Do you have a dog with separation anxiety? While I have worked with many dogs with separation anxiety (even dogs coming to stay with me to work on it) but I have never OWNED a dog that had separation anxiety, until a couple of months ago. Most of you probably caught my blog entry a couple of weeks ago about adopting my new German Shepherd Dog "Ziva", in that entry, I mentioned that she had separation anxiety and escapism. This week's entry will be about the beginning of our journey together through this issue. But before you read on, if you feel that your dog MAY have separation anxiety, please read my previous blog post about what separation anxiety is here: Separation Anxiety

When I first laid eyes on Ziva, the right side of her face was completely skinned raw from trying to get out of a kennel while she was at her foster home and she had been known to jump a fence or two. Being very familiar with the breed, I was not surprised at all that, without proper training, that she was not comfortable (frantic, even) when left by herself. It has been my experience that many novice dog owners get a German Shepherd thinking that, because of their size, coat, etc., that they MUST be outside dogs. In fact, German Shepherds LIVE to be with their owner, if you are outside they want to be out, if you are inside, they want to be inside. So physically, GSD's look like they are outside dogs but psychologically and emotionally they are inside dogs. I am convinced that this is what happened to Ziva in her previous life. Someone got a GSD thinking they were outside dogs, threw her in the yard by herself and proceeded to teach her how to escape. Okay, there wasn't someone out there literally showing her how to get out and rewarding her, BUT, by leaving her to her own devices, they were in effect, teaching her how to escape.

At my house, my dog's crates are on the back porch so when they are resting they do not get disturbed (I do have a 17 month old son who is VERY active!). But when I brought Ziva home the first thing I did was bring her crate into the room we are in the most. This happens to be the tiny kitchen/dining room so imagine a German Shepherd sized crate in the middle of the room we cook and eat in. My husband is a saint! I wanted to be able to work with her being in the crate, in the same room with us before I ever even considered putting her on the back porch. Also, the crate is a wire crate that is higher guage metal, and has a special door that will not give when she pushes on it. My goal was to take small enough steps that she didn't feel the anxiety and try to escape but it was also important to have her in a kennel she couldn't get out of to break her habit of escaping.

 However, even before that, I started by simply teaching her a "kennel" command. My first goal was to get her to go into her crate on command. If every time you were to go into your bedroom, you got shoved in, you might not have a great feeling about your resting spot either. I also need to stress that this needs to be done separate from actually shutting them in the crate and needs to have a great deal of repetition and sessions. It is simply saying the "kennel" command and tossing a treat in the crate, allowing them to go in and get it and come right back out. We worked at this level until she was going into the crate on command without having to throw a treat in to coax her. I believe this process took about 3 days but every dog should be treated as an individual.

The other project we worked on for several days was making sure that EVERYTHING good happened in her crate. Building a positive association with the crate by pairing with good things. She was fed in her crate, got treats in her crate, chew bones in her crate, anything she valued she got in her crate. It is important to point out that she was not shut in the crate during this time. The door was open and she was choosing to be in the crate.

During the first week in her new home, she was with me or my husband 24/7, sleeping in bed with us, laying next to us on the couch, following me into EVERY room. Finally, once she OFFERING  me the behavior of going into her crate (when we passed by the crate she went into it without being asked). I knew it was time to start working on crate training. Many people who have a dog with separation anxiety are afraid to crate train them, thinking it will most CERTAINLY emotionally scar the dog. However, crate training can actually HELP communicate to the dog what we are trying to tell them which is "It is OKAY to be alone sometimes". After all, they are den animals.  If you have further questions about crate training, check out my previous blog entry : Crate Training Puppy Prison or Pooch Palace?

We began by working on short increments in her crate (by short increments I mean, 10 seconds) rewarding her for good behavior in her crate and addressing bad behavior. Communicating to her that bad behavior did not get her out of her crate but good behavior COULD (good behavior cannot guarantee to be let out but bad behavior NEVER works). The key here is small enough increments that their anxiety does not rise to a level that they are not able to learn what you are trying to teach them, even if that's 2 seconds at a time. Since we did our foundation work about getting her to LOVE her crate, she did really well in this area of her training! She was very soon spending good, quiet, lengths of time in her crate but still in the same room as I was in (probably around 30 minutes at a time). She was still sleeping in bed with us, as I was certain she was not ready to spend the night in her crate.

Ziva's second week, I was ready to conquer a night time routine with her. I moved her enormous crate into the spare room where it could sit right next to the bed and I spent the next week sleeping downstairs. Once again, my husband is a saint! Since we had done our foundation work with making her LOVE her crate and spending short increments of time during the day, once again, this went surprisingly well. (See a pattern developing here? If not, check out my blog entry: Are you spending more time teaching what it IS, or what it ISN'T?). We had a few bouts of whining but for the most part she did well since she was literally right next to me by the bed.

So that's what the first 2 weeks of working with a dog with separation anxiety COULD look like. Every dog is an individual and their progress will depend on their past association with the crate and their personality. I find that the two biggest mistakes most people dealing with separation/crate anxiety are: 1. Underestimating what "small but successful" looks like. It took me a week to even begin shutting her in the crate. It took me 2 weeks to get her to sleep in the crate right next to my bed. Not spend the day in the crate, sleep in the crate.

2 . Only putting the dog in the crate when you are leaving. The dog then builds a negative association with the crate undoing all of the positive association we have been working on. It is tempting to want them to be out with you as much as possible when you are home but I promise letting them spend time in the crate with you there is integral.

Stay tuned to hear about my adventures with working on her staying in the yard (especially during the fireworks 4th of July)!

  Wait, a dog trainer writing a narrative on how to spoil your dog, what is wrong with this picture?! I assure you I have not gone crazy, I just want owners to know I spoil my dogs as much as the next person. I just make sure I spoil them in the ways I want them spoiled, not in the ways THEY want to be spoiled. So I decided to write this week about how to successfully spoil your furry friend!

Over and over again I sit down with dog owners and talk to them about how they have changed their lives to suit their dogs when it should be the other way around. I even once heard a story about a married couple who slept on separate levels of their home because their dogs couldn't get along and HAD to sleep in bed with one of them! This, my friends, is an example of how NOT to spoil your dog. Many times when I get a call about a dog with behavioral issues my first step is to schedule an assessment where I ask a few questions about the dog's daily routine. Many owners sheepishly admit that their dog sleeps with them, convinced I am going to roll up a newspaper and swat them with it (the owner not the dog!) for allowing that type of behavior. They seem surprised when I tell them that my dogs sleep with me also, each taking a turn on the bed. The difference between my version of spoiling and the above mentioned version is that my dogs have earned the privilege of sleeping in bed with me by proving that they can sleep in a crate if need be. In short, my dogs sleep with me because they CAN spend the night in the crate, not because they WON'T sleep in a crate. There is nothing wrong with expecting them to earn that perk,  instead of demanding it.

 I also heard many times while working at a local pet supply store of people cooking hamburger and rice because their dog refused to eat dog food. While this is acceptable as a temporary solution to a dog that is ailing or recovering from serious surgery, you should not HAVE to cook for your dog! Let me be perfectly clear here, if your belief is that processed, commercial dog food is not healthy for your dog and you WANT to be your dog's chef, more power to you. However, most of the owners I spoke to about cooking for their dogs did it unwillingly and even begrudgingly convinced it was the only way their dog would eat and if they didn't their dog would starve to death! It always begins when the dog isn't hungry for a few days so you start to worry and give them something special to get them to eat. It could be something as little as milk on their dog food or canned food that you got free when you purchased the dry food (you know why they make those coupons, right? To get your dog addicted to the gravy and hook your wallet for the life span of your pet!). Your dog thoroughly enjoys his treat and you believe all is well. Unfortunately you find that he is no longer eating his food unless you "give it the special treatment" and much to your dismay, he eventually refuses to eat the canned food either! So you go out and find him even better, more expensive dog food. He eats it for a few days then turns up his nose yet again. Pretty soon, you realize that you are standing in YOUR kitchen using YOUR pots and pans to cook for YOUR dog. It's really not surprising they develop such rich taste. Imagine you sat down at my table and I put a bologna sandwich in front of you, bologna isn't your favorite food so you decide to wait til dinner. When you don't eat the bologna sandwich, I put in front of you, a fancy sub sandwich with roast beef, pepper jack cheese, and your favorite fixin's on it. You may eat it for a few days then decide to hold out for what could be better than that sandwich. So I cook up some steak for you, once you are tired of that, I decide to splurge on Filet Mignon. By this time, you are turning down perfectly good food  just to see what I will offer you next! The difficulty with this is, what do I do when there is no better food  to offer you? Depending on who you are, Filet Mignon is supposed to be one of the best foods in the world so where do I go from there? Back to the bologna sandwich. Now I am in no way saying that my dogs do not get treats and special meals here and there. As a matter of fact I am here to admit that. I feed my dogs human food sometimes (although I keep it to a minimum for their health and make sure it is good nutritious food for them, not junk. Think pieces of steak, not pop tarts!). But I feed my dog special treats because I want to, not because they refuse to eat their own food. This is another example of how to spoil your dog the right way.

Another area that owners assume I frown upon is whether you allow your dog up on your furniture or not. I guess people imagine my dogs to be perfect robots that only speak when spoken to and lay aside unless asked to join the party. That couldn't be farther from the truth, if that is what you want, you need a cat not a dog! I allow my dogs up on the furniture but there are some rules that apply.
1. If you want to sit with me, you must ask before jumping into my lap (they ask by sitting 
    politely in front of me).
2.If you want to sit in a chair and there is something in it (laundry for example), you must ask 
   me to move it  (once again, by sitting politely in front of the chair). If I don't move it, you 
   cannot sit there right now.
3. If you are in a chair and I want to sit in it you will get up and allow me to have the chair
    without protest.
4.You may not "claim" a chair. Since I have more than one dog, it is important that they do not
    claim a chair as theirs and refuse to let any of the other dogs sit in it. It is equal opportunity
     seating at my house.

Many trainers discourage playing Tug of War with your dog, however it can be another area that you can treat your dog to something they enjoy doing, as long as it is on your terms. The key to Tug of War being on your terms is to have a reliable "Drop it" command. My corgi's favorite game is Tug of War, I prefer to throw the ball and let her fetch it. I could just force her to play the game I like best, but I choose to spoil her in a way by allowing her to play the game she wants to play. I throw the toy, she retrieves it, we play tug for a minute, I ask her to drop it, she does, I throw it again and the game starts all over. While this may not seem like major spoiling behavior. It is an area that I see a lot of owners allowing the dog to dictate how they get to be spoiled. For instance, if I did not have a reliable drop it, I would be forced to play tug until she got tired of it or by some miracle I could get it stolen away from her long enough to throw it again. Continuing on with the idea of stealing the toy, let's say I got pretty good at stealing it from her, the only thing that would accomplish is she wouldn't want to bring it back to me. Ending our play time all together. I talk to many dog owners who say "They don't really play with me they just want the toy all to themselves which is usually an evolution of the scenario I just explained.  The other possibility is that they decide to start picking up random items (like your socks!) and refuse to give them up, creating their own version of tug. These are both examples of spoiling your dog in a way THEY demand, not in the ways you enjoy spoiling them.

Another gray area in the topic of dog spoiling is teaching them behaviors that are not universally acceptable. For instance, shake, beg, speak, and jumping up on you are all four behaviors that you may not want them to do whenever they feel like it. However, if you teach them to do these behaviors on command, it allows them to "get away" with these impulses when you want them to. However, I will warn that this can turn into shaky ground if not handled the right way. I have had more than one client who taught their dog to bark on command and then decided that might not have been the best idea when their dog began offering it without being asked. Shake is another example of a behavior that can be unwanted if not requested. Some clients have expressed a concern after teaching their dog shake that the dog paws at everyone who greets him.  Teaching them these behaviors also includes teaching them WHEN to exhibit these behaviors. My Brother in law has a dog who he has taught to dig on command. When they take "Todd" down to the river it is so cute to see him dig in the water when he is told to do so but obviously this is not a behavior they want Todd to exhibit in their backyard! My dogs are allowed to put their front feet up on me, but ONLY when I ask them to. Sometimes I prefer this method of greeting for my corgi because she is so short. The key is that she is only allowed to do it if I have asked her to. If they have a behavior that you find charming, yet not universally acceptable, spoil them by putting a command to the word. This allows you to tell them when their cute quirks are appropriate and appreciated.

The final area that I think is possibly the BEST way to spoil your dog is to take them with you wherever you go, whenever possible. Just like the examples above, there is a good way to do this and a bad way to do it. You want to make sure you are taking your dog because it is enjoyable for you to have them along and not because they demand to go with, destroying everything in sight if left at home. This is where training is key. You see, when it all boils down, training is simply learning how to communicate to your dog: what is expected of him, what is NOT appreciated of him, what consequences (good or bad) come with the choices he makes. Time spent with your dog should be a combined measurement of quality and quantity. It doesn't matter if you spend 24 hours a day with your dog if they are allowed to walk all over you the entire time. As a matter of fact, that can be worse than spending less time with them because you are spending that time teaching them how to disrespect you. On the other hand, it doesn't matter if you are the most talented trainer in the world, spending 10 minutes a day of quality time with your dog simply isn't enough. So the more Quantity of Quality time spent, the better for you and your dog. In short, don't just take them everywhere, teach them how to behave appropriately everywhere you go. That is the correct way to spoil your dog.

Now get out there and spoil your dogs the right way!

  Since I posted a few weeks ago that I had adopted "Ziva" from Saving Death Row Dogs I have had many people inquiring about how she is doing. This week I decided to write about  our journey together so far. Not just to update everyone on her progress, but to discuss some of the issues we have had to work through, how we worked through them, and what results I saw. Since many people are choosing to adopt (and even more in the future I hope!) I thought this might be great information to share. However, this first entry will only describe the road that led me to adopting Ziva. There will be more posts in the future describing new roads as we travel down them together.

The first time I saw "Ziva" (originally named "Queen") was when her picture was posted on Saving Death Row Dog's facebook page when they first acquired her. I remember thinking how beautiful she was and wondering how someone could possibly stop wanting her sweet face. Ziva was found as a stray roaming the streets of Topeka. Even after exhausting all efforts to find her owner, no one came forward to claim her. SDRD placed her in a foster home for a couple of weeks where she revealed a pretty severe case of separation anxiety/escapism, jumping fences and skinning the side of her face trying to get out of a kennel.

The first time I saw Ziva in person was at SDRD's annual carnival and adoption event Memorial Day Weekend. It is one of the biggest events they have all year and many of their dogs attend, hoping to find their forever homes. I had a booth there, talking to people about training and behavior problems. I looked across the grass football field that the event was held on and there was Ziva, standing in one of the kiddie pools they had brought to keep the dogs cool. I watched her walk around the event and was impressed by how laid back she seemed to be, taking all the other dogs/people/kids in stride.

I had a group class that day so I had to leave the carnival early to teach some puppies. When I got back shortly after the carnival had ended, there were only a handful of SDRD volunteers left and no dogs, except Ziva.As I walked up the volunteer who had been walking her around the carnival handed her off to another volunteer so she could help with something else. As she walked away, Ziva was visibly upset that the person she had been with all day had handed her over to someone new. "Typical German Shepherd", I thought. For those of you who are not familiar with the breed, German Shepherds are VERY attached to their person and want to be WHEREVER that person is at ALL TIMES. Now GSD's can love their entire family, but will always have one person they choose to be with over everyone else. I could tell Ziva was searching for a person to call her own, desperately searching.

 I wondered why she was still there and asked one of the members. They were trying to figure out what to do with her because her foster home had informed them that she wasn't fitting in well at their house. Their plan was to board her until they were able to get another foster home lined up for her. Unfortunately, it was Memorial Day Weekend and the vet they use to board dogs was already at capacity. As some of you know, I do limited boarding in addition to the training I provide so I agreed to keep her until Monday when the vet was no longer full, or they found a foster for her. I loaded her into my vehicle and started home. All the way home, I swear she was trying to decide whether I was going to be her person or I would pass her off to someone else yet again. All the way home, I was trying to decide the same thing...

When we arrived home, the first test she had to pass was with my son. Clayton was 15 months old at the time and while he is a very well behaved child, no 15 month old is reliable or predictable so it is always a test to see how a dog is going to react to him. She LOVED him! There were a few things he did that puzzled her but for the most part they got along grandly.

 Her next assessment was how she would get along with the other dogs and my cat. Before I brought her home, SDRD told me that she had growled at a couple of dogs that got into her face at the carnival and considering she hadn't fit in at her foster home, I knew this might be an issue. However, I also knew that many times, once a dog knows it is in a safe environment and has an owner they know will keep them safe, a lot of that type of behavior will calm down. She did growl and even snap at one of the dogs at my house the first day I brought her home but she got along very well with my Corgi "Tru". As far as the cat is concerned, she pretty much ignored it for the first few days, thought it might be fun to chase around for a few days after that but my cat and I convinced her that was a bad idea, now she and the cat coexist not bothering one another at all.

Finally, I had to see what my husband thought of her. My grandparents raised German Shepherds for many years so I had been around the breed a lot. I owned a male named "Bronson" all through college and for the first couple of years that Waylon and I were together. "Bronson" was one of the greatest dogs I have ever owned. It broke my heart when he passed away but no matter how long I owned him, his "person" was my grandpa and Bronson passed away on my Grandpa's birthday just months after my Grandfather died. I have always thought he must have needed a good dog to walk with him in heaven, Happy Birthday, Papa.

 Since Bronson died, we have talked about getting another GSD quite a few times, and were even offered one from a dear friend, but the situation never was quite right. So was this the right time? As I spent the weekend with Ziva, I got to know her personality, and saw how desperate she was to find someone who wouldn't pass her off once again. As we began working on her separation issues and crate anxiety, I found myself telling her that I would ALWAYS come back for her and that she didn't have to worry anymore. When Monday rolled around I knew she wasn't going anywhere. I called SDRD and asked if I could adopt her and our journey began. Thank you SDRD for all that you do, who knows what her future had been if it weren't for the work you do!

 Stay tuned in the following weeks to read more about dealing with her separation anxiety, escapism, growling at other dogs, fear of fireworks, and all the other adventures we don't even know about yet!