How Far To Go With Training Out Separation Anxiety?

[jdavis33]

Hey guys, this is a question regarding behaviour training. Our 10 week old pup was having separation issues when we leave the room and goes absolutely nuts when we leave the house. After doing some research online I've decided to keep her in her pen (no roaming around the house or even the rest of the lounge) so that she can learn to be ok with just her own company instead of following us around.

We've also stopped greeting her and going in for cuddles/talking to her so much to reduce so much stimulation. I still give her treats and pats over the top of the pen when she's calm/wees though.

Its only day 1 and it all seems to be working (slowly) but now i feel like i'm isolating her from the pack. Can I get some feedback from those who have gone through this before? Should i let her out for an hour at night? Stick with it for a few weeks until she's calmed? We really did the wrong thing when we got her home but its been only 10 days of letting her have free reign so hopefully she's more confident on her own soon.

Thank you

[The Spotted Devil]

How long are you confining pup for? How big is her pen? Crates are a short term option only. It's normal for a pup to not want to be left alone so you need to teach them it's ok but in short bursts, not hours on end.

[persephone]

This is a BABY who needs/wants company ....

teaching independence involves giving pup the BEST time ever when it is alone .... ie: the best food/toys ... so that pup can choose to be alone ,in order to get the really special stuff !

there is some good advice here L:

A puppy can not learn to 'be confident' if it is separated and upset ...

a puppy learns to be confident by being encouraged and praised for doing the right thing, and by being set up in 'NO FAIL" situations ;)

May I suggest having a look at

[apocalypsepwnie]

We had this for the first 2 weeks we had Vinnie.

We used a combination of adaptil spray on his pillow, interesting toys, leaving the tv on and doing as you do with no attention while in the room. As hard as it was we had to just leave him.

When he'd settle on his own and was quiet for 5 minutes we'd come back in the room to treat him, say good boy and leave again.

We let him out at the same times each day when we are home. Before meal times as he usually falls asleep right after eating (ha ha porker). At night, he's allowed to cuddle and settle with use before bed time. We also treat him and say good boy when he's being settled but if he plays up too much he goes back in the pen and ignored for 5-10 minutes.

I honestly found the adaptil to be the best tool we used. We were doing all the other things anyway but this really reduced the number of times he'd go off and the length. It was an instant difference so I don't believe the reduction to be completely because of training.

[Nushie]

We tried a few things when Jager was a pup. The one that worked the best was what i would call the approach/retreat method.

Start with pup in the pen and you armed with yummy treats.

Stand facing the pen, take one step backwards and then straightaway forwards again, treat the pup. do this a few times. Then take 2 steps backwards and then straight forward again, treat the pup. Repeat. Take 3 steps backwards etc. Dont add more steps until the pup is calm and just waits for you to come back to treat it. If you get to the point that the pup starts fussing then reduce the number of steps, and build up again.

When you get the point where you can no longer back away from the pen without leaving the room, then you go back to the pen and repeat the process but this time turning away from pup. So stand at the pen, turn and take 1 step away from the pen, turn back straight away and treat the pup. Continue doing this as you did when facing the pen and slowly build up the steps.

When you reach the point where you run out of space, you disappear from their view for a spilt second, then return back to the pen straight away and treat. Again, building up the time that you disappear.

When time gets longer, we used to give a harder treat or stuffed kong that would take Jager a few minutes to eat. And we would leave the room, and return just before he finished the treat. That way he was distracted and rewarded when we werent there.

We used to do short 5 min sessions numerous times a day. When the session was over, he was allowed out of the pen and we have calm time watching tv. We made sure that whenever he was first let out of the pen it was spent doing calm things, we found this helped as he wouldnt get overly excited and start bouncing all over the place when we went to let him out. After 10 mins of being out we would place a game or something more active.

As it stands now (Jager is 4 in March) when we go out he always gets a frozen kong. And every morning we have the same routine and he sits infront of the freezer waiting while i put my shoes on cause he knows that his kong is next.

Hope that makes sense. Its what worked for us, and it is a slow process, and it may not work for everyone, but it is what worked for us.

Good luck!!

[Dogsfevr]

Our pups are taught the complete opposite ,penning is for sleeping .

Our pups are allowed to follow us around & soon learn this isn't fun & that going off on there own is great & infact we have never had an issue with then placing back in pen if required.

Allowing them to experience there new world is a must at this age & afcourse your pup will be needy but its up to you to teach it independence .

Our pups have the doggy door or we leave a door open they freely come & go as required & will cheerfully run back inside evry so often to see if where here & then they will go off again or sleep ,if its near there bedtime then in the pen they go but they need to go and use there senses & enjoy life

Your pup is totally reliant on you whilst in the pen which is teaching it to be needy & a pen all day is a very boring world .

We have also never been into bribery or treats & we don't suggest our puppy owners do that either as it becomes a routine .

If the dog has properly diagnosed issues then thats a different ball game but the more you fuss now the bigger issues you will create & the harder you make it the better prepared you must be to win the battle & many people make a simple job very hard .

Some pups can be more needy as can some breeds

Edited January 23, 2014 by showdog