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I hope you guys enjoy! Here's a playlist that will show you how to teach your dog the basics in order: ru-vid.com/group/PLMssKIjsDxXmMGypWsr8u-yGOUSoPoozb Thanks for subscribing!
Zak George's Dog Training rEvolution zack i owned a 2 years german shepherd yeasterday and i feel that maybe his behave is strange he goes crazy when we leave and a reminder i owned him to be a guard THE most important thing is i feel that he's really wierd when I'm sitting close to him so plz help
Update on Ace - I have gotten him involved in playing some of the games ru-vid.comUgkx1_veP7CApJK_GWy_TczaMciuG64PqJeU and I can see a difference in his confidence already! My other dog played along and he became intrigued - now its a daily part of our routine - about 3 times a day we do the shell game and the muffin tin game. I am so grateful for coming upon your training techniques!
Having owned a dog with separation anxiety for 13 years (which two separate vets diagnosed as the worst case they had ever seen), I believe I have some first-hand knowledge of what works and doesn't work. First, let's translate this into something more relatable. Panic attacks...we've either heard of them, had them, or know someone who has experienced them. A friend who suffers from panic attacks once told me that she felt like she was dying during the attacks. Now imagine what your pet is feeling each and every time you leave home...welcome to separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is just a panic attack that your dog suffers each and every time you leave them. They come in different forms with varying degrees of stress, but make no mistake, these are doggie panic attacks. Here is a list of what to do: 1. You need to make sure that your dog is thoroughly exercised. A tired dog has less anxious energy at the time of exposure to the triggers. 2. Watch for your own type of triggers. For example, walking around while grabbing keys, wallet, purse, jacket, etc. are cues to your dog that he/she should start getting anxious. You must desensitize your pet to these triggers. This takes time and dedication, so plan ahead before having to leave the house. Add an additional 30 minutes to your routine. During that time, pretend that you are leaving. Grab your keys and jacket, go to the door, open the front door, then close it and go sit down somewhere else in a calm fashion and remain there (reading, etc.) until your dog relaxes. Then repeat a few times at different intervals. Then start exiting the front door for a minute and then return. Ignore your pet at all times during this process. Your dog will come to you all happy to see you at first. Resist the temptation to acknowledge them. Each time increase the amount of time that lapses before reentering your home. Be sure to keep your pet guessing by leaving the third time one day and the fifth time another. Keep switching it up. That will keep your dog guessing and unable to ascertain when you are actually leaving. Be patient, this may take weeks before you see major improvements. However, if you stick with it, it will work! Your dog will stop getting anxious when you leave and when you return. As time goes by, begin reducing the time that you include in your routine before leaving until you just leave without any warning. One important note...be sure you are calm (to the extent that it is possible) whenever leaving home. Dogs can literally read your emotional state by sensing your hormonal response to stimuli. If you are stressed and anxious...they will be too. Notwithstanding, keep in mind that any unexpected event may provoke an anxiety attack and you will then need to once again reinforce the routine. If your dog begins to regress, take a step back to examine what you are doing. Then begin the desensitization process once again. Even if your dog is not regressing, it's good to still do these exercises from time to time to reinforce the good behavior. Conversely, if your dog continues to regress, you need to look in the mirror as you will most likely be the cause of the regression. Sometimes we fall into patterns of behavior that inadvertently send signals out to our dog. Low energy/calm routines are the best ways to keep fido relaxed. 3. DO NOT GIVE YOUR DOG loves when he/she is in an excited state. Similarly, DO NOT OVERDO the loves. This is perhaps one of the hardest things that I had to learn. Our instinct is to shower our pet with love. However, this is disastrous with dogs that have separation anxiety. You need to give them love, but only when they are calm and in small doses. If they become too excited, you need to back away until they calm down. If they begin to regress, you need to take an honest assessment of how much affection you are giving your dog. It seems counter-intuitive at first, but you will recognize that your dog will be happier and less anxious with fewer huggies and kisses from you. If you ignore this advice, you will be unwittingly reinforcing their anxiety. 4. When coming home, DO NOT engage your pet for a good 15-30 minutes. Come into your home and go about your business completely ignoring them. He/She will be hyper-excited, so it is critical that you don't reinforce this behavior by giving them loves at that time. Wait until they are calm and then give them some brief attention and go about your business. 5. You must take steps to ensure that your dog is not always in the same room as you. Some dogs with separation anxiety exhibit velcro behavior. That is, they will be right by your side at all times. They will lay at your feet at any given moment if given the opportunity. Others will lay in different parts of the same room, but always staring at you or sleeping with their head aimed in your direction. It is important to not encourage this behavior and you MUST put your dog in a different room and/or out of your sight so that they can learn to become relaxed outside your field of view. After many...many trials and failures, I came up with a formula that worked well with my dog. It minimized the anxiety to an acceptable level and the episodes of destruction and injury greatly diminished. However, they never went away completely. Just like you don't cure autism, you don't cure separation anxiety; you just learn to work with it and make your pet's life as enjoyable and stress-free as possible. I know that even after years of conditioning, an unexpected knock at the door, a strange noise, etc., when away from home can trigger a response. Such is life when owning a dog with separation anxiety. As long as you fulfill their needs before your own, you will have a happy pet. P.S. I know some will ask about medication. I went that route for short while but abandoned it after realizing that the only way to control the behavior with medicine was to use it at levels which greatly diminished her quality of life. That was a tradeoff I was not willing to make. Anti-depressants like Clomipramine did not work for us and neither did benzodiazepines like alprazolam (Xanax). Though not particularly successful in my case, there are some reports of the successful use of medication and behavioral modification (as described above) to help control the anxiety. Each dog will respond differently. Unfortunately, my dog was not a good candidate for this approach, but it is worth taking a look at this method if your dog reacts favorably to the medication.
I wish there was a way to save your advice. I will need it for future reference. I really like the detail and believe this could work. I have a 6 month GSD that didn't exhibit SA when I got her, until the last couple of weeks
Only One Cannoli, I NEED to try this I have a 14 year only dog and SHE IS VERY ANNOYING at night, like barking, scratching, jumping in her food bowl, and also trying to get out. We let her out and she just quit going crazy.
Thank you for the detailed advice, this is actually a lot more helpful than the video (for instance any kind of toy is completely useless when dealing with strong separation anxiety, our dog would not even care about it).
@@LifeWithKishaKayy haha. Let him/her stay out, she/he will cry but get use to slowly. My bathroom/shower peoblem is gone but my puppy hates to be home alone
***** We haven't even tried. After that last incident, it's too scary. So he's basically been with somebody 24/7. We've got to do some long term training, I think.
That's exactly what I did with my sheltie. He was starting crying and barking immediately I leave the house. So went out just for 1 second and got back instantly. Then I went for 2 seconds, then 3, and so on up to 10. 15 seconds, 20 seconds, etc. Yes it took a few hours to teach him to wait calmly just for 20 minutes. But at the end he understood that I'm not going forever and that me leaving and returning is not a big deal.
You were incredibly lucky for this to only take a few hours, in fact makes me wonder if he had real SA if it was that quick. For most people, 20 minutes will take weeks or months to work up to
I wish that was working with my dog :( I've been teaching her for probably over a week now, I still only go out for a minute to a minute and a half, I started with 30 or fewer seconds, and she still cries within the first 10 seconds. I'm gonna start over with clicker training and if she's quiet for longer than 10 seconds click and come back in until it's consistent.
@@dckeater3534 You should have thought about the consequences of having a dog before getting one. Sounds like you shouldn't have a dog because you're not willing to work with them. They're probably better off with someone else.
I could cry - thank you Zac! I’ve watched this video maybe 5 times in the past year as I’ve dealt with my babies extreme separation anxiety. I’ve tried big areas, his crate, I’ve tried kongs, CBD, thunder shirt, pheromones - EVERYTHING and nothing worked... UNTIL I rewatched this video this weekend and realized the key ingredient I was missing was to put him in a separate room (one he can’t see me leave from and is comfortable in). THIS HAS HELPED TREMENDOUSLY! He’s happy and calm and so far (knock on wood) his constant crying is little to none. So grateful for this advice! After a year of struggling I can finally leave the house again without worrying myself silly.
Assalamu Aalikum Courtney, I have watched this video couple times now and I haven't noticed the advice you shared right now either, Thank you for pointing it out.
I did cry today as my dog departed for the Lakes region, (NH) with a new friend! The first time we will be away from each other for an extended period. Lindsay & I spent an afternoon together with my new surrogate and friend and now she is having fun and the time of her life playing with the goldie who is being fostered.. I raised my dog right & she has never had any trauma or abuse so this and have socialized her considerably in my life but she was around so many, kids, caTs, cows goats, and a bunch of yard dogs that ran in a pack sometimes total wide open fun. Now as a pup on the farm and was raised with her litter, staying together with most of them for over one year. Amazing results and my dog loves everyone and bays hello and talks to some like a true hound. So chill. I realize now I could crumble without her as pal & mate. my home is eerily empty without her right now. Due to me being so sensitive I could not support a rescue dog and I was blessed with the pick of the litter when she was 5 months old. My hard work on the farm. She is fine and it is I who feels messed up a little but the excitement of a tropical destination getaway is an electric feeling! Happy Thanksgiving as we give thanks to what we have achieved and do not take it for granted.
*video about dogs systematically destroying your belongings because you have to leave the house for work* WHaT hAVe wE DOnE tO DEsERvE SuCH LoVInG CReATurEs
My dog has EXTREME separating anxiety, if I go to the bathroom for like 2 mins she'll be screaming and clawing the door and the way she screams make it sound as if she's being abused. Same with if we leave she goes ballistic and I can hear her crying all the way from my car.
I spend a lot of time in my room or outside and not so much in the living room area and my dog will only eat if I'm within 5 feet of her and the food bowl, she won't eat on her own so she ends up eating only once and MAYBE twice a day. I've got some vitamin stuff that is also suppose to help her gain weight but I just find it a little strange. (she's a fully grown 3 pound chihuahua)
Nice intro to SA, Zak! I'm a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT) and sadly hear a great deal of misinformation out there. Thanks for shedding true light on this topic!
This video is so helpful! Thank you! My Belgian Malinois has SEVERE seperation anxiety. The things she's destroyed have cost much more than anything I have bought/paid for her the past 2yrs I've had her. And she's very loved and cared for, so essentially, she's caused thousands of dollars in property damage. Multiple times. I've tried everything, but absolutely refuse to give up on her. I even moved houses, got her trained as a therapy dog, and have all her papers. It's just very frustrating, as it gives ME anxiety to leave her at all, especially because she's so big, and I'm so tiny. No one else has the patience with her like I do. Before I got her from the pound, it was clear she had been abused. Huge gash missing from her tongue, and road-rashes on her leg. But she has the most beautiful soul I've ever seen! I know she loves me with all her heart, but it is frustrating to pay all the money for everything she destroys, complaints from neighbors, constantly ruined kennels, jumping fences taller than a grown man, constant barking, worrying about her, etc. I just want her to have the best life possible!
Same here! I honestly don't know what do to anymore... she's 3 and a half years old and I almost lost hope. I'm just really grateful these kind of videos exist.
YUP SAME my dog will be in the living room and come and start crying and clawing at my door and scratching it and I go out there and he just sleeps on my feet I need to be there when he eats sleep goes to the bathroom when I go to the bathroom when I eat sleep when I shower BUT I LOVE HIM SOO MUCH 😙😫😣 once I forgot I left him in the bathroom and he peed all over the floor
I work at a doggy daycare and boarding, and there’s this dog who screeches for their owner the entire time. I usually spend the entire work day just petting him, holding him, teaching him to sit.
Just got a new puppy and his anxiety gives me anxiety. I can’t even go to the bathroom without him freaking out. My kids take turn sleeping on the couch because he needs to be with someone. He is an 11 week old Siberian husky. I hope this video helps me a bit. Thank you!
@@ender2664 yes!!!! My fur baby will be 3 and did everything but the long. Not a fan. I started with doggy daycare during the day for few days a week. I also noticed he was low energy after a full day at school so we then started minimizing daycare and increased time at home alone. When we would come home he would get crazy praise. And he figured out like....ooooooo I get to rest when they aren’t here but I get crazy love when they come home and they happy. Ok I’ll wait and be a good boy. Never miss a treat. A beat. A pet or a love any minute ur baby is alone. This video was excellent!!!
We have 2 new rescue dogs and are having a difficult time leaving our home. They whine so much and we feel bad when we have to go to work. I found your vlog here and it has helped my partner and I immensely, thank you.
HI, I have a dog with severe SA too, but it has gotten a little better with years of training. in my opinion the only way to treat this condition is to do it step by step, very slowly. Make sure your dog is in a calm state o mind. (Like go for a walk, let it come home, settle down: then it's time to train). First you can just put on your jacket, pick up your keys or anything that you normally do when you're about to leave, but then not actually leave, just take off the jacket again and go back to doing what you normally do. Do this exercise at least 3-4 times a day. When your dog doesn't freak out cause of this anymore (like after a week or smth) you can go a step further and try opening the door and closing it again, without going anywhere. In a few weeks you can probably go outside for a few seconds, then minutes, after a few months maybe half an hour. It is important not to pay any attention to your dog while you're training! (Coming and going shouldn't be any big business at all, if you compliment your dog a lot for just managing to be alone it can think being along is quite scary). This is the way! Patience is all that you need - it is very difficult but completely possible. My dog can be alone for about 20 minutes now without starting to pant, run around and howl. Yay.
lotta green What you may want to include is with each departure leave him/her with a special treat or toy they get only when you leave, and a nice verbal cue like "watch the house". When you return, take the treat from them, give it back and tell them their verbal cue and repeat the departure. This conditions them to know you will be returning when they receive the treat and verbal cue. Simple conditioning. Also, if you have such a severe case you may want to talk to your vet about supplementing training with medication. There should be no stigma in that if it helps your dog live a better life!
Louis DeMarinis Yes, that is a good point! But one has to make sure that special treat or toy doesn''t get associated with panic - this happened to me during the first year. Like when I gave the kong, the dog kinda froze, knew soon it's panic time. I didn't realize that first. Last week my dog was alone for an hour without going berserk! I'm so happy :)
lotta green Exactly, that is important! That is why it should be given with the verbal cue at least 10 times before even stepping towards a door. Then one step towards the door, then two, then three.... before you even think about leaving. This will help anyone new to the process ensure that the treat doesn't become associated with panic. It is also important to stuff the Kong with a very high value prize, one they will only get when you do the training. I have been able to get my dog I am newly training to 10+ departures within a couple weeks. Then again, she is also on medication to help with training.
It was three months exactly yesterday when my family adopted our Beligian Malinois, Koda, from an interim shelter. We are her third home, so when we first got her she was a confused, emaciated 13 month old. She has anxiety identical to the dog in this video and whines instantaneously with any of us leaving the house. This video is a great starting point for me in figuring out how to begin to curb her anxiety. Thank you for uploading! :)
I am so thankful for these tips. I’m leaving my girl with my parents for a week in two months and she has severe separation anxiety. It’s been really hard.
Zak, I want to thank you so much for your helpful video demonstrations. There are several main issues I have been dealing with my blue heeler/border collie mix, a very high energy dog. We are currently in some dog training courses but however separation anxiety is where it gets to me. I have had him since he was 8 weeks old, so he was separated from his mother at an early age. At the time that I got him, it was a comfortable situation to begin a new life for him. But then some things in my life got in the way, and we were both homeless for almost a year. Together we have created an extremely intense bond and he listens well when we are together. Now that we are in a house he has much separation anxiety. He used to have to go with me everywhere to now having the option to leave him at home. Going through this odd transition is what I think almost traumatized him and he is also having more difficulty listening. I have ordered your books and have watched many of your videos and you have truly helped so much. I am still dealing with this problem but it is progressing much more than it did before I saw your videos. Thank you again and god bless you!
High thoughts: I would really love to see Zak George helping with the school system bc his way of teaching is great! Definitely helping me raise my puppy together one video at a time lmao. 😂
I would strongly recommend рroper training for уour dоg. Think you are imрlementing efficient aaand dоg friеndly apprоaсhes?Sеe how to train your dog the right way ==> twitter.com/6992b7b6fc27512bc/status/742623739800653824 Separаtion Anхiety Does yyour dog go сrаzy when you leave Hereeee s what to doooo
I got a dog two weeks ago. Her name is Emma. I work from home but there are certain days where I have to leave the house for 4 hours at the most. She definitely has separation anxiety even if I leave for a second. She's a mutt so I'm not sure what breeds she has in her but she's very affectionate even around my 3 year old. Her last family I was told abandoned her so I wouldn't be surprised if the anxiety stems from that but I'm going to start doing this exercise with her now. She listens pretty good during other training so I don't think this will be too tough on her but thank you so much for showing people freely how to be patient with their animals. It's so important to remember that they are curious of life as we are and that if they are able to be patient with us we should show them the same respect.
How long did it take for her to be Quite I work with dogs rescues Foster’s etc.I’ve never seen a case this bad as my Lab/Dalmatian She’s gonna pee in her cage and never quit till you let her outside Then ignore her while her 85lb body his bumping all around you!! This is hard when your disabled...We’ve has her for 3 years she sees we always come back never crate longer than 4-5 Hours...I have no idea what’s she’s liken when I’m gone...I know when we pull in the garage she don’t stop!! Till after being out of crate in back yard for about 10-15 mins
Just discovered this channel and loving it because it aligns with the training style we’ve been using with our rescued 1 year old border collie mix! She is exactly like Colston with her separation anxiety. I had to lock her out of the bathroom to shower the first week I got her because she would open the door and hop right in with me. It was super cute but difficult. Now she has learned what shoes we put on when we are leaving her at home, goes in her crate on her own, gets a treat, and is quiet while we’re away (we’ve videoed her). It took about 3 months of intentionally leaving her every day (with set backs when we were home all day for a few days) but she has finally learned it’s not horrible for us to be gone and we will be back. Hopefully we can let her roam our home while we’re away soon. She would anxiously pace between our front and back door and bark the entire time we were gone (she’s not a loud dog indoors) so having the crate has been good for not allowing her to build her anxiety. I make sure she gets at least a half hour walk in every day before I leave. I try getting her to run by playing outside during our walk but she has zero interest in playing while outside, but loves playing inside, to the point where she will retrieve and drop toys in my hand or lap. I often wish she had some labrador in her so she is more interested in retrieving.
Thanks for the video!! My 8 week old puppy was showing a few signs of separation anxiety, and I got a little nervous. It's so good to know that this could just be because she's so little. :)
Listening to how this pup reacted to his parents leaving is pretty much identical to our English Bulldog. He's a year old, is SUPER attached to us and the only way we can leave him is in his cage - he doesn't destroy anything inside of it, but if he's not inside it and we walk out, he will bark and jump at the door. Watching this video gives me hope that we still can get to the point where I don't have to cage him when I leave.. I'll start working on the short periods of separation and gradually increase - thank you for this amazing video!
one of the worst things you can do with s.a dogs is to greet, say good bye, talk in a way you would to comfort a child. don't greet your dog, don't say good bye, spend two hours going in and out of your house picking up and dropping off your keys every time. do that three or four days, when you enter, far from door, wait until your dog has four on the floor, then don't speak, but give deep massage. you are looking to reduce anxiety, not bring up arousal which can translate into fear. you want complete calm when you enter and exit, then there will be complete calm when you are away.
We just adopted a 7 year old pup. Not completely sure what he is, but they told us a jack russell mix. I recorded him today when I was away for about 30 minutes. He howled a bit, cried, etc.. When we get home he is always kind of whining and Super excited to see us. We are both teachers so I am trying to get him used to us being gone as much as possible!
We have a jack Russell mix too! He does the exact same thing. Trying really hard to work on this with him as we live in an apartment. One day at a time!
I guess it might be hard to be in solitary confinement 8 hrs a day and to know that’s all you have to look forward to every day. Sad. Poor dog. What did he do to deserve that. He’s a pack animal by nature so solitary confinement is an anathema to him and painful.
Anyone new here scroll down to lengthy comment below. Fabulous detailed tips from a viewer that gives you steps to take. You definitely want to read those tips
I really find your video useful. we just adopted an 8th month old small dog and she definitely has all of these symptoms. i will try some of the stuff you said hopefully she will start getting more comfortable as the time goes by.
@Zak George,This is a nice introduction to the problem of separation anxiety, one common area that this video doesn't touch is surgery, or really any time a dog can't have access to their routine of exercise and play. It can be a crippling period for both dog and owner. If you can either offer any advice or content on this specific area it would be a great addition to your already amazing lexicon of information. Thank you again for all you have done to help improve communication and relationships to animals and us as owners. :)
I got a puppy and she cries and whine everytime I leave her. But I am also working ftom home so I need her to stop. Watching your videos really helps me. Thank you!
Zak..my mini-Dachshund was vet diagnosed with separation anxiety, and would often throw up.We experimented with different methods- when I just allowed her to stay/sleep in my chair with her fave blanket- the anxiety issue was resolved. She lived to be fourteen years and never was comfortable in a crate. With love and patience we can enjoy a full life with our Adorables🐶
* Zak you are seriously AMAZING! (My name's Jill Buchheit I'm on my friends account). I found you and your videos about a month or two ago when I just got my puppy. I just wanted to thank you for everything! You and Caesar Milan (911) are the only two guys I completely trust with the info and tips. You are VERY smart Zak. Please don't stop making your great videos. I have learned so much from you... THANK YOU ZAK! *
My dog Barks and whimpers like crazy when I leave her alone. Even if I sit in front of her when she is in her X-pen! I think you should make a video about that,
I just got a 4 month old mini goldendoodle. She wants to be with me all the time, follows me and goes crazy when I put her in a crate. I am watching all of your videos in hopes I find an answer for her. She is a wonderful puppy. Last night she pooped in her crate and caused her mouth to bleed from mouthing the crate. She barked and whined continuously for 4 hours. Needless to say she is exhausted today and my heart is breaking for her! I’m going to try the tips from this video. 🙏🏼 they work!
Thanks Zak ! I have taught my lab from young, purely learning from most of your techniques, and we facing him having separating anxiety lately, I will try out the way you suggest in the video, hopefully he can overcome with anxiety
We do have a pup with separation anxiety. We find him sweaty when we get back home. We have been trying the kong right before watching this video and I' so happy to hear you suggest that as well along with other great tips. Many thanks for your input.
Just got a two year old Vizsla-Pit mix. I’ve had him for three days, and noticed right away that he has separation anxiety. We are already bonding, but in addition to his breed, he’s been returned to the shelter twice for his high jumping. I appreciate this video, and the one featuring Vizslas. My new boy loves the human tot lot way better than the dog park. So, exercising him is the easy part. I may change jobs to help this boy relax; although, I haven’t gone back to work since getting him. We live on a sailboat, which is great for his agility.
@Random dude 'Waits patiently', keys words there brotha. We're here because our dogs certainly do not wait patiently. They wait with high levels of anxiety, bark, cry, piss and shit when we're not around.
absolutely ridiculous. talking to them and exciting them just before you leave and when you return is creating an issue not alleviating it. silence and calmness is the key when leaving not telling them continuously "ill be right back". dogs dont understand english stop babying them and treat and respect them as the animal they are.
I just got a dog from the pound 2 weeks ago, within our first 4 hours together he bonded with me and started with this behavior very next day. I walk him for an hour and half in the morning and an hour at the dog park every single day and challenging him with learning commands every day. He is amazing and perfect in every way, except for this problem. Working hard to resolve it, but it is painfully slow.
I’m here because I got my dog during the beginning of Covid and now this is the first year I’m going back to homeschool in person and he’s been he’s never been alone for that long before
Thanks for mentioning that puppies under 3 months aren’t necessarily exhibiting separation anxiety and that they need more attention. I stay at home with my puppy and I was wondering if constant attention might instill separation anxiety.
I always feel so bad for my 3 month old puppy! Even when I leave to grab a water bottle from the garage he whines and barks as if he was I pain. He doesn't even let me shower with out him being in the shower room. It's it's not even leaving him alone, he hates it when i leave him with my mom or brother. He follows me everywhere around the house and hates to leave me
+Raging baby3 I am going through literally the same exact thing!! The only thing that help my puppy is a juicy bone, but that's only for when I leave him for longer periods of time like five hours or so. Without it I have to shut the door in his face, it's so sad!
I have a three month puppy, and I’m a recent graduate from college and she was a gift. Now, since she’s a puppy she’s very attached to me and I’ve been trying to teach her how to stay home with other people but she’s cry’s until I come back or naps after crying for a period of time. I will start working soon and I’m worried she’s not going to last the 5 hours she will be alone until someone gets home. This video was helpful. I can use all the tips I can get!
I love your videos! I'm going to subscribe to your Patreon account. I'm a dog mom to four rescue pups. They range in age from (our newest) 4 years to 17 years old. The latest rescue, Ruby, came from a hoarding situation. I don't know if you saw the story in the news of the woman in Coachella, CA who dumped 7 newborn puppies in a dumpster, but this dog came from her home after she was arrested. She had NO training in her life. Was severely neglected and the effects of that can be seen in her behavior. She spent two months with a rescue before coming to us. She is SO SWEET, so bonded (though it took a couple of days for her to even come to me), really smart and - sometimes - I find it hard to believe that she came from such a horrible place. She seems to have fit right in to our home. But with the bonding comes separation anxiety. I bought a doggy cam to see just how bad it was, and she pretty much barks the entire time I'm away. My husband is a musician and travels a lot, so most of the time it's just me at home with the dogs. I take her to work with me, which eliminates long hours away from one another, but if I have to go to dinner, or an event, I want her to be able to comfortably be alone for four to six hours at a time. She has only been with us for two weeks today. I'm about a week in to GRADUAL separation training with her. We made it to 90 seconds this morning, I got cocky, went to the store thinking she'd be okay, but...alas...the minute my car got to the corner, she started pacing and barking. I reward her when she doesn't bark, and I hold back rewards when I come back and she has barked. I'm not sure what to do beyond what I'm doing. I'm praying this won't take years to fix. She has quickly adapted to other aspects of her life with us (walking on a leash, learning to sit, stay, etc.) I just want her to be able to be comfortable while alone. Any tips? I wish you lived in Los Angeles so I could enlist your services on a one-on-one basis! Thank you for your videos!
I have a 3 years old miniature poodle, that has had separation anxiety since I got him when he was 8 weeks old. He howled and chewed on the wall beside the front door. I solved(?) the problem by setting up alarms on my phone 10 minutes before I leave and when I leave and also give him a kong. This way he knows that I'm going to leave but is calm about it.
7 minutes of offering background to the potential causes for such behavior, which can be very helpful. It's a good thing you can skip around in a RU-vid video based on your particular needs, huh?
my dog is left in his kennel when we leave. its scary because we find him biting at the cage. one day we came home and saw him stuck. he bit the metal cage and broke it. he shoved his head through the broke part and cut his face. we where too afraid to leave him now and this really help. he’s doing way better now. thank you.
Thank you for the info. I have a six month old border collie named Coconut and I spend A LOT of time with him as I am not working during the pandemic. He cries a lot as soon as I leave. I will try the rewarding his calmness
My mini Aussiedoodle has extreme separation anxiety. She immediately expresses whining, scratching and elevated concern. She has even chewed through a wire crate.
Zak George's Dog Training rEvolution So Bruce Wayne, I work with dogs like this often. You can't be a good dog trainer without understanding how to handle these situations. Each case is unique. Several of the dogs in my videos have a bite history and I keep that in mind when working with them to keep them below threshold as any responsible trainer would, but who knows, I may make more videos on this in the future to show the power of positive training. However, I know that many skeptics of positive training will ask a question like this because they believe that force and dominance is the way to handle this and if memory serves me right, you may be from that "camp". If you are not, then I may be confusing you with someone else. I will tell you that every case is special and no one should work with a truly aggressive dog unless they are well versed in the modern science of dog behavior and that is not the average person watching my videos. My main concern in featuring content like this is that the average person, the people who watch my videos most, may wrongfully diagnose their dogs as aggressive when talking about something as basic as leash reactivity.
Zak George's Dog Training rEvolution I would be more likely to accept your method if you proved it on some aggressive dogs too. Also working with aggressive dogs is what made Cesar Millans show famous. So I bet it would help your channel out.
Bruce Wayne What would it take for you to believe that a dog is "aggressive"? Us filming snapping dogs and dog fights? Here's the thing, of the dogs with a bite history that I work with, primary goal #1 is that you do not push your dog to bite, because at that point you've lost them. It is not realistic to ethically communicate with a dog once they have gone into this state. It is the peak of irresponsibility to stand by and tolerate this behavior from a dog to then "put them in their place" by showing your "dominance" from someone who is truly trying to rehabilitate a dog. Having worked in TV for years, when I see these dogs going crazy and biting, it is painfully obvious that in more cases than not the behavior is being encouraged for the sake of getting the shot. I don't care about being "famous", I care about showing people the ethical ways to interact with dogs. The best teachers of dogs know how to teach a dog not to bite without pushing them to that point. Now this does take more skill than physically dominating a dog into submission. The best trainers or "rehabilitators" know how to teach without pushing a dog to biting. I hope this makes sense. Stick around, because when my "methods" click with you, you are going to get it as long as your mind is open:) Good question though! Zak
My 6month old beagle is so smart he learns complex tricks in a few min long sessions, but he tends to whine and howl a lot when left alone. Our neighbors are cool and don’t mind to much atm. But it’s something I would definitely like to correct, thanks for the video I’m gonna put some up these suggestions to the test
Our new family member is very similar to the dog in this video in that she displays the same characteristics of pacing, panting, whining, and eliminating in the cage ONLY when we leave. Very frustrating but we've tried all of the tips given in this video and we've seen a good amount of progress over the last five weeks but still a very long way to go. We got her from the pound and she was clearly abused but we don't have a whole lot of history on her. Previous owner surrender, 1.5yr female pit lab mix. Sweetest thing ever and loves anyone she comes in contact with. Our dog has slept through the night in her cage since we got her and eats her meals in her crate.n We make meal time last almost an hour with her getting about a 1/4 of a cup at a time without whineinig. She'll even put herself in the crate now on her own to take a nap which has taken about 5 weeks. I've been lucky enough to work from home during this time but now I'm getting out more and more. When we've tried to leave she just loses it in the cage. We took one of our outside monitoring cameras and put it in the bedroom with her and within 5 minutes pandemonium starts. She even bites the cage and has bent many of the wires to the point they're almost touching. We've tried putting a higher value treat in the cage with her and it's completely untouched up to two hours later. When we left her cage in the laundry with the door open and pee pads on the floor(just in case) same problem with the added benefit of trying to chew the baseboard off the wall to get in the other part of the house. Grrr. I'm concerned I'm doing damage and taking several steps back by leaving her in the crate when I just absolutely have to leave but I don't know how to get her to calm down a little. I've tried all of your suggestions with the exception of getting someone else to stay with her at the house and watch her while we drive off and back. to let her know we don't have to be around all the time. It's a challenge but she became part of the family instantly when we got her home and can only hope she's able to get the confidence that her world now will be much safer than it was before we picked her up. Hang in there everyone.
My Staffie is a rescue dog that doesn’t seem to have ever been socialized. She has terrible separation anxiety no matter what I do. I’ve tried the exercising and being playful before leaving. She screams like a banshee. Also she’s always great with people but not other dogs. She’s pulls when walking trying to get at them. She will snort growl and do her scream. I keep at it and hope that with time she will relax. I’ve had to put her in a heavy duty crate when I leave the house. She destroyed the regular one and I was afraid she would hurt herself. With me she’s a complete love 💕
My new rescue dog has it so bad. He hates the crate and the car. He doesn't like to play with toys either. The sweetest and calmest dog as long as I'm with him. I take the trash out and when I come in he greets me like I've been gone for a week. Literally follows me everywhere. I'm at a complete loss on how to help him.
