[Sadie Cornelius]

Help with my 3 year old Cavalier, he has massive separation anxiety! Any tips?

[GeorgieCKCS]

Awe my dog does sits by the door when I’m gone too!

[GeorgieCKCS]

Have you tried working with a behaviorist?

[GoHawks]

I found that the fewer stimulating things in my dog’s environment, the better she does. So when I leave the house, I close the blinds. I also leave her out of her kennel. For her, the kennel seemed to create more anxiety. Leaving her out where she can relax in her bed has helped her drastically.

[GooseD]

I’ve had a similar response; my dog responds best by creating a calming environment in the house. I also don’t make a big deal about leaving. I can see he gets anxious when I grab my keys and put shoes on, but I found that if I calmly walk out the door, it works better than making a big fuss.

[Sadie Cornelius]

Quote:
Have you tried working with a behaviorist?

yes we have and they recommended not crating him which has helped a lot (she said it was stacking anxieties on top of one another – containment with separation).

[Sadie Cornelius]

@GoHawks that’s a great tip, we put a film in the window so he can’t see out and yes we got rid of his kennel for that reason too! @GooseD yes the keys makes my dog go crazy, one trainer we worked with said to do triggers/cues like getting keys, putting shoes on and then don’t actually leave to train them to not associated those as bad things when you do leave. Thanks for the tips/ideas for dealing with separation anxiety! If anything it’s nice to know I’m not alone and have a community of people to share our experiences with.

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