5 Alternatives to Leaving Your Dog Home Alone
5 alternatives to leaving your dog with separation anxiety home alone
Separation Anxiety Training Method
The method we use for separation training is gradual exposure or desensitization.
Desensitization: “In psychology, desensitization is a treatment or process that diminishes emotional responsiveness to a negative, aversive or positive stimulus after repeated exposure to it.”
Starting with assessing your dog's threshold or how long they can currently be left alone comfortably and consistently.
Separation Anxiety 3 Step Plan
1. Get a camera to observe your dogs body language and behavior during a SHORT planned absence. Immediately come back if your dog is displaying signs of distress like barking, whining, licking or yawning. I recommend the Wyze Cam. I do not recommend the Furbo, as the treat function is not useful for separation anxiety training.
Tip: crate training is super useful if you’ve properly conditioned your dogs crate where they LOVE it. You can use this area as a confinement area to practice alone time either with you in the room or close by. Pay close attention to how your dog is feeling and what their actions are during these training exercises.
The best thing you can do for your dog with separation anxiety is help them trust that they can be alone.