someone near you. As with any distress issues it is a good idea to have a full check up with your vet too.

Getting started:

Record your dog during a routine absence (about one hour) so that this can be reviewed – sometimes other happenings can be at the root of the problem. I have had several cases which were initially presumed to be separation distress but through filming we discovered other causes including reactivity to outside noises and one dog who loved to chase birds from inside the house while his mum was out!

Many of the cerrraaaazzzy-busting ideas we have discussed are ideal in helping separation issues too.

Calmatives are the place to start but make sure to begin your use of these when with your dog – if you employ remedies only when your dog is alone they may become associated with the distress experienced during separation.

If your dog is to spend any time entertaining himself make sure to supply him with plenty of stuffed chew toys. Chewing these will keep your dog busy so he can’t chew other things, will help take the edge off distress and chewing is naturally calming to dogs. Again make sure that your dog is given enrichment toys at other times too.

Preparing to Leave:

While working on teaching calm for separation try not to have your dog distressed while alone. This means that you might need to work on this during holidays or have someone care for your dog while you are out.

In my experience, if these dogs can watch you as you drive or walk away they are likely to become more distressed so limit your dog’s access to windows or gates if this bothers him.

Begin these exercises by just leaving your dog alone in another area of the house. Having dog-free zones in the house can really help with separation training.

Settle training is super important for before, during and after separation. Exercise your dog before you leave him BUT bring him home for some settle-practice at least 20 minutes before you plan to leave.

Crate training is so important so as to shape a relaxed attitude toward being confined and alone. A crate should be a safe, relaxing doggie den. By working slowly through crate training your dog will become happier and happier about spending time in there and eventually alone.

Work on having your dog spend more and more time in his crate and then work on moving away from the crate with your dog inside.

When you get to the stage that you can leave your dog in his crate for a minute or so, while you are out of the room you can begin to work on slowly teaching your dog to cope with your departure routine.

Have your dog chewing on a stuffed toy in his crate. Stand up and put your coat on and get your keys. If he stirs or shows interest sit beside him. As he settles again take one step away from the crate and move straight back to him.

Work on moving away from the crate with coat, keys and any other departure cues. If your dog becomes distressed try adding only one departure cue at a time. The idea is to break the association between these little clues that you are leaving with distress. Move very slowly and gradually through this part of the exercise.

WHAT DOG? sign: using a signal that tells your dog he is about to spend time alone can help some dogs. This can be used instead of or along with crate training. Make your sign from a piece of A4 paper (with WHAT DOG? written on it) and hang it with a piece of string from the corners.

Any time the sign is visible the dog is ignored. Start by introducing the sign (hang it up for all to see) and just ignore the dog – sit and read, work on the computer, watch TV. If the dog is calm, put the sign away and call him to you for cuddles.

Soon the sign becomes a cue telling the dog that he should just settle in bed as he won’t be getting any attention.

Make the sign visible when you are practicing crate work especially exercises involving you leaving the room.

Departure cues: several times during the day act as if you are getting ready to leave – then just sit down and read or watch TV. When you are actually leaving (once you have worked up to this stage in training) always prepare for departure calmly; if you rushing around this likely to have your dog hyped up again so leave yourself plenty of time.

Say Goodbye: introduce a safe leaving cue that will come to reassure your dog that you will return. Say ‘see ya soon’ and then step out of sight for a beat. Immediately return and continue the exercise.

Start using this when you begin to step out of sight during crate training. While practicing crate/separation work try to have your dog in his crate (settled) while you step in and out of sight. You don’t have to release him and start all over again each time. Be aware of how long your dog can be confined like this before he begins to fuss – work only for very brief periods of time and then release him to have a few rounds of Jazz up and Settle down or tug (remember the rules!).

Returning:

Keep your greetings low key – talk softly, step away if your dog is jumping or being too enthusiastic.

If you are working slowly and gradually through crate work, your dog should not be too cerrraaazzzy upon your return.

If using one, put your WHAT DOG? sign out of sight and release your dog from his crate.

To keep your dog successful, have a game of Jazz up and Settle down as a way of greeting. This gives your dog an excuse for a little crazy behaviour while greeting you but you have it under control by asking him to settle again.

For young dogs or dogs working on housetraining bring him straight outside to a toileting area and greet and play out there so there are no accidents.

Upon your return, if you hear your dog vocalising wait for him to quiet for a beat. When he does vocalise, speak to him to let him know that you are there. If he remains quiet greet him.

Reward calm behaviour ONLY – step away again if your dog is having trouble calming during greeting.

Alone-training Tips:

* alone training should be part of puppy socialisation so start early by gradually building the amount of time your puppy spends without attention or alone
* if you have an adult dog or a new dog start alone training today
* always make sure that your dog is confined in a puppy-proof area; if he is destructive this will greatly limit the damage he can do
* crate train, crate train, crate train! (this means teaching the dog to be comfortable in a crate – it is not enough to just confine him and leave him – this is likely to be very distressing)
* always always always make sure that your dog has something to do while alone – if not he will find his own entertainment
* work on other calming exercises
* always allow your dog to burn off energy and toilet before leaving him but remember to settle him for at least 20 minutes before you leave
* employ a range of calmatives and enrichment toys but remember to use them at other times too otherwise they become predictors of you leaving and the associated distress
* if you expect your dog to spend time alone regularly hire a dog walker, bring your dog to daycare or have someone care for him
* leave your dog with a t-shirt or towel once belonging to you
* try recording the sounds of household activities and leave this playing while your dog is alone – this will only act as a comfort if your dog has been practicing alone time in other rooms away from the action during training
* no aversives – even if your dog has made a mess!

Great Separation Resources:

Have a read of Karen Overall’s Protocol for Uncoupling Departures and Departure Cues.

Here is some info on alone training from DogStar Daily.

Probably my favourite separation guide is Patricia McConnell’s I’ll Be Home Soon! – this little book is a very easy and quick read and packed full of excellent alone training ideas.
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