We're coming to the end of our latest board & train client's time with AWDT and reflecting on how far she has come! Shandy is a sweet girl with great foundational training; however, like with so many dogs I see, she can become very reactive on-leash. As a HUGE proponent of off-leash training, we spent a lot of time e-collar training with a long lead and giving her plenty of exposure to other dogs while on-leash. After her two week stay with us, she can now walk on and off leash and can interact with other dogs stress-free!

Check out these videos of her progress! 

​​For all the modern conveniences the modern dog is given in our current world, we have a tendency to love dogs a lot more than we honor who they are.  
 
In a world where dogs are unemployed and always on-leash, we are seeing a rise in many problem behaviors. And perhaps none more brought about by current living conditions than separation anxiety.  
 
Separation anxiety is one of the most difficult issues you can face as a dog owner, and it usually stems from what I see in dogs as a failure to launch – meaning they’ve never really crossed the line from a small, dependent puppy to an independent, strong member of the community. This is often times brought about by a lack of a job, or a lack of strong leadership and direction. Some dogs, like Weimereiners or other “Velcro dogs”, almost seem to have it bred into them. Like most bred behaviors with pure bred dogs, if it’s not carefully trained out of them from the start, you're going to have issues.  
 
Like anything, if you prevent separation anxiety from day 1 by fostering independence, teaching the dog how to entertain himself away from you, effective crate training, and general good obedience work, it is much easier than dealing with it once they are already destroying your floorboards or your door frames. 
 
If you’re already dealing with separation anxiety, then here are some steps you can take to start getting it back under control: 

I see a lot of dog owners at the end of their ropes. I’ve had dog owners start to cry while telling me the stories of their dogs. So many of my clients contact me at the point where they believe they have already tried everything – and because they believe that they have tried everything, they often feel embarrassed, scared, angry, or frustrated.
 
The problem is, none of these emotions are helpful and all of them will get in the way of your success. Learning to control and change your emotions is ESSENTIAL for successful dog training and will greatly speed up the process.
 
If you’re struggling to get ahold of your emotions, try these tips: