It is important to note that this second step should always come after the first step has been carried out – effectively exercising your dog to help reduce excess energy. Once you have effectively exercised your dog, it is time to follow the tips set out in this video and provide them with something to do in your absence. This is where food dispensing toys and chews can play a really important role. The longer your dog is occupied for, the less time they have to worry about your absence. Similarly, the more fun your dog has playing the game of trying to reach the tasty treats in the toy, or gnawing on the tasty chew, the more likely they are to become physically and mentally tired and so help your dog to be able to relax and rest in your absence, free of stress and anxiety.
If you find that your dog is disinterested in eating from a food dispensing toy or tucking into a tasty chew, there are two areas to look at to problem solve this issue:
- Do they value the chew or food inside the food dispensing toy? If not, is there a particular food they reeaaallly like that you can save for only giving in your absence.
- Are they simply too stressed at this moment in time to eat in your absence? If this is the case then you should look to start your separation anxiety training slowly and stay close by to begin with, building up to being further away and for longer periods of time. My next, and last, video tutorial will help you with this!
As always, please do seek advice from a registered behaviourist if you find that any training tips aren’t working for your individual dog. They will be able to trouble shoot and pin point exactly what is going on, why the training might not be working at this present time, and assist you with positively moving forwards.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you can refer back to the series when you need to. Feel free to tag anyone in the comments below that you think might need to see this too. And of course let me know if you give the training exercises a go.
Happy training!
Dogtor™ Adem
Disclaimer: All training is attempted at the owner’s risk and Adem Fehmi accepts no liability for any injuries to pets or owners sustained during training. If your dog is showing signs of a behavioural issue please seek professional advice.