Client Chronicles: Lady's Story - A Tale of Canine Separation Anxiety Disorder, Part 2

Lady's Story

A Tale of Canine Separation Anxiety Disorder

Part 2

5 Things Lady's Owners Learned About Separation Anxiety Training

One of the most common issues I treat is Separation Anxiety Disorder. What does Zen Dog Training do that’s different from other trainers? To help explain, I invited one family to share their story. 

"We've been working with Alexis for a few months now. Here are a handful of the the things we've learned: 

Crate training isn't always best. A dog may not destroy an apartment if they're locked away, but anxiety in a crate is simply anxiety redirected if training doesn't go along with the crate. A dog could develop other bad habits, including causing harm to themselves trying to get out of the crate. 

Bark collars don't help either. At least not when it comes to separation anxiety. You're still gone, and the dog is still panicked about being alone. Maybe instead of barking, she starts shredding a couch. The bark collar doesn't address the deeper issues. 

A calm space -- that's the key. A dog appropriately crate-trained should see the crate as a safe space for himself. Why not create that safe mindset around a dog's bed, with the comforting walls of a baby gate? Done right, the dog can be trained to see the bed and gate combo as a fun game -- that they play, calmly, while you leave. 

(Bonus: For a big dog it's often easier to find space for a bed + gate combo in an apartment than the right size crate). 

Body language matters. I had no idea that dogs read so much of our body language. When training Lady, Alexis instructed my husband to put her treats on the floor, and not feed her from his hand. This way Lady doesn't look to his hand for cues, but rather focuses on what she is meant to do to earn the morsels -- in this case, walk to her bed and lie down. 

Timelines vary widely. I admit I'm frustrated with this dog. A lot. I would like this anxiety problem fixed yesterday. But I would be even more frustrated if a trainer had promised us a quick fix that proved unrealistic. Every dog has a different biology and a different history, and therefore it makes sense that each dog requires a different time frame for success. I certainly appreciate this realistic approach. I'd rather go through the correct steps designed to give Lady the best chance of success than throw away time and money on promises of quick fixes that don't work or make the problem worse. Thanks to Alexis, I understand why Lady does the things she does, and why it's important for the dog's development and behavior. Finally, I feel like we're on the right track."

Stay tuned for more posts from Lady's owners sharing their story as they work with Zen Dog Training on Lady's severe separation anxiety.

Client Chronicles: Lady's Story - A Tale of Canine Separation Anxiety Disorder, Part 1

Lady's Story

A Tale of Canine Separation Anxiety Disorder

Part 1

One of the most common issues I treat is Separation Anxiety Disorder. What does Zen Dog Training do that’s different from other trainers? To help explain, I invited one family to share their story. 

"This is Lady. 

Lady came to Brooklyn from suburban Michigan. She had never walked on a leash -- at least not regularly -- before moving east. Her previous owners had her on some drugs for anxiety, but they reported turning her over to a Weimaraner rescue group due to a family health problem. Lady lived with an experienced foster family for six weeks before she was adopted out, and seemed fine.

But she hadn't really been left alone at the foster family's house. 

Michael, her new owner, drove 16 hours one way to Michigan to fetch Lady, who would be the 15th Weimaraner in his family (his father has two). 

Left alone in a Park Slope walkup, Lady would howl. She managed to open the front door and run down three flights of stairs to the landlord's basement in her panic. She cried and carved a two-inch chunk of wood out of the front door another time, so desperate was she to escape and find her people. You could hear her cries through closed windows on the third floor all the way down on the street. 

Maybe Lady cried and howled at her first home too, but maybe it didn't matter, because maybe the neighbors couldn't hear (or didn't care). Urban environments have benefits -- socialization, access to dog walkers and other services, and proximity to areas like Prospect Park. Many city dogs get more exercise then suburban ones. But shared apartment walls and cramped quarters can sometimes exacerbate problems that weren't an issue in the suburbs -- you just can't predict. 

From their previous dog, Lady's new family had a relationship with dog walkers  Rachel and Francesca at Brooklyn DogTime. Rachel quickly referred Lady to Alexis at Zen Dog Training. 

Rachel experienced Lady's panic first-hand. When they first met, Lady barked frantically and howled at the stranger for several minutes, much longer than expected. Her eyes dilated and stayed that way for the better part of a half hour, despite Rachel's best attempts to calm her. 

While Rachel knows her dogs, she also knows that separation anxiety like Lady's often needs a specialist to truly fix. This isn't just learning to sit, heel and not eat a child's toys. Anxiety training is about helping the dog reach a calm state of mind -- a much harder task."


Stay tuned for more posts from Lady's owners sharing their story as they work with Zen Dog Training on Lady's severe separation anxiety.

Interview: Alexis Toriello Of Zen Dog Talks Training, Communication & The Best Pizza In Town

I was interviewed and featured on Park Slope Stoop today, check it out!

Alexis Toriello Of Zen Dog Talks Training, Communication & The Best Pizza In Town

3 Common Dog Behavior Problems Solved.

Everything your dog does has a purpose. Think of a behavior you want to change. Identify its purpose. Show your dog that she can achieve this purpose with an easier and/or more purposeful behavior than the one you want to eliminate.  That's dog training, plain and simple.

Here are some examples:

1. Your dog pulls on the leash.
Purpose of pulling on the leash, for your dog: To move forward.
The behavior you'd prefer to result in moving forward: Walking on a loose leash.
Solution: When the leash is loose, move forward faster. When the leash is tight, i.e. your dog is pulling, don't move forward at all.
Result: Dog learns that he can exert less energy to move forward AND move forward more efficiently by walking next to you than by exerting a lot of energy pulling on the leash.  This will become his default behavior.

2. Your dog jumps on you.
Purpose of jumping on you, for your dog: Food and/or attention.
The behavior you'd prefer to result in food and/or attention: Calmly lying on dog bed.
Solution: Only give her food or attention when she's lying calmly on her dog bed. Ignore her when she's jumping on you.
Result: Dog learns that she can exert less energy to get food and/or attention by lying calmly on her dog bed than by exerting a lot of energy jumping on you.

3. Your dog chews your shoes.
Purpose of chewing your shoes: It feels good.
The behavior you'd prefer to result in that good feeling: Chewing on appropriate things.
Solution: Make sure your dog likes the chews you're giving him more than your shoes.  Then associate chewing on his own things with the sight of your shoes.  I.e., dog sees shoes, dog gets kong filled with peanut butter.  Dog sees shoes, dog gets braided bully stick.  Dog sees shoes, dog gets frozen marrow bone. Dog sees shoes, dog gets squeaky stuffed toy.  Remove your shoes from his vicinity when you're not around so he loses the memory of how good it felt to chew on them, and they only remind him of how good it is to chew on his own things.
Result: Dog learns that chewing on his own things feels good. Having your shoes around reminds him that chewing on his own things feels good. Having your shoes around makes him want to chew on his own things.

When teaching cute tricks backfire

I love Dr. Sophia Yin.  She's brilliant.  Here she is teaching her dog to fetch a tissue when she sneezes.  Cute!  But, I can see how this could backfire.  How?  When the dog doesn't realize this behavior is only good when it's requested, not offered.  This is crucial.  Otherwise, when her dog sees that she has something he wants, he'll resort to what all dogs resort to - trying all the tools in his toolbox to earn access to it, including fetching tissues.  That could be messy!

I had an unfortunate experience with a cute behavior recently.  I was in the process of teaching my dog Riis to push my baby daughter's swing.  However, I hadn't gotten to the point where we were putting it on cue yet.  So, one day, my husband had just spent 45 minutes getting our daughter to sleep, and placed her carefully in the swing so as not to wake her. What does Riis do?  He goes right over and bumps the swing with his nose, swinging it like a champ, and waking up the baby.  Needless to say, my husband did not think that trick was very cute.

You might have had this problem with teaching your dog "Paw" or "Shake."  Often they start to paw at you whenever they want your attention.  It is important not to reward this, and to reward only when you ask for it!  Not only will this get rid of the annoying unsolicited pawing, but it will teach your dog that she needs to take advantage of the opportunity to earn a treat when you ask her for something.  It will make her that much more attentive to you.

Thinking is exhausting...

Remember that for dogs, working their brains can be just as tiring as working their bodies.  Get some food-dispensing puzzles so that your dog has some good mental stimulation on a daily basis.

Tip of the Day: Bones.

Ask your butcher if he’s discarding any bones that week.  Take them off his hands, freeze them, and give them to your dog when he’s bored.  He’ll love it!  Just make sure they are dog-safe - chicken bones, for example, are not.

Tip of the Day: What to tell your kids

It’s not safe to instruct children to put their hands near a dog’s nose so he can sniff them.  Instead, ask them to make a fist and hold it down by their knees, and if the dog wants to engage with them he will approach.  Otherwise, it’s not safe to pet that dog.

Tip of the Day: Signaling Calm

Tension in the leash translates to tension in your dog.  Keep the leash loose and remain calm - this way you’re not inadvertently signaling to your dot that something’s wrong.

Puppy socialization: 5 reasons to socialize your dog... from a very vet-friendly dog trainer.

1. You can't go back in time.
This fact of life throws a wrench in a lot of otherwise great plans.  Sports betting, for example.  But I'm talking specifically about how the impossibility of time travel pertains to our dogs.  They have a certain window of time when they're young to be socialized to all kinds of different people, dogs, animals, objects, terrains, etc. that they will encounter in their lives.  If you miss this window, you'll probably find yourself in the land of counterconditioning and desensitization later on... which might hold you hostage for months on end.

2. It can be embarrassing when your dog is not well socialized.
Dogs are supposed to enrich out social lives.  Let them do that to their full potential.  Don't end up with a dog who freaks out every time you approach him with your puffy jacket on or has a heart-stopping reaction to the occasional encounter with a bearded man.  It can be pretty embarrassing, to say the least.

3. Dogs like it.
Puppies like stretching their little brains.  Socialization should always be pleasant and sub-threshold, never stressful, or you're giving your dog a reason to fear instead of relax, which is counterproductive.  Also, it's a great way to tire out a rowdy puppy so you can take a breather once in a while!

4. People like it.
Self-explanatory.  I doubt you'll have trouble finding any shape, size or color of person to greet your puppy.  If you do, they're just crazy.

5. Your life will be easier later on.
If you're going out of town for the weekend, you will have a better chance of being able to comfortably leave your dog with a friend if you don't have to warn them about her tendency to attack the strange humans on the street with the giant reflective eyeballs (sunglasses) or ask them to refrain from vacuuming as it may send your dog into shock.  That's a really unsettling situation.

The good news is.. these scenarios are often so easily avoidable!  Contact us for more info on what to do if you've just brought home a new puppy - and ask for clarification if you feel you're getting conflicting info from your vet.  Safety should always come first, but socialization is vital!

The age-old complaint, "my dog only listens when I have food."

I was volunteering this past summer for a rescue organization, handling a black lab mix-looking puppy who couldn't have been more than three months old.  I was having a great time getting her to do a few basic skills for potential adopters.  She clearly hadn't had any training before, and the woman who worked at the kennel where she was being boarded confirmed this.  When I told her that Mandy (the puppy) had been successfully practicing Sit, Down and Paw, she said, "Yeah, well, of course she'll do that for treats."

Yes, Mandy would do all those things for treats.  And lucky for us that she would, because that's what makes it so easy to train her.  Why would I not use treats?  If you have poor eyesight that can be remedied with prescription glasses, why not get the glasses?  Yes, you'll have to wear them on your nose, and they  might be cumbersome at times.  But wouldn't you rather that than not be able to see?  I would rather have to reinforce my dog's behavior with treats every once in a while than have to either intimidate them into compliance or just have an ill-behaved dog.

But I am, in fact, being kind of unfair to the kennel woman.  We aren't referring to the same practice when we talk about using food in dog training.  Debby McMullen, Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, explains that food can be used in dog training in three ways: as a bribe, a lure, or a reward.  The woman from the kennel was deploring the use of food as a bribe.  I am endorsing the use of food as a lure or a reward.  And it's true - she's right that using food as a bribe will likely teach your dog not to listen to you unless he sees the food in your hand.  And that's not good.

So in conclusion: Use food.  Use it sparingly to get your dog into the position you want to reward.  Then fade out the food by faking out your dog.  Use the same hand motions but without food in your hand as a lure.  Your dog will perform the same behavior, thinking you have food - so start to make it clearer and clearer that you have no food visible on your person as you cue him to the behavior.  He will realize that not seeing food does not mean that you won't produce it out of thin air if he just does what you ask.  That food magically appearing out of thin air is the reward.  Reduce the frequency of the reward, but keep it present so the behavior remains strong.  That's a quick description of how to correctly use food.  Don't bribe your dog, and you won't teach him to expect that.