positive trainer

Sighthounds

Sighthounds are a group of super speedy dogs that hunt through speed and sight, rather than scent and endurance like most dogs. Whippets, lurchers and greyhounds are all sighthounds but there are dozens of dog breeds that fall into the sighthound category.

Sighthound ownership

Sighthounds are awesome dogs and make for the best companions. They were bred to catch the quickest and most nimble of prey, such as deer and hares. These dogs are characterised by a flexible spine, long legs to and a deep chest. Sighthounds, and in particular, whippets, are a dog breed that I wholeheartedly recommend for first time owners.

Whilst they are the world’s fastest dog breeds, they do not need a huge amount of exercise. They are like F1 cars: fantastic performance, but not built for long drives! They are the world’s fastest couch potatoes and love nothing more than snuggling up with their humans.

Since they are so lean, sighthounds do feel the cold and this means that they do benefit from wrapping up warm in colder weather, so investing in a dog-jumper is a must for the UK winters.

Since sighthounds are so sight-motivated, they can need more work to proof their recall in the face of prey (squirrels, cats, rabbits) and so benefit from recall work from the very beginning. Many sighthound owners choose to walk their hounds on a longline indefinitely, for peace of mind, but with enough time and consistency, it is possible to teach your sighthound a solid recall.

Anatomy

Their legs are long to give them a long stride, allowing them to move faster, and their chests are deep in order to support their unusually large hearts and very efficient lungs. Sighthound hearts are larger compared to other dogs of similar weights, which equips them for maximum efficiency when it comes to both anaerobic and aerobic sprints. Their lean bodies keep their weight to a minimum, which further increases their speediness.

All of this results in a dog who is very uniquely shaped, when compared to other canines. As such, it can be a struggle to find harnesses that fit comfortably and are escape proof, as catering for their small heads, long legs and barrel-like chests is not what most harnesses have been designed for.

I always recommend owners use a harness over a collar, especially for puppies or rescues, as they distribute the pressure evenly and we aren’t applying any pressure on the delicate area around the neck. As such, this presented a bit of a problem…

Enter: Snootiful Hound.

Snootiful Hound

Snootiful Hound is a small business set up with sighthounds in mind; their main product is a harness designed just for sighthound breeds, catering specifically to their unique body shape to create a harness that is escape-proof, comfortable and stylish. The owner, Maleki, was inspired by his own sighthound, Blondie, a rescue Saluki-mix.

He quickly found out that Blondie had a knack for escaping traditional dog harnesses, and with a bit more research, he found out that it’s actually quite common with sighthound breeds. Their body shape makes it quite easy for them to ‘back out’ of many harnesses and once they’re loose, their speed can make it very difficult to get them safe again.

To address this problem, Maleki set out to design an escape proof harness designed just for sighthound breeds.

The harness

Firstly, the harness had to be escape proof. Although a sighthound’s unique body shape is what makes them susceptible to slipping out of traditional harnesses, it also helped to come up with an escape proof design.

See, behind the big barrel-y chest, is a very slim waist. By adding a third strap to the harness which tucks behind the chest, it would make it impossible for the harness to slip forward.

But why stop there? Sighthounds have other unique needs too, so it also has extra padding, 5 points of adjustment to get a perfect fit, 2 handles for extra control and more unique features!

Maleki is passionate about sighthounds and does a lot of charity work for local sighthound charities. Due to their use in racing, many greyhounds are discarded when they can no longer race and end up looking for rescue homes, or they risk being put to sleep. 10% of all profits are donated to sighthound charities, so by supporting this small business, you are also supporting the wellbeing of these amazing dogs.

If you have a sighthound, I can wholeheartedly recommend Snootiful Hound’s fantastic range of products. Maleki and I have even been speaking about how to adapt the products with puppies in mind, to make lead walking training comfortable and easy.

You can check out his website here and use code JESSDOGTRAINING10 for 10% off all products.

Dog bites – what you need to know

Did you know there are different levels of dog bite and that a dog doesn’t have to make contact in order to be considered ‘dangerous’ in the eyes of the law? If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be alone.

Dangerous Dogs Act

In May 2014, changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act came into effect. The law now states that that all dog owners are be responsible for their dog’s behaviour – both at home and in public places. Whether you own a large or tiny breed, a friendly or nervous dog, this law applies to all dogs in the UK.

It’s against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, for example:
• In a public place.
• In a private place, such as a neighbour’s house or garden.
• In the owner’s home.

Out of Control Dogs

Generally, if a dog bites a person it will be presumed to have been ‘dangerously out of control’. However, even if the dog does not bite, but gives the person grounds to feel that the dog may injure them, the law still applies. This can include dogs who jump up, bark at people/animals or who ignore their recall.

Bite Levels

Level 1

Dog growls, bares teeth, barks, stares – but no contact is made

Level 2

A single bite but no puncture wound

Level 3

Bite to human – a single bite, with 1-4 punctures, where the bite has the depth of <half a canine or less. Bite to dog – a single bite to the head or back of neck, with 1-4 punctures, where the bite has the depth of <half a canine or less

Level 4

Bite to human – a single bite, with 1-4 punctures, with a depth of > than half a canine, where bruising is evident within 2 days . Bite to dog – a single bite, with 1-4 punctures, with a depth of > than half a canine

Level 5

Multiple bites in one attack, with a depth of > half a canine

Level 6

Fatality

What does this mean?

All of this means that we need to be aware of the law so that we can advocate for our dogs.

Management

This can look like long lines and muzzles. If your dog has poor recall, keep them on lead. If your dog has a bite history and can be unpredictable, muzzle train them and wear one just in case. If your dog is nervous around unknown people and dogs, don’t walk in highly populated areas with them

Training

Recall is an essential skill if you are planning on having your dog off lead – and this means your dog can come back around distractions, be it another dog, a child with a ball or a family with a picnic. Impulse control training is also important so your dog can manage big feelings without needing to react (this helps with jumping up, barking etc). If your dog is reactive, then behavioural training and reconditioning to help them manage their feelings can be essential for their wellbeing and safety.

Socialisation

We’re talking about puppies here. Make sure to give your pup as many positive/neutral experiences around all different types of dogs and people, sights, sounds and smells. This will result in a confident dog who is less likely to respond fearfully to new situations. Click here to read more about socialisation in puppies.

As always, I am here to help. If you have any questions about dog bites, if your dog has bitten or been bitten, or you want to help your dog with recall or reactivity, drop me a message.

Pixie

Pixie was rescued by her owners at 18 months. Before she was taken in my the rescue, she lived with an elderly man, who was unable to give her the physical exercise and mental stimulation she required. She had next to no training but an awful lot of love to give!

Her owners contacted me in the weeks leading up to Pixie’s adoption. We had a session before she came home to talk through the first days. We spoke about sleep, separations and what to expect in terms of her behaviour.

Over the next few months, we covered many areas including: lead walking, scent-work, breed specific games, recall, self-settling, car travel, basic obedience and how to handle interactions with other dogs.

We also spoke at length about diet and joint care, as Pixie has the early warning signs of mobility problems. This likely stems from a lack of appropriate exercise when she was younger.

Pixie is a very intelligent girl and her owners were 100% dedicated to giving her the best home possible. I am happy to say that she is thriving in her new home and has settled in beautifully!

Ash

I first met Ash and his owner when I was out for a walk with my own dog down by the river. Ash was nervous of the dogs around him, barking and growling if they came too close. We got chatting and it turned out that Ash had been attacked by a dog at this location just a day before. He was bitten, quite badly, and pinned down by a much larger dog.

Ash’s owner decided that he wanted some support to help Ash recover and regain his confidence around big dogs again. He also wanted to tighten up Ash’s recall and his lead walking.

We worked together to build Ash’s confidence back up and to teach him to disengage from dogs when he sees them, over the course of a couple of months.

Ash’s owner was brilliant with him and Ash already had a huge repertoire of commands he knew. We worked on some additional, fun tricks with him and incorporated new commands which would help him to focus on his owner and build a more solid recall.

Ash is now back to his former self – but with improved lead-manners and recall. Well done, Ash!

Breeders: Red & Green Flags

As a puppy specialist, I am lucky enough to work with lots of puppies (in the last year, I have worked with over 100 puppies and their owners!). This means I see, on an almost daily basis, the impact that a good or a bad breeder can have on a puppy (and ultimately, the whole life of a dog).

Many people think that as long as they see the mother with the pup or if the breeder is ‘licensed’, that this is doing due-diligence and sadly, this is not enough. In fact, in most parts of the country, you only need a licence at all if you are planning on having 3 or more litters a year, which can be a red flag in itself. In Dorset, however, you also need a licence if you are going to make more than £1000 per litter (and with prices how they are currently, this is very little!).

With this in mind, I wanted to write a list of breeder ‘red-flags’ and ‘green-flags’ so that prospective puppy parents know what to look out for but also so that current puppy parents who are struggling can understand where their young dog’s issues may have stemmed from.

Green flags

A good breeder should be full of questions. They should be genuinely concerned about where their puppies end up and want only the best homes for them. They should ask about your current home situation: kids, current pets, working hours, access to outside etc.
First refusal. In the event that you need to rehome your puppy, a good breeder will have a stipulation upon adoption that the puppy is returned to them. Ethical breeders care about all of their dogs and will take back a puppy so that they can find a good home for them, if it happens that their first owner can no longer keep them.
Mum will be happy to see you. Responsible breeders will only breed from dogs who have a good temperament, who are not reactive or aggressive and who enjoy the company of humans. The temperament of both parents will be considered before a mating to make sure the future puppies are as well-rounded as they can be. The mother should not show any signs of worry about you being near her puppies or in her home.
Health tests. Pedigree dogs are prone to certain breed-specific health conditions. For example, golden retrievers are prone to hip/elbow dysplasia so should have their hips and elbows tested. The Kennel Club has extensive information on what tests each breed should be screened for. These tests are expensive, often needing specialist practices and there is no guarantee that a dog or bitch will pass the tests. If they fail a test, they should not be bred from as this runs the risk of passing conditions onto pups. Only ethical breeders who want to produce healthy puppies will go to this effort and expense.
Early socialisation and exposure. The best breeders will start exposing the puppies to ENS (early neurological stimulation) and ESI (early scent introduction). This involves beginning to condition the puppies to lots of new experiences, building their resilience and adaptability. This decreases the chances of fear and reactivity forming immeasurably. The will also begin the process of toilet training the puppies and introducing separations. They may also begin crate training the pups.

Red flags

You don’t meet the mother. This is the big one! If you aren’t meeting mum, there is a reason for that. Is she fearful? Aggressive? In bad condition?
Tail docking/ear clipping. This is illegal under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. I still have puppies turn up to class with docked ears and tails, the owners having been told that it is ‘fine for working dogs’. There are exemptions to this rule but there are extensive limitations. Working dogs can have their tails docked but extensive evidence has to be provided that the dog will be a working dog (just being a Jack Russel or a cocker is not enough). Here is a full breakdown of the law and exemptions.
Letting puppies go at less than 8 weeks of age. Again, this is written into law under The Animal Welfare Act, 2018. Eight weeks is the legal minimum age at which a puppy can leave its mother.
Letting you take the puppy on your first visit. A good breeder will want to get to know you and make sure you are ready for a puppy and can provide a good home. They should invite you to meet your puppy at least once before taking them home.
Puppies don’t live in the home. If the puppies live outside, then they are not getting used to all the sights, sounds and smells of living alongside us. It is crucial that they are in the home during their socialisation period.
Dirty puppies. The puppies should not have fleas, ticks or worms. They should not be covered in excrement – this is a sign that their mother is unable to care for them properly or being kept from them or that the breeder is not keeping the area well looked after.
Fearful mother. Puppies learn everything from their mother and inherit her character through their genes. If the mother is aggressive, anxious or fearful of you, then this is how your puppies have been learning to react to unknown people.
Lack of paper work. You should see health certificates for mum (and ideally, dad too). As well as this, if your dog is ‘pedigree’, you should be given (or at least shown!) a family tree.
Evasive about questions. A good breeder will jump at the opportunity to talk about their dogs and their puppies and should be able to freely answer any and every question that you have.
Asking for more money when you arrive. I’m including this one because I have had clients who this has happened to. If this isn’t a red flag, I don’t know what is! Ethical breeders do it for the love of the dogs, not money.
Puppies advertised on social media/gumtree etc. You may find good breeders this way, but you’re also guaranteed to find a lot of bad ones. Champdogs and the Kennel Club will only post litters from breeders who are meeting the health testing standards of the breed so these are your best port of call when looking for an ethical breeder. The best breeders have long waiting lists for puppies.
Large deposits. A deposit of more than 20% of the price of the puppy is something to be wary of. Deposits are often charged to cover the cost of the stud dog, as this fee is due as soon as the pups are born. Some breeders do not take a deposit at all, as they want owners to be able to change their mind if they aren’t 100% sure about a puppy. A good breeder will have a long waiting list and will not struggle to find homes for their pups.

I also hear from a lot of owners that they took the puppy, even though they knew things weren’t right with the breeder, because they didn’t want to leave the puppy there and felt they were rescuing it. Please don’t do this. All this does is create a market for the breeder. If they can sell all the puppies, even whilst giving terrible care, then they are going to breed more. Bad breeding is driven by the market and it is up to us, as consumers, to stop the demand for back yard breeding.

If you wanted to check out a shining example of the ‘gold standard’ when it comes to breeding, then Snowyoak Golden Retrievers are brilliant. You can check them out on their instagram here. When we bring home a second dog, it will be one of Agnes’ pups.

As always, I am here to help. I offer puppy consultations, both at home and online, where I can help you to identify a good breeder and assist in the process of choosing the right puppy for your home. Click here to find out more.

The Ball

Is your dog ball-obsessed? Many dogs are, but worryingly, many owners don’t know about the risks repetitive ball throwing causes – both to their dog’s body and to their behaviour. This blog aims to explain these dangers as well as to provide alternative games you and your ball-obsessed pooch can play together, that don’t pose these risks.

The dangers

We’ve all heard the old adage of ‘a tired dog is a good dog’ but a ball chasing session is going to do quite the opposite. Tracking, chasing and catching a ball is very exciting for our dogs and causes their arousal levels to shoot up. If we spend our whole walks letting them practise this behaviour, they wind themselves up further and further. This means that when you return home, far from being tired, your dog is now in a state of over-stimulation, unable to switch off and relax. The adrenaline in your dog’s body can take up to two hours to fully drain after a ball-throwing session.

Dogs also get a massive hit of adrenaline and feel good hormones when they’re surging after that ball. This feeling is very addictive and dogs can become obsessive about the ball – to their detriment. They literally become like a drug addict waiting for their next hit. And, as with all addictions, they will demand more and more of it as time goes by. This is at the expense of all the other natural behaviours that it’s important for our dogs to exhibit on walks – namely, exploring the world with their noses.

Repetitive, long-distance ball throwing also puts unnecessary strain on their joints, muscles and cartilage. This can result in long-term health problems like arthritis. However, it can be difficult to spot the early warning signs of problems developing, because the dog is so excited that they will carry on through the pain.

Alternatives

So if we shouldn’t be throwing the ball for our dogs, what can we do to play with our ball-obsessed canines? Here are some of my favourite games to play with both my own and my clients’ dogs:

Hide and seek

A fun and easy game you can play on walks or at home & in the garden. This game is brilliant because scent work is calming (and tiring!) for dogs.

Start by asking your dog to sit and wait as you place the ball on the floor.
Tell them to ‘get it’ and make a fuss when they do so.
From here, start to move the ball out of their line of sight, so they have to start using their nose to track it down. Long grass, bushes etc are great for hiding the ball.

Boop the ball

Start by holding the ball in front of your dog. When they boop it with their snoot, mark and reward with a treat. If they bop it with a paw, just ignore that and wait for a nose boop. You’ll need to spend some time building this up, then add a cue word like ‘touch’ or ‘roll’ just before they do it.
Instead of holding the ball while they boop it, progress to putting the ball on the ground and using your cue word. Hopefully, they will start to get the idea that they touch the ball, but don’t grab it or pick it up.
Keep working on building up their ball rolling using your cue word. Try to progress from little nudges to repeat pushes using their nose.

Herd the ball

Great for herding breeds (like collies) but all dogs can enjoy this game! This is great for teaching impulse control but places a lot more focus on you as part of the game than fetch does.

Dribble the ball in between your feet so your dog tracks its movements.
Kick the ball out for them to intercept once they’ve tracked it for a while.
Build up how long they have to track it before releasing.

It’s also important to note that we shouldn’t be using tennis balls to play with our dog. The surface of a tennis ball is abrasive. Having a dog’s teeth scuffed by a tennis ball entering their mouth (or worse, having them chew on it) acts like sandpaper, wearing down their teeth over time.

Even the ‘dog safe’ tennis balls on the market aren’t safe; anything with a fuzzy surface causes the wearing away of their teeth. Rubber balls are a safer option but it’s important to make sure that your dog can’t fit the entire ball in their mouth, else this poses a choking/swallowing hazard.

It is also important to note that while there is a vast amount of anecdotal evidence around ball throwing, there have yet to be any studies conducted into the behavioural/physical impacts of playing fetch. However, there have been many studies conducted showing that over-excitement can very easily tip into over-arousal and an anxious state.

Attention seeking

Barking, whining, jumping up, squeaking, bringing you toys, staring at you with a wagging tail – I think we all recognise the signs of a dog who is after our attention! As much as they would like us to, it is not possible to give your dog attention all of the time – and it wouldn’t be in their best interests anyway.

So how do we manage attention seeking behaviour? Let’s take a look.

What is your dog communicating

We are often told to ignore attention-seeking behaviour but this seems wild to me. We wouldn’t ignore a friend if they asked for our attention by texting to say hello, we wouldn’t ignore a child communicating their need for physical touch – so why is the first port of call to ignore our dogs’ cries for attention?

Yes, we often want to ignore unwanted behaviours so we don’t inadvertently reinforce them (e.g. jumping up) but if your dog is asking for attention, there may be an unmet need there. Pay attention to the time of day that your dog is bothering you – is it always around the same time? Always before or after the same event?

They may be bored, hungry, needing the toilet or – as is often the case – overstimulated and unable to settle.

I try to spend the mornings catching up on paperwork and admin tasks and this is the time that Kenny is most likely to ask for attention. He will entertain himself for a while – chasing his ball around, looking out the window at people on the school run – but by around 9:30/10:00, he’s at his limit and will start looking at me and squeaking. He’s bored and starting to get frustrated. This is my cue to start getting ready to talk him for his walk. Yes, it can be a bit annoying to have to cut my work short but I got a high-energy, working breed for a reason and it wouldn’t be fair of me to be irritated by him being true to his nature.

I am lucky to be self-employed and able to plan my day around my dog’s walk but if this weren’t the case, I could give him a piece of enrichment to tide him over or get a dog walker in to take him for a morning walk. Ignoring him certainly wouldn’t help – he’d only find ways of entertaining himself (that would probably involve pestering the cats or eating my shoes).

How do we meet this need

If your dog is bothering you and they haven’t been outside to potty for a while, haven’t had a meal or their walk, then the answer is clear. If you meet this need, they’ll stop bothering you.

The difficulty comes when, on the face of it, all of your dog’s needs have been met and yet they are still whining at you – wanting to play, have pets and generally be the centre of your attention. They’ve had their walk, you’ve tried lick mats, chews, snuffle mats, tug of war and yet they’re still on your case for more. This is common in puppies/young dogs and working breeds.

This is when we need to consider if we are doing too much for our dogs. A bored dog looks very similar to a dog who is over-stimulated. If we are constantly throwing activities at our dogs, particularly if we are giving them multiple walks a day, then we are constantly stacking them and never giving them a chance to properly unwind. This can tip them into a state of constant over-arousal, where they don’t know how to switch off because they’ve become addicted to this busy state.

If this is the case, it’s also very likely that your dog is not getting enough quality rest. An adult dog should be getting around 14 hours of sleep a day, but often, they will need even more than this. If your dog is constantly ‘on the go’ then they can’t be getting this vital rest.

Imagine what would happen if a toddler was sleep deprived on a long term basis – their behaviour would become very difficult to manage very quickly.

You may need to allow your dog to switch off by doing less and teaching them to settle.

Teaching a self-settle

Once you’ve established whether all your dog’s needs are being appropriately met, you may need to focus on teaching your dog to be calm.

For the average working dog, 1-2 hours walking a day with another hour of play/enrichment should be more than enough to keep them calm, happy and fulfilled. They should also have days off from walking every now and then, to give them a chance to recharge properly.

This means, your dog is going to have time at home where they aren’t asleep or engaging with you where they need to either: a) entertain themselves or b) be comfortable doing nothing.

Like anything, these are skills that we can teach. We want to be promoting independence in our dogs by letting them make choices.

The ‘place’ command can also be a useful way of teaching calmness for your dog. This command is great because it’s teaching them that if they go on their bed and hang out, then good things will happen.

And that’s it! This is how we can help our dogs (and ourselves!) with attention-seeking behaviours.

If you find that your dog is needier with one member of the family, this is quite common. They will generally seek attention more from their primary care giver. They are also very good at working out who is the most likely to give in to their attempts. My dog doesn’t squeak at my partner for walks, because it’s always me who takes him!

As always, if you need any help identifying your dog’s needs or teaching them independence or a self-settle then I am here to help, either in person or online. Click here to drop me a message.

Monty

Monty originally came to me for puppy classes and was fabulous throughout his course – picking things up very quickly!

As he got older, it became clear that Monty was struggling with separations from his owners – and from his mum in particular. This was causing problems at work, as Monty goes to work with mum and would cry and work himself up whenever she had to leave him to go to a meeting.

We worked together over the course of two 1:1 sessions at home to help Monty with his anxieties. We established that rather than having true isolation distress, Monty was actually suffering from frustration/FOMO when he wasn’t with his owners, which is very common in young dogs.

We looked at how to make sure Monty’s needs were being met day to day through enrichment and scent work; how to get him having fun on independent tasks and how to show Monty that he wasn’t missing out on anything fun when mum & dad were out the room.

Now, Monty is happy to be left without his mum and is able to happily settle with other people when he’s in the office. A great result for Monty!

Dogs & fireworks

Remember, remember the 5th of November… means lots of dogs are going to be very scared by fireworks. Many dogs struggle to cope with loud, unexpected noises and fireworks are up there with one of the loudest sounds that domesticated dogs will have to cope with.

Firework season is well and truly upon us and with perhaps the biggest firework night of the year just around the corner, I thought it would be useful to offer some tips and insights into how to help your dog cope.

Signs of stress

It’s important to be able recognise the signs that your dog is anxious/scared, as not all dogs show distress in an obvious way. Watch out for: pacing, whale eye, lip licking, drooling, panting, stiff posture, slowly wagging tails (tails may also be held upright) and, of course, barking or howling.

Helping your fearful dog

Try to make sure that your dog has had their needs met on days when you can expect fireworks. A stimulating walk, lots of enrichment (sniffing, licking, chewing activities) and plenty of sleep so that their stress levels are as low as possible before the event may help them to cope.

If you can, try to distract your dog by playing their favourite game with them while the worst of the ‘bangs’ are happening. If they are so fearful that they cannot be distracted, then use a soft, calm voice to soothe them. Dogs are den animals and having a place to retreat to like a covered crate or cosy spot may help to make them feel safer.

You can also try to drown out the sound of fireworks with other noise. Studies have shown that soft rock and reggae music have the most calming effects on dogs (so pop on the Bob Marley!).

Preventing & reconditioning fear

When it comes to dog behaviour, prevention is always better than cure. This means that if you have a young dog or a dog who has never had experience of fireworks, we want to make sure that we habituate them to fireworks.

Alexa, Google and Youtube all have firework tracks freely available. Start off by playing the sounds on the lowest volume, so it is barely audible and your dog pays no attention. Whilst the fireworks are sounding, you want to reward your dog (either with high value treats or through playing with them) so that whilst they hear the sound, they are forming positive associations. You can also have a training session, running through the commands that they know whilst the sounds are playing.

If your dog shows no signs of stress or anxiety (look for the signs mentioned above), then you can increase the volume a notch. If your dog begins to look stressed, drop the volume back down immediately, or turn it off if you need to.

Repeat at your dog’s pace, until the firework sounds are loud enough to mimic the sounds of real fireworks in your neighbourhood, making sure that your dog is comfortable the whole time.

If you do this with a young puppy (who is still within their socialisation period) then you should move through the training very quickly. If you have an older dog or a dog who is already fearful of fireworks, then the training may take several weeks. Training sessions work best in short bursts of 5-10 minutes but it is so important to stop immediately if your dog becomes distressed, as this will only further exacerbate their fears.

To read more about habituation and the importance of it, as well as ideas of what to habituate your puppy with, check out this blog post.

It is also really important not to have your dog outside during fireworks, even if they are okay with them inside the house. Many dogs will escape gardens or injure themselves due to fear and if you are out walking when fireworks go off, dogs are prone to running off in panic and slipping collars and harnesses.

As always, I am here to help. If your dog is becoming distressed during firework season and you don’t feel confident helping them alone, click here to drop me a message.

Separation anxiety

Separation anxiety is a very distressing behaviour to have to cope with – both for the dog and their owner and it is not a niche problem. It is estimated that as many as 55% of dogs in the Uk struggle with separation anxiety, but in reality, that figure may well be a lot higher.

With the number of owners I have enquiring about SA training and the prevalence of the problem, I wanted to break down the different types of separation related behaviours, as separation anxiety is often used as a blanket time when there are, in fact, three main categories that dogs will fall into with their distress. ‘Separation anxiety’ is not a category in itself.

Isolation distress

This is a dog who cannot cope with being alone, without people. As long as they have a person with them, then they are fine.

Hyper-attachment

This is a dog who has an unhealthily strong attachment to a particular family member. They cannot cope without this person, even if other people remain with them.

Frustrated dogs (FOMO)

This is a dog with ‘fear of missing out’. These dogs are not feeling anxiety at being left alone, but frustration at not being involved. These dogs tend to have quite a low tolerance for frustration in general (for example, they may be reactive). These cases tend to involve younger, high-energy breeds who are not having their needs met.

Often, the behaviours displayed present in the same way as isolation distress or hyper-attachment but because FOMO doesn’t come from a place of anxiety/fear, it requires a different approach in treatment, so it is important to rule out FOMO in SA cases.

Signs that your dog is distressed in your absence include: barking, whining, pacing, excessive drooling, inability to settle, destruction and toileting inside.

If your dog is struggling with being apart from you then identifying the type of SRB that your dog has is the first step in treatment for them. No matter how impossible the situation may seem, it is absolutely possible to help your dog with the right support.

As many as 80% of behavioural issues in dogs are driven by an underlying medical issue, so it is important to speak with your vet about running a health check in the first instance.

From there, it is a case of long-term commitment to the training to teach your dog that being alone is not something to be scared of. If your dog is showing signs of SRB, or you would like advice on if your dos is anxious in your absence, click here to drop me a message.