It’s common knowledge in the dog training field that separation-related problems, such as isolation distress or separation anxiety, are one of the more challenging types of behaviors to deal with. Part of this is because it takes a trainer having appropriate knowledge and skill at implementing a training protocol. But an additional aspect is that a dog guardian will have to work on getting their dog used to (or desensitized to) more than just duration: the amount of time a dog is alone.

Other factors that must be at least accounted for include:

• Which person is doing the training - for example, if it’s a married couple working with their dog with separation anxiety, the dog can have different levels of being comfortable alone with each person, and also another level when both people leave the home (and their dog alone) at the same time.

• Working on pre-departure cues - this includes anything a dog notices that predicts their person or people leaving them alone (a trigger predicting an absence). Common pre-departure cues are people putting on their shoes, picking up their keys, collecting their work things like a purse or briefcase, or many other things.

• There are also post-departure cues -which refer to things dogs notice that occur outside the home, but are still related to a prediction of an absence. For example, a person opening a gate outside to drive their vehicle through, or driving on a gravel road when leaving.

• Environmental influences - these can include anything else occurring around or during the dog’s absence (during training), such as if there was a thunderstorm, or loud construction noises, or if a dog had a stressful experience right before the training session like getting barked at by a reactive dog, or going to the veterinary hospital. Some dogs may not be bothered at all by environmental influences, but for some it may affect their behavior.

Each dog is an individual and can have different factors that affect his or her behavior. Part of our training is to track data and look for trends or influences that we can desensitize a dog to or modify with training. It’s very possible to achieve this for most dogs over time, especially those without medical problem-induced behaviors or anxiety.