separation

anxiety

Many dogs experience distress when they are left home alone or are separated from their humans, ranging from moderate stress to severe distress, on par with a panic attack. It can severely effect a dog’s quality of life.

Separation anxiety can look a lot of different ways:

• Barking
• Howling
• Pacing
• Lip-licking
• Excessive drooling

• Trembling
• Shaking
• Soiling in the house
• Destructive behaviors
• Escaping confinement

• Whining
• Panting
• Hyper-vigilance
• Repetitive behaviors
• Obsessive licking/chewing

Having a dog who can’t be left alone can be isolating, or feel like being trapped in your own home. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way forever. You don’t have to navigate this journey alone. Your dog can learn that alone time isn’t as scary as they think, and you can get your life back.

When working with separation anxiety, our goal is to teach your dog that you leaving home isn’t the end of the world, it’s no big deal - in other words, we have to change how your dog feels about you leaving. With customized plans for short daily training sessions, your dog can learn to tolerate your absence.

In the beginning, they will learn to be okay with micro-absences a few seconds to minutes long, and eventually, they’ll learn to be relaxed and comfortable with you being gone several minutes to several hours.

Separation Anxiety Program

✪ Separation Anxiety Onboarding Lesson - $125

  • 60 minutes, in-home or virtual (remote via video call)

  • Separation anxiety focused consultation where we discuss your concerns, your dog’s behaviors & history, and your lifestyle.

  • A baseline assessment where we determine your dog’s tolerance for being left alone

  • A management plan

  • Education on training methods specific to separation anxiety

  • Training plans for your first separation anxiety mission

  • Walkthrough of your first training mission with your trainer, if time allows

✪ 4-Week Separation Anxiety Package - $300

  • 4 weeks of 3-6 customized separation anxiety missions to follow along with your dog

  • Weekly feedback from trainer on notes & videos you send of your training missions

  • 1 follow up 30-minute lesson via video call (expire after 6 months)

✪ 8-Week Separation Anxiety Package - $550

  • 8 weeks of 3-6 customized separation anxiety missions to follow along with your dog

  • Weekly feedback from trainer on notes & videos you send of your training missions

  • 2 follow up 30-minute lessons via video call (expire after 6 months)

✪ Enrichment & Decompression Plan - COMING SOON!

  • Add-on to any separation anxiety package

  • Enrichment is often interpreted as meaning things like “puzzle toys” and “sniffing games,” but really, enrichment means “meeting your dog’s needs,” both in those ways and in others.

  • Enrichment is beneficial to all dogs, but especially to dogs experiencing excess stress, anxiety, or fear. It can help give dogs an outlet for natural dog behaviors and for behaviors that naturally help dogs regulate and calm down.

  • Personalized assessment of multiple categories of enrichment, and suggestions for enrichment to to meet your dog’s needs based on your lifestyle.

  • Also includes suggestions for management and enrichment to reduce background stress and anxiety both in general and from specific triggers your dog has.

✪ Comprehensive Separation Anxiety Training Plan - COMING SOON!

  • This option is for clients who would prefer to guide their own training progress independently with up-front instructions rather than receive feedback from a trainer over time. A separation anxiety onboarding lesson is a pre-requisite to this option.

  • You will receive one or more documents with detailed instructions on a separation anxiety protocol to follow for you and your dog.

  • This includes information on body language, suspending absences & management, example training missions for different durations, instructions on how quickly to progress to harder training missions, and guidance on what to do once you hit longer absences.

  • You can purchase individual follow-up lessons as needed if you would like additional guidance!