A Separation Anxiety Trainer's Blog

Is your dog's barking disturbing neighbors and now you're getting complaints? Or maybe you are just worried that the number of noises that trigger your dog’s arousal and barking are causing your dog to become stressed. Or maybe you’re the one who is stressed from your dog’s barking. Before we talk about what to do, it’s important to understand this: Barking isn’t the problem. It’s a symptom. Dogs bark for a reason. They bark because they hear something, see something, feel

Socialization is a word that is thrown around a lot as being an important part of raising a puppy.

"I often hear the refrain, 'My dog isn’t allowed to have people food,' echoing through the years of my work with families on teaching their dogs basic manners. It's a sentiment often expressed when I suggest using chicken or cheese as dog treats during training sessions. Observing dogs reluctantly accepting treats, owners sometimes conclude their pets aren’t food motivated. But there are compelling reasons why 'people food' can be effective in training. There are two main rea

I used to work in an animal shelter, and one of the fantastic benefits was taking my dogs to work with me each day. They could comfortably hang out in my office while I worked. However, when I started working from home, I discovered just how busy my neighborhood is during the weekdays. If it was just me at home, I might have tuned out the neighborhood activity. But my dogs were very alert and found the goings-on to be concerning. So, my days looked like this: both dogs would

A dog barks non-stop when left alone, is howling, digging, chewing and destructive – especially around doors and windows; these are signs...

Last summer, I was in the backyard with my dog, Whimsy, working on some agility drills. Agility is a lot of fun, but it can be a challenging sport for both the dog and the handler. We were struggling with one particular exercise, and I wanted to keep going until we “got it right.” Suddenly, Whimsy sat down and refused to move when I tried to direct her over a jump. Whimsy was officially on strike. My attempts at a “fun” training session with toys, treats, and praise were stre

Separation anxiety is normal for children up to about 14 months of age. According to WebMD , “When this fear affects a child over age 6...

“He can’t be crated even if we’re in the next room. I know we should have worked harder at getting him to like his crate.” This is what I...