Separation Anxiety Solutions

06/09/2023

02/02/2023

Trainers who understand separation anxiety, or dog anxiety in general, won't blame you. ✌️❤️

They won't tell you that you're weak. 😞

That you need to show leadership. 🤦 🙄

That you're neurotic.

Or that you need to stop babying your dog.

A good trainer will talk to you adult-to-adult.

They will empathize and understand. 🤗

But most importantly, they will use transparent, evidence-based methods to help you through this. 💪

01/02/2023

Why don‘t they make programs about separation anxiety training? Because it would make for the dullest TV. 🐕 📺

When we get dogs over separation anxiety, we use a process called gradual exposure.

It's gentle.
It's dog-centric.
And it's drama-free.

No wonder the celeb TV trainers don't use that method. 🙄

They prefer showy, "instant" methods that seem to automagically cure separation anxiety. 🤦‍♀️

But all that's actually going on is that they suppress the behaviour the dog uses to express his fear. 😭 😭

They don't help the dog overcome his fear.

They don't use tried and trusted gradual exposure. That would be far too boring.

When you work with anxious dogs, though, there's nothing better than boring. 😉

True magic is seeing a dog who previously panicked at being left, now getting bored by mum and dad coming and going.

Boring beats drama all the way. 😍 😍

07/04/2022

Drumroll please 🥁🥁

In this week's episode, we are joined by renowned vet behaviourist -

🌟 Dr Chris Pachel. Dr Pachel is not only a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (DACVB).

He is also a Certified Animal Behavior Consultant (CABC). Dr Pachel works out of the Animal Behavior Clinic, in Portland, Oregon, in the US.

https://www.separationanxietysolutions.com/podcast/episode/37691531/medication-and-more-with-special-guest-dr-chris-pachel

09/02/2022

A bit of good news for those of you that are not at the stage of being able to leave your dog home alone.

Wilko's are making some of their stores dog friendly 💕

A pet is more than just a pet, they’re family. That’s why we’ve decided to welcome pets in-store at 248 of our locations 🤩

We hope that shoppers will enjoy bringing their furry friends along with them 🐶

Please check for new signage at the entrance of your local store to see if they are participating.

02/02/2022

Today is Well Done Wednesday 🥳

When I first met Lyra and her pet parent a year ago all she wanted was for Lyra to be happy at home and alone. 🥰

The other thing she looked forward to was getting to an exercise class 🦹‍♀️

We worked together on a tailored plan and they got up to a very respectable 25 minutes, what's more there was a deeper understanding of how to progress without me 😍

They have had some challenges along the way for them but I am very to let you know that Lyra can now stay home for around an hour and a half and her pet parent can get out to those classes once more!

31/01/2022

🤗

19/01/2022

Welcome Wednesday!! 🤩

This is the very sweet Biscuit, she was struggling when her guardians tried to leave her.
So they came to join me on an eight week package.

Biscuit is settling to the training very well and learning that 'mom' being outside is actually not that bad 🥰

12/01/2022

A huge welcome to our newest recruit - Snoop! 🤩

Snoop is joining us for an 8 week programme to help him learn that being home alone is actually OK.

Stay with us to keep an eye on his progress 🤓

10/01/2022

What Does SMART Mean?

SMART is an acronym that you can use to help you with your goal setting.

"Its criteria are commonly attributed to Peter Drucker's Management by Objectives concept. The first known use of the term occurs in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran. Since then, Professor Robert S. Rubin (Saint Louis University) wrote about SMART in an article for The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology."
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm

Our podcast this week is all about goals and separation anxiety training, we use the SMART acronym to help you decipher how, where and when to start 🎯

Somehow we also talk about John Travolta 🤓

10/01/2022

*NEW PUPPY CLASSES* starting in Berkhamsted on Friday 14th January 2022 1.30.
Our Six week course will cover all the puppy basics including confidence building, sit, down, recall, loose lead training and much more.
Maximum of 6 puppy's, ideal for puppy under 24 weeks.
Give your puppy the best start, so they become a confident, happy and sociable member of your family.
For more details and to book your place, please message or use the alternative contact details on our page.

07/01/2022

New Year, New You?

Are you aiming high for the new year? Do you love a goal setting exercise? 🎯

After all 'aim for the stars and you'll hit the moon' right? 🌝

What if goal setting isn't your thing? What if that lofty goal becomes an ever higher mountain you just can't climb? Does your dogs separation anxiety feel like that mountain? 🏔

This week on the podcast Stacey, Ness and I will be talking all about goals and how to break them down into teeny tiny molehills. 🥳

04/01/2022

My morning routine involves coffee and a small upside down Poodle 🐩💕

What's yours? 😀

01/01/2022

HAPPY NEW YEAR 🙌🥳

Here we are again! How time flies eh? 😱

Did you spent all last year wishing you could leave your dog happy at home, alone? Are you thinking the time to start has passed you by? 🤔

❌ Here is the bad news - starting last year would have been great 🥺

✅ The good news? - you can start NOW! 🥳

Make next new year the one where you can say, 'I'm so glad I can leave my dog home alone and happy' 🙌💝

Get in touch to see how you can get your training off to a flying start in 2022!

https://separationanxietysolutions.as.me/FREE-call

24/12/2021

Wherever you are this holiday time I wish you peace and joy 💝

If you are working on separation anxiety with your dog, remember to take a break and enjoy the simple pleasure of spending time with them doing something you both enjoy :-)

Take care and I will be back in the New Year ###

29/11/2021

Helping our separation anxiety dogs is a process 🤓

At any given time we are probably sitting somewhere in the 'Circle of Change'

Some parts such as the Action phase are more comfortable to be in than say the Relapse phase 🥺

Take heart though, you are not alone and these phases are normal and we all go through them, what you can do to help? Recognise where you are and go with it, try not to get stuck or give up, after all it's only a phase 🙌🧡

(prochaska and diclemente’s stages of change model.)

25/11/2021

Please help me congratulate the fabulous Team Nelson on graduating from my eight week program.

Team Nelson achieved a final time of 25 minutes home alone. He has endured deliveries galore and people at the door.
His family are now capable of carrying on alone and I am sure they will be popping out for lunch before you know it 🤩👏🤩

22/11/2021

Blips! We all experience them, we all have good days and bad - well guess what? So do our dogs 🤓

One of the most frustrating aspects of separation anxiety training for us owners is the variability in training 🤨 it's a killer!

We get all worried that we have done something wrong or that the training simply doesn't work 😳

Let me put your mind at rest, variability is NORMAL, not only is it normal it is expected :-)

Remember a bad day is just a blip 😉

12/11/2021

Our podcast 'Tails from the Dog House' separation anxiety explained is now available on Amazon and Audible for FREE

Every episode is a different aspect of separation anxiety, including hints, tips and of course special guests!

10/11/2021

🥳 I'm so very proud to have earned this certification! ☺️

Thank you to Julie Naismith's SubThreshold Training and all of my fabulous clients and colleagues. I have loved working with every one of you and can't wait to continue to help more pups to stay happy home alone 💕

🥳 Introducing Sarah McLaren, newly Certified SA Pro Behavior Consultant.

In order to achieve certification Sarah had to demonstrate that she had

🐶 consulted across a wide range of case-types, including hyper-attachments, multi-dog households, puppies, seniors dogs.
🎗 acted as a mentor to newer SA Pro Trainers (supporting your fellow trainers is a strong ethos of the SA Pro community 💕).
👩‍⚕️ worked in a multi-disciplinary team.
👏 resolved cases where dogs regressed.

Sarah had to submitting case videos for review, as well as feedback from clients and from SA Pro Trainers she had mentored. She also had to share a case log to demonstrate that she had met the necessary hours criteria.

It's a tall order but Sarah knocked it out of the park 🙌

The Cert. SAPBC designation is not about status. It is about leadership, compassion, and co-operation. 💕 At the end of the day it's all about making the world a better place for dogs,🐕 their humans 👩‍👩‍👧‍👧 , and the separation anxiety trainers who try to help them.

You're a superstar, Sarah. Thank you from all the dogs whose lives you improve every day! ❤️

with Separation Anxiety Solutions

08/11/2021

🤩 SPECIAL GUEST ALERT 🤩

Our latest podcast features the fabulous Hannah Capon from Canine Arthritis Management (CAM)

Join us while we talk all about pain in dogs....
⚡️how to spot it
⚡️ how to help
⚡️how it can affect your SA dog
⚡️how to approach your Vet if you think there might be a pain issue for your dog.

We found Hannah fascinating and hope you will too :-)

03/11/2021

Join me in congratulating Team Ted on reaching one hour home alone! 🤩

Team Ted has worked hard and followed my separation anxiety program to the letter.

Well done 🥳

01/11/2021

One of the biggest problems when going it alone with your separation anxiety training is knowing where to start? 🤔

Join us on this weeks episode while we chat all about 'Baselines', what they are, why you need one and how to do one 😁