10/24/2022
•Pet your dog, all the time
•Talk to your dog, all the time
•Allow your dog to follow you, all the time
•Allow your dog to be on your lap or laying on your feet, all the time
•Pet, soothe, comfort your dog when it whines or barks for attention...or is simply anxious
•Allow your dog to demand affection/interactions
•Be emotionally dependent on your dog
•Allow your dog to do whatever it wants, whenever it wants
•Provide no structure or rules
•Refuse to crate train your dog
•Refuse to correct your dog when inappropriate behavior occurs
•Refuse to train your dog to be calm, relaxed, and independent by using a “Place” command, and/or “away” time in the crate
•Allow you and your home to be a free-for-all, where your dog has zero leadership and guidance
•Let your dog out of the crate when it whines or barks
•Avoid training or anything that makes your dog uncomfortable or unhappy
•And many, many more...
Basically, baby, soothe, allow, enable, lean on, and create a toxic dependency...so when you leave, your dog is a mess, because you haven’t prepared them to be strong, resilient, robust, independent, and alone.
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I put this in the comments but posting it here to make sure everyone sees it that is reading and doesn't want to scroll through the comments.
**Commenting as this has gone further than I intended (yay Facebook!)
I did not make create this post, but rather shared. The person who created the post is contributed to in the photo.
Does doing these things automatically mean your dog will get separation anxiety? Absolutely not. My dogs are first and foremost my companions. None of my personal dogs have separation anxiety. They are all well rounded Canine citizens. Temperament is one of the top priorities in my breeding program because I have personally seen too many dogs with loose screws.
It's your job as an owner/trainer/handler to know and read your dog. Every dog is different. Every dog needs different things. Every dog has a different training style. It is YOUR job to learn these things. Dogs are smart creatures. They learn through positive and negative experiences. If you touched a hot stove, you'd think twice about touching it next time, right? Dogs are the same. There has been extensive studies from animal behavioralists that looked into what causes Separation Anxiety. Is some of it genetically predisposed? Of course it is. Is some of it taught? Absolutely.
There is no 'one shoe fits all' solution. Every situation has to be a**lyzed and approached according to what that situation needs. If you are noticing your dog is spiraling in a direction you don't desire and you don't know how to fix it, then contact an animal behavioralist. They will be thrilled knowing that you are being an advocate for your dog and want your dog to be a happy, independent Canine citizen vs being in distress in whatever environment that makes it uncomfortable.
I shared this post as to shed light on what COULD cause separation anxiety. That does not mean they WILL. Restating - EVERY dog is different has different needs. It is YOUR job as the owner to learn your dogs needs!