If you want to look kind, you can use a harness and act like it’s A-okay to be dragged around by your dog. Will people be impressed? No. They will see the complete lack of engagement and communication you have with your dog as s/he pulls like a sled dog and ignores you – which is what harnesses were designed for – pulling!

If you want to actually BE kind, your dog will be wearing a prong collar. A prong collar enables you to deliver extremely gentle communication to direct your dog to follow you, without hurting them, choking them, or doing any damage at all. If you have a problem with how it looks or what people will think, it’s easy to buy a prong cover or use a jaunty bandana.

Confession time (Full disclosure & transparency)

I must admit that I was one of those well-meaning people who actually had no clue about this tool but thought they were cruel and nasty. I associated prong collars with hoodlums and with fighting dogs. I thought they were only a tool to be used for big, aggressive dogs, or for people who didn’t take the time to train their dogs. Well, I WAS WRONG! There – I said it. I was totally and completely uneducated about this and made false assumptions. So if you thought the same thing, I get it. Live & learn. So here’s the truth about prong collars.

Clear & easy communication with power steering

No doubt you’ve heard many dogs choking and gagging while pulling on other dog collars. Prong collars allow us to gently motivate in a subtle way that dogs can relate to. It gives dog owners the ability to calmly and sensitively use gentle leverage, rather than yanking and cranking on their dog’s neck while using a regular flat buckle collar, martingale collar, gentle leader or halti. Those collars can cause trachea damage or other serious neck injuries. Instead, you can use a prong collar to guide your dog with ease and comfort for both of you. For most dogs, it is SO much kinder and easier to train them to walk politely using a prong collar! Prong collars were designed with a dog’s safety in mind. Pressure is evenly distributed around the dog’s neck, so it’s impossible to cut off a dog’s air supply. Prong collars were designed to prevent injury to the dog’s trachea and larynx.

Prong collars are also preferable to body harnesses, from a chiropractic point of view:

“Most literature suggests that this is the most effective and least dangerous of restraining collars. The prong collar distributes pressure evenly around the neck, and requires only a small amount of force…Incidence of canine upper cervical subluxations is far less with the prong collar.” – The Well Adjusted Dog, Dr. Daniel Kamen (Chiropractor)

It’s important to be kind to dog owners too

Prong collars are not only a kinder and more effective way to communicate and direct your dog, they are also kind to dog owners. When walking your dog is actually painful or dangerous, you naturally won’t be taking your dog out for a walk very often. That’s bad for both of you. Lack of exercise is not only bad physically, but it can lead to frustration and a host of behavioural problems in dogs. If your dog has a habit of lunging after squirrels, dogs or bikes, you and your dog could be seriously injured. Many people with pulling dogs have fallen down and broken their limbs or had their shoulders dislocated. As predators, dogs can also harm other dogs, wildlife, or people. It is our responsibility to keep ourselves, our dogs, and others safe out there. If you have a pulling dog, proper training with a prong collar can be life changing. Remember that the tool doesn’t train the dog. The tool is amazing, but you still need to train the dog and use the tool correctly. It’s easy.

How to use a prong collar

Ensure the collar is snug enough to remain high up on the dog’s neck, just behind the ears. Attach the leash to the swivel on the collar. As a safety measure, clip a carabiner from the O-ring on the collar to your dog’s regular collar.

Start indoors, in a quiet familiar place with no distractions. Begin by gently leading the dog back and forth, so they can feel the sensation and learn to come along with the gentle pressure, rather than going against it. Make sure you release the pressure immediately, as soon as the dog begins to move in the direction you are guiding them.

Remember: as with any collar, you must never allow tension to be maintained along the leash. Keep your leash short but not tense. There should always be a bit of slack. This is so important to stop a dog from pulling! If you allow the leash to stay taut, your dog will pull against it. Keeping tension would result in resistance. The goal is teamwork. Start slowly, with short sessions, make lots of turns and take short breaks to reset if your dog gets ahead of you.

Once you have the conditioning practice done (in a few minutes), off you go for a walk with your dog. Start by walking in a quiet place with few distractions. Cement or asphalt is best, as grass is very distracting to dogs. As you go along, remind your dog with gentle leash pops (not lifts or pulls) about the correct position you want them to maintain. Don’t wait until the dog gets out ahead of you. Be proactive and subtle about it to show your dog where the heel position is to help them to succeed. The beauty of this is that if you do it well, you should be able to stop your dog from pulling in minutes and then begin the work of perfecting the heel position.

Heel position – You drive & your dog is a passenger

When a dog is in a following or “passenger” mode, with their nose behind your heel, they worry a LOT less about what is coming up and instead can relax as passengers do in a car. You can worry about the “driving” and watch for signs, turns, your speed, decide where you want to go, direct and advocate for your dog if you see other dogs, skateboards, squirrels, people, etc.

Lead calmly, safely & effectively

Prong collars are extremely helpful tools to communicate calmly, safely and effectively with your dog. Tiny pooches can also be massive pullers and need guidance and direction that won’t hurt them like other collars can. Prong collars are a fantastic way to lead little dogs too. Always remove the collar when you’re not supervising. It is not to be left on when your dog is unattended. Remember, every tool is like a new language to communicate with your dog. Shouting in a new language doesn’t make things any more clear. Patient teaching does that. So enjoy teaching your dog this new language and have fun with it! You’ll be amazed with the results.

Herm Sprenger is the best brand of prong collar. These are high quality. The prongs are never sharp and they don’t rust. They come in a few colours and they also make a (neck tech) version that looks like a metal belt – bling!

If you’re deciding how to best socialize your dog, here are some important factors to consider. What kind of socializing is healthy? What environment will help your dog to gain better behaviours rather than develop bad habits? If you’re hiring a dog walker, what skills and experience do they have? How much do they know about dog behaviour? Will your dog be bullied and traumatized by other dogs (or become a bully, overly defensive or reactive), or will they be taught, guided and advocated for?

Are Dog Parks a Healthy place for Dog Socialization?

The short answer is NO – not usually. In theory, dog parks are a wonderful invention, but the majority of dog park interactions can be very bad for your dog. Here is our experience. When we started offering dog walking, we mainly took dogs to off-leash dog parks – like basically every dog walker out there. Over time, we saw that most dog parks are filled with out-of-control dogs that their owners simply cannot walk on-leash because their dogs are not trained. Those dogs were dangerous to the dogs in our care because they were wildly over-excited and wouldn’t return to their owners/handlers when called – especially when they were behaving badly. Usually the owners didn’t even try to control their dogs, or realize when their behaviour was anti-social or showing signs of becoming dangerous. Many owners sit down at the dog park and ignore their dog completely! People forget that dogs are predators and in order to keep them safe, we need to provide structure and guidance. If your dog is attacked or bullied, they can lose trust in you as their advocate which can create reactivity or aggression to defend themselves against perceived threats that they feel they need to handle on their own.

Structured group dog walking is so much better for dogs!

Here’s why:

• dogs build positive socialization & bond in a calm, healthy way
• migrating together is instinctually satisfying
• structured dog walking maintains the hard work you invested in training your dog
• mentally engaging (to match pace, maintain position & ignore squirrels, other dogs & people, skateboards, etc.)
• reinforces good behaviour & calmness
• physical fitness promotes long-term health
• structured dog walking is much safer for your dog
• Fun! with increased ability to visit new & interesting locations

More UNhealthy Dog Socialization is not better

Too many dog owners out there assume that ‘more is better’, without considering what KIND of socialization their dog is experiencing. Carefully choose quality socialization over quantity. For example: You wouldn’t plonk your toddler in the sand box at a playground and expect them to “figure it out” when bullies throw sand in their eyes. You’d mentor, protect and guide them, showing kids what kind of behaviour is allowed and expected. Yet many dog owners – even ones who think of their dogs as “fur babies” – allow their dogs to build very bad social habits and develop serious phobias due to the lack of guidance and rules while in dog parks. It’s better to have no socialization than bad socialization.

Structured Dog Walks are the Best way to Bond

On-leash structured group dog walking is by far the best way for dogs to socialize and bond while working together as a team, rather than competing. Off-leash romping at the dog park can be fun, but only IF the dogs are behaving well. However, most dogs have not been taught how to socialize politely. Poorly socialized dogs challenge each other with stiff body postures, high tails, snarling, teeing up (putting their chin on the other dog’s shoulders), or attempting to hump, chase, gang up, bully, or bite each other.

Dogs that are well socialized can enjoy hanging out calmly with one another. Put into human terms, a poorly socialized dog is like an insecure person constantly challenging everyone they meet to arm wrestle, compared to confident adults talking and walking together in a peaceful, cooperative way.

But will my dog get enough exercise to be calm?

Structured on-leash dog walking tires dogs out just as much, if not more than off-leash play. Why? Because your dog is using their mind, their body, and their self-control. Maintaining a fantastic heel position is hard work – which is great in many ways. Dogs are fulfilled by having a purpose. Dogs LOVE having a job to do! They demonstrate their best behaviour when there are clear rules to follow. This makes them feel safe and happy in a relaxed way.

Off-leash dog park play generally amps dogs up – getting them into a frenzy of excitement. Many owners believe that their dog needs hours and hours of flat-out running in order to behave at home. The truth is that most dogs only need a couple of structured walks per day (between half an hour to an hour each), plus some outdoor play with you (e.g. training games are great, such as fetch, tug, disc, hide & seek for items). The goal for the average family is not to create a dog who is a marathon athlete who then needs hours of running beside your bicycle in order to behave well.

The best behaved dogs are those whose owners make being calm a way of life for their dogs. This good habit extends to every aspect of their lives. Relaxed dogs don’t do stupid stuff. For dogs, over-excitement is like getting drunk. Think of all of the stupid stuff people do when drunk that they’d normally never do – like get in fights, break stuff, or hurt themselves. Over-excited dogs are FAR more likely to feel stressed/anxious, jump on people, bite, run away, fight, over-react to bikes, skateboards, cars, cats, squirrels, other dogs, etc. Building a calm state of mind is key to developing a well-behaved dog.

Advocating for dogs is key in building trust

The dogs in our care trust us to protect them so they remain calm and well-behaved. They know that we never allow strange dogs to greet them while walking on the leash or allow strangers to grope them. We also avoid strangers who talk to dogs in a high-pitched, questioning, or over-excited way. The dogs trust us to remain calm and patient and keep them safe, rather than expecting them to protect us. This trust allows dogs to relax and follow our lead.

Why shouldn’t you let your dog greet unknown dogs while leashed? Because dogs are MUCH more likely to react badly while meeting on leash. They are usually overexcited, which often leads to poor decisions. They’re constrained and can’t move away freely if they feel they need space. Owners often allow leashes to remain tense, adding to any nervous tension. Meeting nose to nose is bad doggy etiquette. Plus, if things go wrong quickly, how many owners know what to do, or are willing to do it? Prevent your dog from getting overexcited while expecting to meet everyone they pass. Prevent your dog from building negative associations with strange dogs – not to mention vet bills and the real possibility of death. On-leash attacks happen all of the time. This traumatizes dogs and can lead to a long, difficult recovery process. Allowing dogs to meet on leash is so not worth it. Set your dog up for success by walking calmly WITH other well-behaved dogs that they know well, rather than rolling the dice with strange dogs while hoping for the best with face-to-face on-leash meetings.

Communication: Each Tool is a like new Language

We use dog training tools to communicate in ways that dogs understand and actually care about so they make better choices. You see dog owners allowing their dogs to yank them all over. This is dangerous for everyone. People and dogs get seriously injured – broken bones, being dragged into traffic, dogs running away & getting lost, attacking other dogs or people, etc. Every day these behaviours get dogs turned into shelters &/or killed. Some dogs are such a struggle or embarrassment to walk that they only get walked in the middle of the night, or are forever confined to their own backyards.

Prong collars are widely misunderstood tools. They look barbaric but are actually a much safer and gentler way to guide dogs. No doubt you’ve seen plenty of dogs literally choking themselves and hacking while pulling fiercely on regular flat buckle collars. Trachea damage is serious and not at all uncommon. Dogs wearing harnesses tend to pull like sled-dogs (which is what harnesses are designed for!) with zero regard for the human on the other end of the leash. The goal is teamwork between human and dog – not a tug of war with humans getting yanked around. Prong collars provide the ability to guide dogs gently and allow for much improved communication and control. The pressure is evenly distributed around the dog’s neck without causing any harm. As with any collar, pressure should never be maintained for more than a split second. Letting tension remain along the leash is one of the main reasons why people struggle while walking their dogs.

Ecollars are similarly misunderstood by most dog owners. Ecollars are absolutely fantastic! First, dogs should be gently, fairly and thoroughly trained to understand this new language of low-level stimulation. We teach dogs about ecollars as we teach a dog to respond to leash guidance – with gentle pressure, then the sensation is immediately removed as soon as the dog responds. We begin with leash guidance, to show the dog what we’re asking them to do when they feel that new sensation/tingle. Dogs respond exceptionally well – with unparalleled reliability – when there is clear communication and accountability. Keep in mind that no tool trains a dog by itself! Calm, patient training is required. Any tool can be used improperly and cause harm if the person is uneducated or intends to harm. Quality Ecollars are perfectly safe, wonderful tools. Dogs who have been well-trained with ecollars can safely enjoy a much more inclusive life with their families and have earned the freedom that comes with trusting that your dog will respond to commands, no matter what is going on around you. When you know that you can confidently call your dog and s/he will return to you immediately, in ANY situation, everyone stays safe and enjoys more fun and freedom. 🙂

We were among those who were previously misinformed about both of these amazing tools! So if this is new to you, please keep an open mind while you take the time to learn the truth.

Set up Play Dates in yards or Empty Dog Parks

If you want your dog to socialize off-leash with other dogs, setting up a play date with another calm, balanced dog in a back yard or empty dog park is a much better option than taking your chances at a dog park filled with strangers. We searched all over to find one park that is usually empty during the work-week, where we can closely supervise and guide the dogs while they fetch, romp, roll in the grass, sniff the scents of the great outdoors and socialize politely. If an overly excited or anxious-looking dog approaches the park, we simply leave and take to the trails instead. An even better solution is to ensure your dog’s heel is fantastic and teach your dog to have completely reliable recall so you can enjoy the great outdoors with total confidence that your dog will come when called, and not be restricted to using the dog parks at all. Then the world is your oyster- beaches, trails, camping – you name it!

What is dog separation anxiety & how do you stop it?

Separation Anxiety is Togetherness Addiction.

Separation anxiety is one of the most common problems people experience with their dogs. We have simple and straightforward methods to fix it! First we’ll clearly define what the symptoms are, then briefly describe why it happens, and then show you the steps to the solution. At the end there’s a summary to stick on your fridge.

How do you know if your dog has Togetherness Addiction?

Does your dog seem stressed, anxious, insecure, unsure, or nervous when you leave home – or even when you leave the room? Symptoms of separation anxiety include: quivering, whining, panting, drooling, barking, destroying your home or your stuff, constantly following you around when you’re home, intense pacing, urinating/defecating indoors. In extreme cases, dogs who are left alone can cause serious injury to themselves by scratching through walls, clawing doors, or by breaking windows during attempts to reunite with their owners. This can result in cut paws, or damaged nails or broken teeth!

Why is your dog stressed out when left alone?

Some people focus on imagined abuse that may have happened to a rescued dog, or the stress of life changes, but the main reason is that it isn’t natural for a dog to be alone. Dogs are pack animals who normally would not be spending most of the day by themselves. However, since we are responsible for bringing dogs into our human world, it’s up to us to show our dogs how to deal with spending some time alone and learning to enjoy it, or at least how to calmly cope with the situation.

And before you ask, getting another untrained dog to keep your dog company will definitely NOT solve the problem! Dogs can quickly teach each other bad habits, and then you’ll have two problem dogs. Instead, teach the dog you already have how to be perfectly calm and well behaved.

Owners unwittingly make the situation far worse by encouraging clinginess. Are you rewarding and reinforcing your dog for remaining close to you by being overly affectionate, constant patting or touching, or talking too much to your dog? Are you allowing your dog to follow you around and to be constantly near you? People can feel guilty for leaving their dog home alone all day, and then overcompensate by lavishing their dog with unearned attention, praise and affection.

What to do if your dog has separation anxiety?

The main thing is to teach your dog to relax and adjust some of your everyday routines so your dog learns to remain calm rather than freaking out when they need to be left alone for a while. We will show you how to teach your dog that calmness is a super power! Rather than letting your dog remain in a state of fear or anxiety, show them how good it feels to be calm and balanced.

5 Steps to Stop Separation Anxiety

Here is a series of proven methods to eliminate and/or prevent separation anxiety. Don’t just pick the steps you like. Do all of them. The methods work together in an integrated approach that not only gets to the root of the problem (to stop the cause) it also addresses how to stop the bad habits (the effects) that resulted from your dog feeling so unbalanced and distressed.

So, here are the components of a household management system to teach your dog how to remain calm and relaxed, even in your absence. These are also the core elements of our Board & Train programs because they provide HUGE benefits to a dog’s overall state of mind, as well as building trust, respect and calmness.

Control the space in your home

Your new job is to create distance between you and your dog while you’re at home. Allowing your dog to follow you around at home is a common way separation anxiety gets started. Teach your dog to relax in one place, such as on a mat, cot, or dog bed. Work on increasing the time your dog stays in that place. Use the Place command to teach your dog to be quiet and settle down for increasing periods of time. Ask him/her to lie down and remain there while you go out of sight when you’re home. Use the “place” command, down-stays, and a crate to manage your dog’s movements.

It’s an essential skill for your dog to learn how to be alone and exist on their own. If your dog can’t exist calmly while you are in the same room, how can you expect them to know how to be calm when you leave them alone at home while you go to work? So, never allow your dog to be your shadow, or follow you as you move around your home.

Crate train your dog. Practice putting your dog in a crate for a couple of hours, even when you’re home. You don’t want the dog’s time in the crate to only be associated with your leaving. With practice, the kennel will feel like a restful place to hang out. Teach your dog to relax in a down-stay in the crate, even with the door open. Your dog will learn to chill out on their own, rather than stressing out about what you’re doing, begging, or pestering you for constant attention.

Calm is a Superpower

What is your dog’s energy like while indoors? Make the inside of your home a *calm zone*. Teach your dog that indoors is not the place for jumping around or frantic play. It’s not okay to race over to bark at the window, zoom around from the sofa to the chair, to chase the cat, or to herd or nip at your kids. If you don’t create calmness within your home, how can you expect your dog to be calm when facing the exciting distractions outside of your home?

Remember that intense excitement does not mean that your dog is happy. Over-excitement is unbalanced energy. In a group setting, other dogs will instinctively and harshly correct a dog who is over-excited and behaving anxiously. Humans have been taught that a wildly excited dog is happy. The truth is that a calm dog is happiest, in a peaceful, contented way. It’s not exciting to look at, but it’s true.

Silence is golden

If your dog is struggling with separation anxiety, one of the most important things you can do is to make your arrivals and departures a huge NON-event. When you leave to go to work, or return home from an errand, don’t make a big deal about it. Leave the house with as little commotion as you’d make when you leave the room to go to the washroom. Simply kennel the dog and leave. You certainly don’t want to use a sad cooing tone or an excited, high-pitched voice; “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon! It’s okay!” “Oh, Buster, I missed you so much! Hoozagooddog? You are! Yes you are!” Of course you love your dog, and your dog knows it, but saying all of these things in a language your dog doesn’t understand only tells your dog to start stressing out. Don’t ask your dog questions, such as, “Do you want to go in the car, do you want to eat, or do you want to go for a walk?” Of course they do! So don’t ask, because it gets your dog over-excited and more likely to make bad choices. Dogs don’t know much English, but they do understand energy. So when you come home, completely ignore your dog and greet your family members, or go to the washroom, or get a glass of water first. Then, calmly say hello to your dog ONLY when s/he’s *calm*. This reinforces the good behaviour you want them to learn.

One of the best things about dogs is their responsiveness to our emotions. Dogs have an exquisite perception of our emotions and they are very expressive themselves. They read our body language, hear our tone of voice, sense our energy and respond in kind. In this way a dog’s behaviour can mirror our behaviour and energy. So it’s our responsibility to control ourselves in order to keep their energy balanced, and to provide calm assured guidance, rather than making them anxious, or allowing them to remain anxious. Teaching a dog is a great opportunity to work on improving ourselves as well. Sometimes we don’t get the dog we want, but we get the dog we need.

Reduce attention & affection

Put your dog’s needs ahead of your preferences. Your job is to do what’s right for your dog, rather than doing what feels good for you in the moment. Excessive verbal praise, physical touch, and treats exacerbate separation issues. Lower the excitement levels and create calmness by dramatically reducing food rewards, verbal praise and physical touch. Too much attention and affection increases excitement and stress and inspires more unwanted behaviours with your already anxious dog. We want our dogs to exhibit self-control, so we need to work on our own self-control. Lavishing a dog with unearned rewards is really rewarding to the human. It’s selfish and psychologically harmful to an already anxious dog. When a dog is feeling insecure and unbalanced, the owner needs to reduce unearned affection and adjust the amount of structure the dog is getting. Structure and predictable rules make dogs feel safe.

The Structured Walk

Boredom and lack of exercise can result in stress and destruction. Ensure your dog is getting the proper amount, and right type of exercise. You don’t want to amp your dog up with wild, crazy wrestling or racing and romping just before your leave. Structured dog walking is essential, not only for separation anxiety, but for all dogs. Structured walks not only help to resolve disobedience issues and behaviour problems, but also are used to teach overall good manners. This is not a casual meandering walk. Expect excellence and create the perfect, precision heel! Dogs need and love having a job to do. Your dog’s job is to walk at your side or slightly behind you, and at your pace, without pulling, sniffing, marking, pooping, lunging, staring/loading, greeting, or barking. When you stop, teach your dog to stop and automatically sit calmly at your side.

If you have one, a treadmill is also a great mental and physical workout for your dog, and is especially helpful during bad weather. Anxious dogs benefit the most from structured exercise, but it’s great for the wellbeing of every dog. If you’re going to be gone for long hours during workdays, you can hire a dog walker who knows how to lead your dog on a structured walk.

Crate Training

Kennelling not only keeps your dog and your personal possessions safe, but also helps significantly with eliminating separation anxiety. If your dog is stressing out, soiling in your home, or destroying your stuff, the solution is to use a kennel. This prevents tragedies such as your dog chewing on an electrical cord, or swallowing a chunk of your furniture and dying!

Putting your dog in a kennel is not being mean to the dog. Using a crate is actually good for your dog. It keeps them safe. It keeps your home and guests safe. It’s a quiet place to rest if there is too much going on for your dog to handle – such as if you’re having a party, or if you have a bunch of kids visiting your home for a play date. Crates are great for quiet times too, like when you’re sleeping or when you are very busy and can’t supervise your dog. They are also extremely helpful during house training / potty training.

As soon as you bring your dog home, begin training your dog to go in and out of the crate on command: “Kennel up!” Make the process short, fun and rewarding. Then, as with all training, consistency is key, so repeat often. The goal is for your dog to enjoy being in the kennel and to feel safe and snug in there. The crate is not a punishment, so never use it as such. It’s their bedroom, den or living room. Feed your dog in the crate to associate these two pleasurable experiences together. Feeding your dog in the crate also ensures your other pets or kids don’t steal your dog’s food – so your dog won’t feel the need to guard their food from them. You can also let your dog have their favourite bone to be used as a stress or boredom reliever while in the crate.

If your dog has escaped from a crate, use zip ties to strengthen the corners and leash clips to secure the door more firmly, or get a stronger crate. Once your dog learns that it can’t get out, it will relax.

You can also play music, or leave a TV or fan on for your dog to provide a constant background sound for a feeling of security. This can also block out or mask other sounds that may disturb your dog’s rest.

Correct Undesirable Behaviour

This section discusses 2 tools to snap a dog out of their destructive and anxious mindset. These tools are a bark collar and a remote collar. If you are new to these training tools, don’t let your fear of the unknown stop you from keeping an open mind, learning and growing. These tools are safe, humane, and extremely effective. Our mission is to help dogs, not to hurt them. On the other hand, dogs die every day from being dumped at shelters due to destructive and disturbing separation anxiety behaviours that get people evicted from their homes. Dogs with separation anxiety can seriously injure themselves while in a panic at being left alone. These tools do give the dog a split second of discomfort, to snap them out of panic-mode, rather than the hours of escalating distress that the dog was already experiencing. The goal is to change the dog’s state of mind in an instant to stop the anxiety in it’s tracks.

Bark collars save dog’s lives. Many people have abandoned their dogs or their dog ends up dying in a shelter due to neighbours complaining about their barking dog and the landlord threatening to evict. Instead, a bark collar gives a split-second stim to a localized spot on the dog’s neck that startles them and stops their barking. It is not painful, but yes, it’s uncomfortable. That’s why it works. After a few instances of experiencing immediate consequences, the dog realizes that barking isn’t such a great idea and they begin to relax instead. Bark collars work. They are humane and effective. They give the dog instant information to stop doing something that isn’t good for anyone – including themselves. Note: Do NOT use citronella spray collars. Dogs have exquisitely sensitive scent detection. The smell remains long after the barking has stopped – which is cruel and unfair to the dog.

Allowing a dog to remain in an anxious state is abusive. Instead, correct the whining. Rather than letting your dog to continue to stress out, get your dog to calm down by using one of the following methods:

Good quality remote collars (with at least 100 nuanced increments of stimulation) are incredibly effective tools to communicate with your dog even at great distances. The sensation is not shocking or electrocution. At the very highest level, it is very startling, but causes absolutely no physical harm. I know, because I’ve tested them on myself. The stimulation can only be felt at the spot the contact points are touching. It’s a very localized sensation that stimulates the muscles like a TENS units used by chiropractors and in sports or physical therapy. We have experienced amazing results with this tool. When introduced properly and used in a consistent way, it is an incomparable part of a dog’s overall training. This tool is used at very low levels to motivate and communicate, (in the same way you first show a dog on leash any basic command by applying leash pressure or by releasing that pressure) and it can also be used to give a dog a brief correction. A split second stimulation can instantly interrupt and correct a frantically stressed out dog. Using a remote collar is one of the most effective ways to help dogs get over their undue anxiety.

Used properly, it’s a fantastic wireless guidance system. Like any tool, or any object really, it can be used improperly, but we don’t ban water because a maniac used it to drown someone. We don’t blame knives if some lunatic used a knife to stab someone rather than to chop veggies.

These are effective and humane ways to quickly calm your dog down, to make it’s life better, and make your life better. This momentary startling interruption is much better than allowing the dog to remain in a tortured state of mind or perpetuating this state in a negative feedback loop. Dogs feel relieved to not be held hostage to the unnecessary stress, and begin to practice peaceful, calm behaviour instead.

Confidence Building

Gradually expose your dog to new environmental elements & reward their accomplishments with your calm attention and affection. You don’t need to have agility training equipment. Find interesting spots in your environment that you can use to build your dog’s trust and confidence by calmly and firmly guiding them to go under, over, and through a variety of spaces. For example, get your dog to try new things, such as climbing up on a stump or small boulder. Guide your dog under and over a park bench or picnic table. Visit new places, new situations & build trust through successful accomplishments while demonstrating and expecting calmness.

Keep a Consistent Routine

Dogs love a predictable home routine with consistent expectations. It makes them feel safe. Dog training isn’t something you do only at puppy school for an hour on Saturdays, or when your dog is misbehaving. Just as your parents didn’t schedule teaching you good manners and life lessons only for ten minutes on Tuesdays. Kids learn by observing and interacting with people in real life – every minute of the day. In the same way, dog training is a lifestyle. Integrate these new good habits and expectations of your dog into your everyday routine. Dog training for the real world isn’t a series of tricks. It’s holistic. It’s all connected. It’s about building a bond of trust, respect, calmness and good communication.

Okay, let’s summarize:

Follow ALL of the steps to eliminate &/or prevent dog separation anxiety.

1. CONTROL YOUR SPACE by giving your dog jobs to do:
   1. don’t let your dog follow you everywhere or behave excitedly indoors
   2. teach your dog to rest in *Place* for increasing lengths of time
   3. use the crate even while you’re home & long down-stays with crate open
2. CONTROL YOUR SELF to lower excitement levels & create calmness:
   1. no high pitch talking, excited questions, or indoor play
   2. leave the house with zero fuss (it’s no big deal, so just kennel up & leave)
   3. come home with zero fuss (*ONLY pat a dog who’s completely calm & relaxed*)
   4. strictly limit attention, affection & food rewards to reduce excitement, stress & anxiety (these are powerful rewards to be used meaningfully)
3. STRUCTURED EXERCISE – This means formal on leash walks with rules, rather than off leash free-for-all runs. The goal is to engage both the body and the mind to release pent up energy, rather than creating a marathon athlete with more over-excited energy:
   1. structured walks (at a heel on a loose leash, with auto-sit when you stop)
   2. treadmill exercise for up to an hour per day (with constant supervision)
4. CORRECT ANXIOUS BEHAVIOUR to help your dog calm down. Teach your dog that *calm* is expected & behaving anxiously (barking, whining, pawing the crate) isn’t allowed. Being firm & consistent with the other rules will result in needing fewer corrections here.
   1. use a bark collar to stop the barking when you’re not home
   2. use a quality ecollar with at least 100 incremental levels
   3. use a bonker (towel) or Pet Convincer (air) – see Solid K9 Training‘s video (great inspiration for this post)
5. CONSISTENT RULES & LEADERSHIP make your dog feel safe:
   1. make as few rules as possible & ensure they are non-negotiable
   2. demonstrate fairness, calmness, patience (you are your dog’s role model)
   3. integrate dog training into your everyday routine as a normal part of life

Even if your dog doesn’t have separation anxiety, you can use these methods to prevent separation anxiety from starting in the first place! Avoid togetherness addiction and keep your dog in a healthy, calm, balanced state of mind.

We want to help you to build a bond of trust, respect, confident calmness & good communication with your dog so you can both enjoy a happy, balanced life together. Calm, well mannered dogs get to experience more freedom and are included in more aspects of our lives. Here’s to your success!

Note: Many dogs are now being medicated for behavioural issues such as separation anxiety. Medications are not a cure, do not address the cause, but only temporarily mask the underlying problem (if that) and can have seriously adverse side effects. It is much more humane to *teach* your dog the behaviours that are welcome and helpful, and to correct them when they make mistakes to be crystal clear. Instead of meds, treat the root cause of dog separation anxiety (stress & overindulgence) and create the solution (calmness & structure). A good dog trainer will be happy to work with you and your vet to reduce and eliminate meds in order to clearly assess and address behaviour problems. It’s not like you can’t change it later. After the training is complete it would be easy to put your dog back on meds if that is what you and your vet feel is in the best interest of your dog’s mental and physical health. After thorough training and behaviour modification, most dog owners discover that their dog no longer needs meds to behave well.

Congratulations for putting your dog’s needs ahead of your preferences and for taking the time to teach your dog to have calm, self-reliance!

Wishing you and your dog happiness, health and peace.