What’s the difference? Whilst fear, phobia and anxiety might present with similar symptoms, there are distinct differences. Determining what you are dealing with is the first step in the rehabilitation process. We’ll start with fear as it is probably the easiest and most common form of anxious behavior. Fear is a rational and emotional response to an actual threat or danger. For example, a dog that has been scratched by a cat will learn to be afraid of the pain that cat caused him and will behave fearfully next time he finds himself in the same situation! In any the case, the fear is real and, like all types of…
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Walking in the Dark
With the night drawing in, many of us are now being forced to walk our dogs in the dark. But, doing it safely, and comfortably, may not be quite as simple as just buying a few reflective collars. Everything looks different Your dog can see better at night than during the day, but that isn’t necessarily an advantage. There are strange shadows and blinding lights that weren’t there before, and this can be quite unsettling to an anxious dog. If your dog is worried about their strange, new environment, then take extra time to re-investigate things that concern them. Walking slower can also help as it can helps to reduce…
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The Accidental Dog Trainer
How a big, bouncy, dope of a puppy, changed my life forever! In the beginning… 15 Years ago, I accidentally became a dog behaviourist! And it was all thanks to this big girl, Molly! As a puppy she was everything I imagined a dog would be. She was big, bouncy and bags of fun, but as she got older she started developing some worrying, and dangerous, habits.
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Managing Separation Anxiety – Part Six
Welcome to part 6 We are in the end game now. If you have only just come across these posts please head to part one and start there. This is the bit where we put a final routine together so you can leave the house. You’ll know from your diary what triggers your dog responds too so watch out for them as you work through your leaving routine.
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Managing Separation Anxiety – Part Five
Welcome to Part 5 So, we are now moving into the final stages of training. Today we’ll start looking at the bit that comes before the problem behaviour. This is the behaviour that starts as soon as your dog realises that he is going to be left alone. This stage is absolutely vital as anxiety compounds and the calmer your dog is when you walk out the door, the better his chance of coping while you’re gone.
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Managing Separation Anxiety – Part Four
Welcome to part 4 If you are just finding me now, please head to part one and hopefully all will make sense So, we have got as far as Confidence building. This is an important part of any training plan when you are working with an anxious dog. It’s also a lot of fun for you both when you approach it well.
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Managing Separation Anxiety – Part Three
Welcome to Part 3 So, hopefully you’ve got off to a good start creating a safe place at home. Let me know in the comments if you’re having problems with that. Or if you are seeing this for the first time, I recommend starting with step 1. Otherwise, lets move on!
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Managing Separation Anxiety – Part Two
Welcome to Part 2 Hopefully, you’ve been able to established the root cause of your dogs problem. If you are sure it’s separation anxiety, and nothing else, then we are ready to move on to the first steps. (Please see Step One if you are not sure). It’s very tempting to want to jump straight to the symptom when you are trying to help your dog, especially when they have anxiety, but if we don’t work on the underlying problem first your results will be short lived, or non-existent. So we need to resist temptation and do some groundwork first.
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Managing Separation Anxiety – Part One
As I sit, helplessly listening to a poor pup howling his heart out from one of the nearby blocks of flats, I am reminded of all the poor pups out there that might not cope well alone. So, I thought, why don’t we work on this together! Separation Anxiety is Actually Normal
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Does your dog speak dog?
…and does he really need to? That’s a good question. It should be perfectly natural for a dog to be able to communicate with his own kind. But more and more often, dogs are lacking the essential skills they need to interact appropriately with other members of their own species. It is one of the most common problems I am asked to help with. And, it causes more problems than you might think.
