After many failed attempts at desensitizing him to the triggers of his anxiety we tried natural calming agents to help. None worked. His anxiety was to profound and the methods were ineffectual. We just could not calm him enough, when exposed to his triggers, for the agents or program to work. We had to put him on medication. For his own safety. He was causing great harm to himself in his terror to escape what he probably thought was another abandonment.
Treats should be soft and bite-sized so your pooch will immediately be ready for more. Couple all rewards with verbal praise and your dog will soon form a positive association with the sound of your praise. Once a behavior is well established, you can slowly reduce the frequency of other rewards. In time, your dog will respond to your command simply for your praise (and the possibility of the occasional treat).
"Profound fear and withdrawal of unknown cause (so called idiopathic fear and withdrawal) has also been noted in certain dog breeds, including the Siberian Husky, German Shorthaired Pointer, Greyhound, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Bernese Mountain Dog, Great Pyrenees, Border Collie, and Standard Poodle, among others," PetMD explained. "There appears to be a strong familial component, with the likelihood of a genetic influence."
Socialization should begin as soon as you get your puppy and often this means at 7 weeks of age. Puppies naturally accept new people, other species and introduction to new situations during the socialization period which occurs between 7 and 14 to 16 weeks of age. This period provides an opportunity for a myriad of introductions that will provide positive memories that last a life time. Puppies are eager, exploratory and uninhibited during this period and it is important to take advantage of this enthusiasm. Be sure to protect your puppy during this period and ensure that all experiences are positive, fun and not fear evoking.
If you can teach your dog polite manners without hurting or frightening her, why not do it? Rather than punishing her for all the things you don’t want her to do, concentrate on teaching your dog what you do want her to do. When your dog does something you like, convince her to do it again by rewarding her with something she loves. You’ll get the job done without damaging the relationship between you and your best friend.
At this point, you can start to incorporate very short absences into your training. Start with absences that last only last one to two seconds, and then slowly increase the time you’re out of your dog’s sight. When you’ve trained up to separations of five to ten seconds long, build in counterconditioning by giving your dog a stuffed food toy just before you step out the door. The food-stuffed toy also works as a safety cue that tells the dog that this is a “safe” separation.
First and foremost, the best thing you can do is consult your veterinarian. Your dog may or may not need medical help, but the safest thing to do is take him/her to the vet and see. If there is a need for medicine, it can take a couple weeks for the medicine to take effect. Ultimately, it is up to you to modify behaviors to get them to relax and not react to environmental situations.
You can also lure a down from a sit or stand by holding a treat in your hand to the dog’s nose and slowly bringing it to the floor. Give the treat when the dog’s elbows touch the floor to start. After a few practices, begin bringing your empty hand to the floor and giving the treat AFTER he lies down. When he can reliably follow your hand signal, begin saying “down” as you move your hand.
Many dogs suffering from separation anxiety are okay when left in a car. You can try leaving your dog in a car—but only if the weather is moderate. Be warned: dogs can suffer from heatstroke and die if left in cars in warm weather (70 degrees Fahrenheit and up)—even for just a few minutes. DO NOT leave your dog in a car unless you’re sure that the interior of your car won’t heat up.
In some cases, dogs experiencing anxiety may become more aggressive overall. If your pet doesn’t typically growl, he may point and growl at whatever is causing him to be anxious. The longer you have your pet, the more it’ll be obvious as to what causes him distress. With any luck, you can avoid these situations as much as possible. But when you can’t, the good news is there are remedies available.
Otherwise, there could be a food allergy or something else, and the anxiety merely exacerbates the condition. When my dog gets diarrhea, I usually switch to a bland diet. I use boiled/microwave chicken and white rice only, no treats, no extras. That helps to settle their tummy. For dogs that are allergic to poultry, we will need to use a different meat source. Once my dog is on a steady state, I very slowly reintroduce back her normal food, one at a time, to try and locate the source of the food allergy (if any).
Work on only one part of a skill at a time Many of the skills we want our dogs to learn are complex. For instance, if you want to train a solid sit-stay, you’ll need to work on teaching your dog that she should stay in a sitting position until you release her (duration), she should stay while you move away from her (distance), and she should stay while distracting things are going on around her (distraction). You’ll probably both get frustrated if you try to teach her all of these things at the same time. Instead, start with just one part of the skill and, when your dog has mastered that, add another part. For example, you can work on duration first. When your dog can sit-stay for a few minutes in a quiet place with no distractions while you stand right next to her, start training her to stay while you move away from her. While you focus on that new part of the skill, go back to asking your dog to stay for just a few seconds again. When your dog can stay while you move around the room, slowly build up the duration of the stay again. Then you can add the next part-training in a more distracting environment. Again, when you make the skill harder by adding distraction, make the other parts-duration and distance-easier for a little while. If you work on all the parts of a complex skill separately before putting them together, you’ll set your dog up to succeed.
These behaviors can be diminished only when a plan of action is in course. You can’t expect the anxiety just to disappear when nothing has been done to cure it. Just like any other health condition, a dog suffering from this kind of problem will need to seek professional help from their veterinarian to identify the underlying cause. From there, your vet will be able to recommend tips on how to avoid these triggers or provide anti-anxiety medication for dogs if their condition is in a severe stage.
It typically takes 4-6 months for a puppy to be fully house trained, but some puppies may take up to a year. Size can be a predictor. For instance, smaller breeds have smaller bladders and higher metabolisms and require more frequent trips outside. Your puppy's previous living conditions are another predictor. You may find that you need to help your puppy break old habits in order to establish more desirable ones.
Training should begin in a quiet environment with few distractions. The chosen reward should be highly motivating so that the puppy focuses entirely on the trainer and the reward. Although a small food treat generally works best, a favorite toy or a special dog treat might be more appealing. It might also be helpful to train the puppy just before a scheduled mealtime when it is at its hungriest. For difficult or headstrong puppies, the best way to ensure that the puppy will perform the desired behavior and respond appropriately to the command is to leave a leash attached and to use a head collar for additional control. In this way, you can prompt the puppy into the correct response if it does not immediately obey, and the pressure can be released as soon as the desired response is achieved.
It's important to know what type of issues you're looking to avoid so that you can teach your dog good habits right from the start. Some pet parents hope to ward off excessive barking, while others are worried about their dog chewing on non-food items (like dangerous house plants or their shoes). Digging, begging, biting, stealing food and urinating in the home are other issues pet parents look to avoid.
Similarly, while it helps to have one adult assert themselves as the pack leader, your dog should also be trained by every member of your family. Part of puppy obedience training is simply learning where your pet falls in the order of the pack, so everyone needs to be involved. This also teaches your pet to follow commands by all humans and not just one leader.
PAC Dog Trainings services include puppy training and obedience training. But at PAC we also specialize in behavioral modification. PAC often works with cases of severe anxiety, behavioral and temperment problems, and aggression. Most of PAC's trainer's experience has been with unruly and aggressive dogs using only humane methods and safe controlled techniques to limit liability and possible injury to trainer, owner, dog and participants.
