Separation anxiety is not going to go away when you do manners training, or what people would consider conventional training. Separation anxiety needs to be worked on differently.
There also isn’t any amount of manners training you could have done to prevent separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is a complex behaviour issue, that needs to be addressed in carefully.
Hopefully this answers some of your questions.
If you have any questions please reach out!
Many of my clients tell me they are responsible for their dogs separation anxiety. They spent too much time with them or let them sleep on the bed with them.
There is no evidence that any of those things cause separation anxiety. There is no science that say what exactly causes it. But there is science that shows us what doesn’t.
Keep loving those dogs, letting them sleep on your bed, and hanging out with you.
Love doing research and will admit when I am wrong!
Your natural gate is not the same as your dog. Which causes them to often be a head of you. The harness does not cause your dog to pull. Dogs can learn to walk on a harness just as easily as on a collar and you wont cause any long term damage to their trachea when your dog is wearing a harness vs a collar.
The same way my tall friend isn’t a bad person for walking faster than me.
Sometimes 6 feet is not enough. And there is nothing wrong with that. My preference for personal space is more than 6 feet and as a general rule that is excepted and my wishes are considered. And if there is a place where that’s not possible, I generally won’t go. Same with some dogs, but they don’t always have the ability to tell you, this party isn’t their scene.
Learn to read your dog’s body language and the be ready to advocate for your dogs need and right for personal space.
Stop making statements that make other dog handlers feel bad or guilty!!
What works for your dog may not work for anyone else’s dog. Dogs are not one size fits all.
Your vocabulary when you speak or think about your dog is really important. We want a relationship with our dog. Not a dictatorship. Or at least I want a relationship not a dictatorship.
Paystations are a great way for you to set your training up for success. They make it easy to remember to do some training and with treats near by you don’t have to search for any equipment to do the training.
Stop making success impossible for your dog!
Start small, make training fun. Set up your environment so your dog can be successful!
Making it too difficult for your dog just means they will become frustrated and stop trying.
There are no guarantees in dog training.