Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - BH325: Home Alone: Treating Separation Anxiety

Course Details

Does your dog bark, whine, or howl when you leave the house? Does he scratch at the door or windows when he is left alone? Do you come home to find your dog has destroyed parts of your home or some of your belongings? Has he soiled the house or his crate? Does he wait until you get home before he touches his food?

Your dog may be suffering from separation anxiety. Living with a dog with separation anxiety can be frustrating and exhausting, leading many families to feel they have no choice but to surrender the dog. Separation anxiety never goes away by itself, and will usually get worse if left untreated.

This course will show you how to manage and treat separation anxiety in dogs, from start to finish. You will learn what you need to start doing right now to help turn things around.

Note that this course will address the problem of dogs being left alone at home, specifically. While some of the principles and approaches can apply to other similar issues (like dogs who are stressed when left alone in a car or in a location other than their home), here we will be addressing separation anxiety in the home.

Keep in mind that each case is different and that the rate of progress varies greatly from dog to dog, household to household. While some students may see significant improvement within just a few weeks, most will progress at a slower, steady pace. That’s ok! Behaviour change takes time, and addressing this type of emotional issue can take a lot of it. This class will provide you with the knowledge necessary to address the issue on your own.

Instructor: Nancy Tucker

Nancy (she/her) is a certified trainer with the CCPDT, and a certified behavior consultant with the IAABC. She teaches seminars, webinars, and workshops on dog training, dog behavior, and the business end of training throughout Canada, the U.S., and Europe. (Click here for full bio and to view Nancy's upcoming courses)

Syllabus

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Students are able to begin to work on practical exercises almost immediately. The lectures are designed to provide students with a deeper, clearer understanding of the problem and the science behind the solution (how and why it works).

Much of the course content involves laying the groundwork for eventual departures. This is a crucial part of the program and may take several weeks. Behaviour modification takes time, especially when addressing anxiety-related behaviours.

In light of this, the course doesn’t spend much time examining causes and symptoms, but rather jumps right into foundation work and practical exercises:

Intro to Separation Anxiety

Start building confidence now

Setting up your dog’s “home alone area”

Bonus lecture – Emergency back-up plan

Bonus lecture – Departure cues

Moving towards the door

Let technology be your assistant

Using barriers

Getting creative with food toys

Meeting your dog’s needs

Spending time apart (how-to)

Hiccups, regression, and our own “separation anxiety”!

A brief talk about meds and other helpful products

Environmental management – the sights and sounds of your home

Disappearing act – out of sight

Stepping out the door

Prerequisites & Supplies

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There are no prerequisite skills or knowledge for this course. However, please note that the program involves gradually and systematically helping your dog to overcome his/her fear of being alone. For that to work, your dog will be left alone only while you are actively working on the exercises. At all other times, your dog should not be alone. A designated portion of the course addresses this element in particular, and offers some possible solutions to a difficult conundrum.

Sample Lecture

Throughout the course you'll find lectures that will give you a clear understanding of the process used to treat separation anxiety. You'll have greater insight into how you can help your own dog feel better about being alone. Here's a sample of what elements are covered within the first few lectures:

Let's wrap up this section with a quick recap. Consider it a checkpoint. Have a look at it and see how your progress is coming along.

So far we've looked at, and started working towards these things:

1. Getting your dog so used to seeing you come and go in front of him, that he no longer considers this movement "Something I Should Maybe Worry About". It's become routine, and the situation can be trusted. Some dogs have begun to relax into the exercise, some have not, but at the very least they have learned not to be concerned about seeing you walk away (they don't feel the urge to follow you).

2. Slowly increasing the level of difficulty of this exercise, but still keeping it simple. We've been focusing on repeating, repeating, repeating... in order to help your dog begin to build some confidence.

3. Identifying the spot in your house where your dog will eventually be left alone when you leave. You've begun helping your dog form a positive association with that spot by feeding him there, or by encouraging him to engage in a relaxed activity like working on a stuffed Kong while in your company, and without any barriers like closed doors or gates.

4. Looking into equipping yourself with the technological tools you'll need to keep an eye on your dog while you practice leaving (that's coming up soon).

5. Finding temporary solutions to ensure your dog is not left alone for longer than he can handle when you do start leaving the house.

The next exercise will involve your dog’s “home alone” spot, so if you haven’t yet addressed that, have a look back at lecture #3. Consider gathering ingredients to begin stuffing some Kongs and placing them in your freezer in preparation. 😊

Testimonials & Reviews

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A sampling of what prior students have said about this course ....

Thanks so much for all the help! It was kind of weird to me that none of the exercises you described were in any of the books or articles I'd read on separation anxiety, but it definitely made all the difference in getting us a stable foundation and steady progress.

Going into this class, I had a good understanding theoretically of how to help my dog with his separation anxiety. This class helped me to move from theory to reality. Thank you!

Nancy's "Home Alone" class was a practical addition to other sources I'd studied on the subject of separation anxiety. I thought it a great adjunct to Malena DiMartini Price's DVD's and book as well as providing a clear outline to working with SA which Nicole Wilde hints at. Though taking this class at the Bronze level, I was fascinated by the kind and caring approach which Nancy Tucker took in working with individual Gold member participants and her caring and detailed responses yielded numerous insights.

I recently completed BH325: Home Alone: Treating Separation Anxiety, taught by Nancy Tucker, as a Gold student. This was my first foray into the FDSA online school and I was truly impressed. The course more than met my expectations. The material was clearly presented, the interactions with Nancy were timely and she provided feedback in a detailed, clear and friendly manner. Nancy’s comments on the videos I provided were spot on and gave me ideas to better work with my dog, Rhubarb. The pace of the class allowed all of us to work at our own speed. There was never any pressure to “keep up”, and in fact, we were encouraged to slow down when needed. Nancy not only provided written feedback, she also took the time to create new videos to answer questions more clearly. This proved invaluable, since sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words!!! So much easier to understand!!! I will be continuing to work on Rhubarb’s SA issues, following the guidance Nancy provided in this course. Thanks again for a great class. I plan to take it again, to continue our work.

Great course on a sad topic. I always think about the amount of emotional energy it takes to deal with not just the anxious dogs but their owners too. The instructor stayed emotionally strong, cheerful and supportive which is so hard to do with this issue!

Even though as a bronze I didn't directly communicate with Nancy I could see her passion in the lectures. I enjoyed her humor that she put in and the way she explained everything in great detail.

Nancy, I just want to tell you that you are such a great teacher. Funny, interesting, you obviously care for the student/client as much as you do for the dog. Your lectures are easy to understand not because the subject is but because of the wordings you use to explain everything.

Nancy did a great job teaching this course. Her material was concise and very easy to understand and implement. She teaches in a knowledgeable way with warmth and a sense of humor. Her interest in the success of her students is obvious.

Treating separation anxiety is a difficult and emotional process. This course broke all parts of the issue down into their smallest components such that I could always look at my dog and say that we were succeeding in some way. Even when succeeding looked like 5 seconds on the other side of a barrier, or simply walking up to my door and twisting the knob. It was those small successes that kept me going through the sometimes stressful process of making sure my dog was never alone. Will we be up to actually leaving the house by the end of week 6? No, but we're close, and I am thrilled. Nancy has given me confidence in desensitization and counterconditioning. The skills we learned here will get us through this issue and I imagine many others. Thank you so much!

This was a wonderful class for me. I learned a lot about my own dog that I didn't see before... Nancy is a wonderul instructor... Sometimes if feels like you're waiting for paint to dry, but in the end, it's the slowness during the class that produces the most success. At least for me it did. This class was wonderful for me and I'm seeing my dog getting more and more comfortable with me leaving the house. We aren't at a stage where I can leave for a few hours, but I see that we will be in the near future. Dealing with Sep Anx is tricky subject matter. But being the tortoise (not the hare) brings the most success.

Registration

This is a self-study class. The lectures will appear directly in your library, under the "Self Study classes" heading. Self Study classes do not have class homework forums. You will not have any access to the course instructor for questions or feedback. Please note there are no refunds on self-study classes so review all the information provided carefully before purchasing.

You will have access to these materials in your library for one year from the date of enrollment. You can keep your library pass current by enrolling in at least one course or workshop a year. Alternatively, you can purchase a library pass for $25 per year for as long as you wish to have access to prior class materials.