I have a 5ish year old Boxer we rescued 3 years ago. He was horribly abused, was terrified of men (and still is a little bit, it took him 2 months to get used to my husband), malnourished and suffers extreme separation anxiety. We tried everything under the Sun to help calm him and keep him relaxed. In our trial and error period of a full year he destroyed our mud room 3 times and chewed through 4 heavy gauge wire kennels. We can not, EVER, leave him in our home without a family member being home. He is still anxious if I, his alpha, am not home, but he doesn’t cause harm to himself or others. Luckily I am home with him most days.
Finally, a visit to the veterinary office may make your dog feel leery and cause anxiety. Think about the conditions of the situation and why your pet may feel extra jumpy. Take him for a walk beforehand to get his energy out. Soothe him as you put on his leash or put him in a carrier. The more you remain by your dog’s side and let him know you’re there for the duration of the visit, the more comfortable he’ll feel.
Condition your pup to be apart from you while you are home. This can save the dog from serious separation anxiety as he matures. Start with short separations of five minutes. Crate him or have an isolation area with nothing in it that he can harm. If he’s barking when you’re ready to let him out, wait until he stops before you open the door. Otherwise, he will associate barking as the way to be let out.
To train your dog to come when called, start on leash in a quiet area. Back away from your dog while enthusiastically telling her to “come!” Only give the command once, but be enthusiastic, and keep your body language relaxed and open. You can show your dog a treat to encourage her to head your way. Once she starts towards you, say “yes!” (or click) and reward her with a treat.
^{Dogs competing in dog sports, such as flyball, agility or Schutzhund, must be trusted in an open field, off leash and surrounded by other people, dogs, hot dogs, and flying discs. This requires more focused attention on the owner and a better recall than that found in most household companion dogs, and more advanced training than that required for formal obedience.}

Each family and dog has a unique reason for our training and behavior modification services. Sometimes a single consultation and training session is enough to set dog and owner on the right track, other times it may be very beneficial to continue behavior modification and owner instruction in follow-up lessons. 60-minute follow-up in-home consultations are $40.00 and can be scheduled at any time after the initial in-home consultation.

If my dog is able to focus and stay in-control, I reward him with a very high priority treat. For desensitization purposes, I usually bust out the really good stuff. I try to pick a highly aromatic or smelly treat that my dog loves, but does not usually get to eat. The smell will help to engage his nose, and further distract him from the source of his anxiety.

Unfortunately, a cause for anxiety can’t always be determined. It might be that the primary event that caused the onset of anxiety happened in the past and went unnoticed or occured before your pet became a member of your family. It’s also possible that your dog is just prone to anxiety and they get upset anytime there is a change to their routine or environment.

Fixed routine – I set a fixed schedule for feeding, walking, play-time, leaving the house, coming home, and more. I also establish a fixed set of rules, and a consistent way of enforcing them. A very fixed routine and rule-set, helps our dog understand what to expect from us, and also what we expect from him in return. Greater certainty reduces anxiety and stress.

^{Any area that the pup has access to must be kept clear and clean. Put out of puppy's reach anything you don't want him to chew or destroy. Do not allow your puppy to have unsupervised access to 'unchewables.' Do not chase the puppy in an attempt to take something away. Instead provide puppy with her own toys and teach her how to play with them exclusively.}

I allowed Sally the opportunity to go places as she pleased but only if I could trust her (which I always could). I gave her the opportunity to mess up so I could correct her and let her know where she could be. This is still something we do in the kitchen from time to time. If she is in the kitchen when I’m cooking I ask her to get back. This is for her safety because I don’t want to trip over her while I’m using a knife or opening the oven door. Additionally, I prefer to not have her in the kitchen begging.

This is a very popular program and is usually booked for a few months in advance, so please contact us before paying online or trying to schedule an appointment for this. This is where you drop off your dog, and 2-weeks later you pick up a dog that is outside, off-leash, with distractions! See our youtube channel for numerous board and train before/after videos!
Teach him to come when called. Come Jasper! Good boy! Teaching him to come is the command to be mastered first and foremost. And since he'll be coming to you, your alpha status will be reinforced. Get on his level and tell him to come using his name. When he does, make a big deal using positive reinforcement. Then try it when he's busy with something interesting. You'll really see the benefits of perfecting this command early as he gets older.
_{If your dog is less anxious before you leave, you can probably skip the predeparture treatment above and start with very short departures. The main rule is to plan your absences to be shorter than the time it takes for your dog to become upset. To get started, train your dog to perform out-of-sight stays by an inside door in the home, such as the bathroom. You can teach your dog to sit or down and stay while you go to the other side of the bathroom door. (You can also contact a Certified Professional Dog Trainer for assistance. Please see our article, Finding Professional Behavior Help, to locate a CPDT in your area.) Gradually increase the length of time you wait on the other side of the door, out of your dog’s sight. You can also work on getting your dog used to predeparture cues as you practice the stay. For example, ask your dog to stay. Then put on your coat, pick up your purse and go into the bathroom while your dog continues to stay.}
Developed in the 1930s, Obedience is one of the AKC’s oldest sporting events. From walking on- and off-leash to retrieving and jumping, or demonstrating your dog’s ability to stay, Obedience trials feature dogs that are well-behaved at home, in public places, and in the presence of other dogs. It is essential that the obedience dog demonstrates willingness and enjoyment while it is working with the handler.

My Shiba Inu was like this after he got neutered. The only way I was able to keep him from licking the incision site, was to supervise him and cone him when I could not supervise, until there was no longer any skin irritation. I used the cone until I was 100% sure that everything was healed, so that he does not set things back with his licking. Licking (like scratching on a scab) may give him some temporary, very short term relief, but it quickly creates more irritation, which leads to more licking, and so on.

So Ashley had been coming to my house probably 6-8 times since last year. My babies love her. She is calm and so sweet to them. They love her so much! I am sure they love her treats too! My Frenchies (2 & 3 yrs old) can now sit, stay, wait (this is when we hold a treat right in front of their face and they don't try to snatch it) and lay down. She has also helped with some potty issues that our youngest had. She helps us understand why our dogs are doing certain things and their motives. We rescued our doggies & they are Frenchies so they are stubborn to boot. So she helps us understand certain behaviors and how to correct them.