LEAVING YOUR DOG ALONE β MICRO ABSENCES
With the use of a camera, work out your dogβs baseline, the amount of time she/he can be left alone for before she/he gets too upset, before whining, scratching or howling.
That is your starting point. It may be be 0.5 seconds, which is not uncommon.
Practice absences for this amount of time and slowly increase. Remember to come in calm as explained below.
You can try using a toy or chew to distract your dog so it gets involved in something else and forgets about the rest of the pack, or it may just settle without.
You should also try and tire your dog out and calm it down before you leave. If youβve just come back from a walk your dog will be adrenalised and pumped up, so about half an hour to an hour after a walk the dog should have calmed down and be ready for a rest.
This is a good time to do separation training, after a walk and a feed.
You may want to experiment with leaving toys and not leaving toys, they will either help as a distraction or they might be too stimulating.
Set yourself up for success with your training.
Remember that ideally, you would need to leave your for short periods only, and return when she/he is not too anxious.
If you do need to go out for longer, ideally have someone sit with your dog to reduce anxiety, if that is not possible then give your dog a kong or chew and put your things on and go, try and detach from your dog mentally when you are out of the house.
Dogs can pick up on our moods so it is helpful to try and be practical and not worry too much. Some dogs can sense ownersβ feelings and intentions even when they are far away.
Dog-proof your home, remove anything precious or dangerous. During the micro absences your dog will be safe so try and disconnect emotionally.
Track your progress. Keep a diary and note your starting point and any progress because the journey can be long, slow and draining at times, it may help you to see how far you have come to keep you motivated.
Progress may be seconds rather than minutes, donβt be disheartened if you progress slowly, progress is progress after all!
Analyse and success or failures along the way, insights will help you formulate your training to have a better outcome.
Ensure your dog has adequate appropriate mental and physical exercise, enrichment and plenty of sniffing. Somatic relaxation for parasympathetic nervous system activation.
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Check out my blog on how diet affects behaviour https://bemoredog.co.uk/blog/diet-the-gut-and-behaviour-raw-vs-kibble/