Tips on Correcting Behavioral Problems

Back when I was still a little kid, I used to stay with my grandfather at one of the rural corners of the country. He planted vegetables, fruits, reared live stocks and like the rest of the village, we had a pack of dogs living with us. I wouldn't say that they are family pets as they definitely don't fit our modern day definition of pet, however they lived with us and helped protect our property and in return for their service we would feed them everyday. That was our way of life back then, it was a peaceful co-existence with our pack of dogs. However in our modern day society, our dogs have been alleviated unwillingly from the status of being an animal to being our little baby, son, daughter and the list goes on. This has inadvertently created an increased in behavioral problem in our dogs. Problems like destructive chewing, obsession, separation anxiety were all issues that were far and few back then. It was until I had my first dog, did I came to the realization that most of the time, we are actually the source of our dog's problems despite our good intentions. Many of us have made the most fundamental mistake of thinking that our dog is a human! The truth is our dog is much simpler than us, because they do not think and rationalize like we do, they don't plan in advance what they are going to do, they live in the now and everything they do is a reaction to our actions.

Due to my ignorance I had a lot of problem with my first dog, Belle, she was perpetually fearful to the extent that she would tremble, eliminate and totally shut herself down. She had a host of other problems which I had unwittingly created. Stress, frustration and sadness was welling within me as I struggled to find a fix to her escaliting problem. I searched the net, went to various forums and poured through numerous books. After much trial and error as well as great determination and patience, she got better as each month passed and today she is a happy and well balanced dog :)

As I continue to read more on canine behavioral problems, I soon realised that there is something similar in the techniques or methods that different people used. The baseline to bring out the things that will trigger them and correct them immediately when they start to behave in an unacceptable manner. Say for example you dog has a problem of chewing on the sofa. The following steps will be I will do:
1. Bring the dog to the sofa (the item that will trigger his unacceptable behavior).
2. The moment he start to move forward to the sofa, come in between him and the sofa.
3. If he continue moving forward, immediately give him a firm touch on his neck or rear just to snap him out of it.
4. Adopt a tall and proud posture and never back off.
5. Depending on the type of dog, some may back off while others will bark and try to move forward again.
6. By barking or lurching forward the dog is issuing a challenge, and must be correct immediately with a firm touch.
7. Once he stop. Take a step towards him. By doing so you are setting the boundary for him and telling him that you are claiming the sofa as yours.

A dog that submit on the first day does not necessarily mean he has learnt the new behavior. For the new behavior to last, daily routine is a must. The moment he tries to get near the sofa, the owner must go through the same step of claiming the sofa and making him back off. It may be challenging initially as it something new for the dog, but you will realize that as you keep repeating the same drill with him, very soon the new habit of repecting the sofa will be programmed into his head.

The steps above can be use for changing other unacceptable behavior as well. Behavior such as dominating your bed and refusing to let other on it, chewing your household item, dashing out the door etc. The underlying principle is the same. Some pointers to take note:
- Always start by going into a clam but assertive state of mind. Your dog can sense your aura.
- Never call his name when correcting his unacceptable behavior as you want to associate his name with positive events and not bad ones.
- Dogs can change from very mild to extreme aggression in split seconds so always be alert to his cues so that you can block him from reaching the aggression state.
- Patience and consistency are the key ingredients to successfully changing a dog's unacceptable behavior.

Recommended reads:
The Very Best of Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan
Be the Pack Leader: Use Cesar's Way to Transform Your Dog . . . and Your Life
A Member of the Family: The Ultimate Guide to Living with a Happy, Healthy Dog
Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan - Seasons 1-3 Collection - Amazon.com Exclusive

How To Tell If You Female Dog Is In Heat

Based on the observation of my dogs and feedback I gather from fellow dog lovers, most bitches reach puberty at about 6 to 18 month of age. This is the first time she comes into heat and it will occur again at intervals of about 6 months. It is at this time where she will start to pass out blood stained substance. 

Some common symptoms displayed includes:
- signs of abdominal discomfort
- increase excitability
- loss of appetite

This is also the time where they send out such a strong scent to the male dogs around the neighborhood that they becomes hysterical whenever you bring her out for a walk. However, she will only begin to show interest in mating after 5 to 10 days into her heat, where she will be just as anxious to meet another male dog. Based on studies, the highest probability of conception occurs around 10 days after the bitch has displayed signs of being on heat.

The estrous cycle is a regular occurring period of sexual receptivity in dogs where ovulation occurs and copulation can take place. It consist of namely 4 stages:
1. Proestrus
2. Estrus
3. Diestrus
4. Anestrus

Proestrus
This is the start of the cycle where the bitch first comes into heat. Her vulva will be swollen and blood stained discharge can be observed. An increase in urination can also be observed. This is also the time when she sends out her mating scent that gets all the male dogs crazy, however she will not show any signs of interest in mating or the males until the next stage. Duration of this stage is about 9 days.

Estrus
This stage will often being 8 - 10 days after the first sign of bleeding in the bitch. Ovulation occurs about 2 days into this stage. In preparation for mating her vulva will become enlarge and swollen. A lighter tone discharge will also be observed. This is the part of the cycle when the bitch becomes interested and receptive to the male dogs, and should therefore be kept away from all male dogs if you have no intention of breeding. It is important to note here that a bitch can be pregnant with a mix litter, a result of mating with more than 1 mate of different breeds.  Average duration of this stage is about 9 days.

Diestrus
After mating the diestrus stage follows. Typically this stage last for 60 to 100 days in bitches that are not pregnant. For bitches that are pregnant it usually last for about 56 - 58 days. During this period bitches that are pregnant and not pregnant will both undergo hormonal changes in their body. And in certain cases, non-pregnant even exhibit symptoms of being pregnant and this is known as false pregnancy or pseudo-pregnancy. During this stage, bitches will gain weight, show signs of mammary gland development leading to production of milk and display signs of nesting.

Anestrus
This is basically the period of sexual inactivity inactivity between cycles where she has no attraction to or from the male dogs. This period usually last for about 6 months.

Owners who do not plan to let their bitch mate should consider spaying her. Spaying should not be seem as harmful to a dog and on the contrary it has more benefits than not doing so. Few of the greatest benefits of spaying are:
- Spaying lowers the risk of developing uterine problems and hormone related disease such as mammary cancer.
- Avoid the mess that accompany the bitch when she is on heat.
- Helps to make her calm as a bitch that is in heat is susceptible to temperament changes.
- Prevents unwanted pregnancy, as raising a litter of puppies is a very time consuming and laborious process, albeit a rewarding one.

Recommended resources:
The Whelping and Rearing of Puppies: A Complete and Practical Guide
The Complete Book of Dog Breeding
Canine Reproduction And Whelping: A Dog Breeder's Guide
Book of the Bitch: A Complete Guide to Understanding and Caring for Bitches (New Edition)

Top 2 Most Common House Training Challenges

House training is one of the areas of dog ownership that’s most subject to misunderstanding, confusion, and just plain dread! Today I am going to deal with two of the most common problems surrounding the issue of house training:

- Submissive/excited urination

- Scent marking

A ‘submissive urinator’ is a dog that urinates on the floor and himself (and sometimes on you and any guests you may have!) in situations of extreme excitement or stress - like when you return home at the end of the day, or when he’s being told off. Puppies are the usual candidates for submissive/excited urination, but it’s not uncommon to see adult dogs with the problem as well: usually, these are highly sensitive and timid dogs, and/or ones from a shelter/with a history of abuse (often these last two go hand-in-hand.)

Situations when an excited/fearful dog is likely to urinate:
- Greeting time after a prolonged absence
- Play time
- The arrival of guests
- Stressful situations at home, eg arguments
- During a correction (you’re telling him off)
- Sudden loud noises (thunder, fireworks)

Fortunately, it’s not difficult to “cure” your dog of his submissive/excited urination. First of all, you should take him to the vet to make sure there’s no medical reason for the issue (like diabetes or a bladder infection.)

Next, it’s time to take control of the problem:

- Limit his intake of water to help him control his bladder more effectively. Don’t restrict his water intake over a prolonged period of time, but if you know there’s a situation coming which would normally result in urination – for example, you have guests coming over, or are planning on a play session soon – take his water bowl away for a period of time (maybe half an hour to an hour) before the event.

- When greeting your dog, keep it calm and mellow. The more excited he is, the harder it is for him to control his bladder, so don’t encourage him to get worked up: ignore him for the first few moments, or give him a neutral “hello”, a quick pat, and then go about making yourself at home.

- It’s important that you DO NOT punish or harshly correct your dog for this behavior. It’s not something that he can easily control, and he’s certainly not doing it on purpose. When you catch him in the act, you can interrupt him (a firm “No!” followed by praise when he stops should suffice) but don’t punish him. Keep your cool, and try to be sympathetic: he doesn’t mean to do it, after all!

Scent marking - where a dog “marks” his or her territory with urine – is technically not actually a house training problem, since it’s based on issues of dominance and territoriality rather than insufficient house training (a dog can be perfectly house trained but still mark inside the house.) However, because – since the problem centers around the unwanted presence of urine in the house – it seems logical, in a way, to link this problem with house training: and since this is one of the most widespread problems among dog owners, we thought it worthwhile to include some practical advice. 

Scent marking and lack of house training: how to differentiate between the two

Your dog’s probably scent marking, rather than genuinely relieving himself, if:

- The amount of urine produced is relatively small, and tends to be directed against vertical surfaces (walls, doors, etc)

- He’s male, unneutered, and at least five or six months old. Unneutered dogs are much more territorial than neutered ones –if you have an unneutered dog in the house, you can pretty much expect a certain amount of scent marking. (Unspayed females also mark, but it’s less common; spayed and neutered dogs can also exhibit marking behavior, but it’s relatively infrequent)

- It makes little difference how often he’s taken outside for a toilet break

- He frequently targets items that are new to the house: new possessions, guest clothing/footwear, etc

- You live in a multi-dog household and there is conflict between two or more of the dogs

- There are other, unneutered or unspayed pets in the house

First things first: spay or neuter your dog(s) as soon as you possibly can. If you can do this early enough – ideally, at six months of age - this often halts marking altogether; but if your dog’s been marking for a prolonged period of time, he or she may continue to do so after being spayed or neutered, since a pattern of behavior will have been established.

Clean soiled areas thoroughly. Use a non-ammonia based cleaner (because it smells just like pee) and stay away from vinegar too (it smells similar to pee.) Oxi-Clean mixed with warm water is particularly effective; there are also plenty of commercial cleaners designed specifically to lift pet stains and odors, which you can buy from pet stores and some supermarkets. Because dogs tend to re-mark the same places, you’ll need to redefine the places that you know he’s marked to prevent repeat offending.

You can do this in a number of ways:

- Feed him next to or on top of the spot
- Play with him there
- Groom him there
- Put his bed over or next to it
- Spend time there yourself: hang out with a book or sit down and work

If there is rivalry between dogs in the household, you’ll need to take steps to resolve it. Any conflict is likely to be hierarchical in nature (a “power struggle”), which means that all you have to do to stop the tension is pay attention to which dog seems to be more dominant than the other one (which one eats first, gets the toys he/she wants, “stares down” another dog), and reinforce this position. 

How to do this: feed the dominant dog first. Pet him/her first. Give him/her a toy before anyone else gets one. This makes it clear to all dogs in the house which one really is the dominant dog – and when this hierarchy’s been recognizably established, territorial/dominant behaviors like scent marking often vanish overnight.

For more information on how to successfully house train your dog (as well as a whole bunch of in-depth information on house training troubleshooting and related issues) you’ll probably want to check out The Ultimate House Training Guide.

How To Love Your Dogs

Just the other day while I was at one of those local phone shops checking out the prices of mobile phones when I saw a middle age lady pushing a stroller into the shop. As the space was rather narrow, so when she approached me I had to step aside in order to let her pass and that was when I realized that it was not an infant or a child in the stroller but a chihuahua! Which is why I was motivate to put up this post on showing affection to dogs.

Now I am not trying to insult the intelligence of anyone here nor am I insinuating anything. However I feel that it is important to dispel the misconception that a lot of people have with regards to showing affection for our dogs. I can totally understand the human desire to just go up to that cute dog and pour our affection onto him with kisses, pats, hug and so on. The situation is exacerbated if we adopted a dog who have had a rough life hitherto. Feeling sorry for him, we tend to shower him with even more affection and anything that we thought could possibly make his life better.

That is the most fundamental mistake that most of us make, especially dog owners who have had no experience with dogs before. I was once there as well, I made the mistake of pouring my beloved dog with my immense affection such that I was unwittingly creating all her behavioral problems, I was literally creating an unbalanced dog! There is no doubt that the intention is noble and good, however if we do it from the human perspective, we are actually doing more harm than good to our loyal companion. We cannot interpret affection to our dogs like the way we show affection to another human, instead we have to do it in their way.


Leadership
Contrary to the belief that affection for our dogs equals to giving them freedom, to let them run around our household and do as they deem fit. A dog living with his human pack that does not provide his need for leadership, will take it upon his shoulder to be the leader. A dog becomes the alpha of his human will disregard his owners instructions as he sees himself as the leader of the pack, and everything in the 'large kennel' is his possession and that is where behavioral problems emerge. In some situations, behavioral problems is a result of the dog inability to cope with the tremendous stress place on him as a leader, as he will always be trying to be on top of everything.

Through observing my dogs and the numerous books that I have read on dogs, I have come to realize that the first thing that we need to provide our dogs with is leadership. Dogs in their natural environment are born into a pack and they lived as a pack. They are hardwired by nature to look up to their alpha for directions, the innate need for leadership is build within them in the DNA. They need someone whom they can follow, but they are also selective of who they follow. They will never follow a leader who projects a negative or weak aura around them as that translate to unstable energy for them. Ever seen how a mother dog handle her pups? She is always calm and firm, she communicates with her pups through her calm and assertive energy and physical touches, and her pups will just fall in line. So if you want to love your dog, show him that you are a worthy leader by projecting your calm and assertive aura, he will be able to sense it and it will help him to be calm as well. 

Rules and limits
The next thing you need to do is to establish rules and limits for your dog. A dog that lives without rules and boundaries will soon find himself overwhelm by the world around him. By exercising rules and setting limitations for them you are teaching your dog how to behave and live in your pack, which requires a great deal of focus from him which in turns drains him out and helps him to expand his energy. Just like how our world function with laws and regulations, likewise for a dog's world, they need rules and boundaries to function. However this will be impossible if you have yet to establish your role as a leader in your dog's eye.

Exercise
Exercising has the effect of helping a dog release his energy. The amount of exercising varies for every dog and is dependent on his energy level. A high energy dog would probably require up to three sessions on a single day with duration of 60 minutes each. A good form of exercising would be walking, but this is not just about bringing your dog out and letting him pull you on the leash, because it will be him walking you instead. By walking you dog, I am referring to keeping him by your side and slightly behind you. And while walking he must be discipline and calm not to be distracted by the things around him. And you as his leader plays a significant role in this.

Like I always advocate, a calm and firm aura is essential, the next thing you need to do is to condition him to focus on following you throughout the walk. This means that you as the leader have to correct his unacceptable behavior immediately through your aura and your touch and replace it with an acceptable behavior, much like how the mother dog discipline her pups. For example, if your dog get all excited whenever he sees the neighbor's dog, you can distract and block him mentally from going into that excited state of mind whenever you notice his physical que by giving him a firm tap. And get him into a behavior that you would prefer, such as sit. The whole idea here is to condition him to ignore all other things and focus on you.

Affection
Lastly affection must always be earn. It can be as simple as your dog listening to your command, and once he has executed your command and got into a calm state, you can give him all the affection you want. It is important to condition you dog to understand that he will have to earn your affection and he will only receives affection when he is calm and submissive. It is important to note here that giving affection to your dog at inappropriate time could have an adverse effect on him. By inappropriate I am referring to situations where the dog is excited, aggressive or fearful. By giving the dog our affection and attention, we are nurturing that state of mind that the dog is in and therefore doing it when the dog is not in a calm state can be detrimental to both dog and human.

And so in summary, to love your dog you have got to become his leader by:
1. projecting a calm and assertive aura
2. setting rules and boundaries for your dog
3. provide you dog with enough challenge to drain his excess energy so as to help him so into a calm and submissive state
4. provide affection and attention after your dog had earn it and only when he is in a calm state of mind

Recommended reads:
How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond
Be the Pack Leader: Use Cesar's Way to Transform Your Dog . . . and Your Life
Cesar's Rules: Your Way to Train a Well-Behaved Dog

Excitation Barking

People often have the misconception that barking dogs are dangerous, dominant, aggressive and perhaps irritating. Although it may be true in certain cases, it is also important for us to understand that barking is a way of communication for our dogs. There are many reasons that can cause our dogs to bark, therefore it is necessary for all genuine dog lovers to understand and differentiate the different types of barking of our dogs. This can be easily acquired by observing how your dog response to different situations. Having a good knowledge will enable us to understand our dogs and understanding will provide us with greater insight and patience towards them.

One of the most common phenomenon observed in dogs is excitation barking. It is our dog's way of expressing his happiness or an expectation that something good is about to happen. Common examples of this is when the owner return home or when there are guest around. However it is important to note here that our dogs are not designed by nature to behave in this manner, it is usually us that conditioned them to behave like that knowingly or unknowingly.

Excitation barking is usually a high frequency barking that may sometime sound a little hysterical. And because of the excitation energy, the dog will be unable to keep still and would instead be running around, jumping  up and down or could even be running in circle. Although our dogs should never be punished for this, it is nonetheless important that we correct his behavior and replace that with something that is calmer. In the steady state they should be conditioned to stop barking whenever you are home or when there are guests approaching. There are many ways that people used to deal with their dog's excitation barking issues. Some will give their dogs a chew toy and others would distract their dog by getting him to play fetch. In my opinion those are rather effective quick fix but does not do anything to help correct our dog's behavior.

When I had my second toy poodle, Teddy, I realized that he was showing signs of excitation barking whenever I return home or when my family members are at my gates. What I did after some trial and researching was to condition him to associate that he will not receive anything from us when he is excited. What I did was to totally ignore him when I return and gave my attention to my other dogs who are calmer, while he was barking with all his might in his crate. Eventually he got tired and began to calm down, and that is the time when I would open him from his crate and let him walk over to me. But I refrain from giving attention because I have to create and deepen his association of calmness equal to affection. So I would make him sit until he is calm, he would usually go to the down position when he is fully relax, and that is when I reinforce his association with my affection.

The steps are pretty simple but requires lots of patience.
1. Ignore your dog.
2. If he is jumping, running around or hysterical, leash him up and get him into a sit position and eventually a down position.
3. A dog that is not used to it will show initial resistance by jumping, whining, barking, but you have to stand firm. Because if you back away, he will associate his action equals to you backing away and him having his way.
4. Stand firm and let him resist. He will soon get tired out and would eventually submit and go into the down position.
5. Remove the leash when he is totally relax and calm and showing him affection so that he can associate calm and relax equal affection and attention.

What about guest? While the drill is pretty much the same. The idea is to get your dog into a calm and relax state before opening the doors and welcoming your guests in. The way I do it is as follows:
1. Walk to the door and put myself between my dogs and the door. This is to tell them that I am in control.
2. I will then get my dogs into a calm state where they will usually go into a sit position.
3. Never open the doors or gets while they are in an excited mood.
4. Anytime while I am in the process of inviting my guest in I will stop and correct them immediately so that they can make the association that I am not approving he behavior.
5. There is no need for yelling or shouting, just a firm touch at their sides will snap them out of their focus.
6. Correct them by making them sit and calming themselves down. I will only return my attention to my guests when my dogs are fully relax.
7. Always inform my guest if they are coming for the first time that they must ignore my dogs totally when they are coming in. Allow my dogs to smell them and once they are comfortable around my guest they will relax and that is the time when my guest starts to interact with them.

While training your dog, it is always beneficial to have the end in mind and always be calm so that your calmness can induce a calming effect on your dog. And remember that persistence and patience is the key to successfully changing your dog's excitation barking behavior.

Recommended reads:
Barking: The Sound of a Language (Dogwise Training Manual)
Calming Signals: What Your Dog Tells You
Scaredy Dog! Understanding & Rehabilitating Your Reactive Dog

Reading The Dog Food Label

The label tells us many important facts and figures that may otherwise dissuade or persuade us from purchasing the food. In short, it is important to read the labels. To actually read that label, and not to just give it a cursory glance, we will have to first know a little something about what can be found there and what it means.

The first thing most of us notice on any label is the product name. The product name may also contain primary ingredient names such as “Beef Dog Chow”, or what kind of dog the food is intended for, such as “Puppies, Adult, Lactating”, etc.

If, in the product name, an ingredient is listed, say for example “Beef Dog Chow”, that beef must be at least 95% of the total weight if there is no water required for processing, and at least 70% when water is included. So, for dry kibble, 95% of that weight needs to contain beef. When the title contains “dinner, formula, nuggets,” and other similar words, the ingredient named must be at least 25% of the weight. So in a product named Lamb Dinner, 25% of the total weight for the product must be lamb.

But, if only ¼ of that entire product needs to consist of lamb, the lamb may not (and probably is not!) the main ingredient. Ingredients must be listed in a descending order of weight. So, even though the bag says Lamb Dinner, the lamb may be fourth in order.

Example:

• Lamb Dinner Ingredients: Corn, meat and bone meal, wheat, lamb.

In that Lamb Dinner, the main ingredients are really the corn and meat and bone meal. Not desirable for a healthy meal.

On the other hand if the ingredients listed were

• Premium Lamb Dinner Ingredients: Lamb, ground rice, ground yellow corn…

This presents a more desirable meal and one that your dog can actually consume and digest properly.

When it comes to the words “flavored” or “flavor” such as Lamb Flavored Nuggets, no exact percentage of the named ingredient, the lamb, needs to be present, but enough of that ingredient needs to present as to be detectable

Often times, the main ingredients will not be present in the title. In such a case, these foods often include items such as: ground yellow corn, meat byproducts, tallow, and other items that are not particularly digestible for your pet. The actual named ingredient will probably be down the list and make up only a very small part of the product. Besides naming an ingredient with the product name, other phrases and adjectives are used.

Premium Dog Food, or X Premium and other like titles are making a justified boast, as these products complied with the nutritional standards for a complete and balanced dog food. This is definitely something to take into consideration when shopping. 

Natural Dog Food means that there are no artificial colors, preservatives or flavors.

If a product has given the calorie content on the bag, “Premium Beef Dinner: now with lower calorie content,” this is done so voluntarily as a service to the consumer. Because the calorie content of pet foods does not have to be displayed in their labels, however, here's a formula to help you make sure Buster is not eating too much: 

Multiply the carbohydrate by 4.2kcal (kilocalories) per gram, the protein by 5.65, and then the fat by 9.4 kcal per gram. If you need to convert the kilocalories to kilojoules (another unit of measurement for energy) simply multiply the total by 4.184. Of course, rounding to the nearest ten might be helpful, as long as you keep in mind that it’s an approximation erring on the low side.

Where's the Fat?

A good way to find the higher quality dog foods by reading the ingredient list is to search for that first source of fat. Everything that is listed before that fat source, and including it, is the main part of the food. Everything else is generally used for flavor, preservatives, vitamins, and minerals.

For example:

• Food A:Ground yellow corn, meat meal, chicken fat, ground wheat, chicken byproduct meal, dried beet pulp …

• Food B:
Turkey, chicken, chicken meal, ground brown rice, ground white rice, chicken fat, apples, carrots, sunflower oil…

The importance of finding the source of fat and where it is listed is so you can find ingredients that may or may not be harmful to your pet, such as beet pulp or corn gluten meal.

Learning to read the labels on dog food is the single most important thing you can do if you intend to feed your pet a commercial diet. Buster may be the smartest dog who ever wore a collar, but he can’t read, and he needs to rely on you to keep him healthy.

If what's in that can or bag doesn't sound like something you'd want to eat, it's probably not something your dog would eat if there were an alternative. So take the time to learn the language of labels!

Check out "Complete Guide to Your Dog's Nutrition" for more information!

Overcoming Canine Separation Anxiety

Dog suffering from separation anxiety are unbalanced dog who experience high level of stress in addition to causing emotional distress for their owners. While there are many possible reasons as to which some dogs display this behavior, personally I believe that it is because the dog was not taught how to handle such a situation. And more often than not, it is a result of human intervention that prevent the dog from learning. It could be that the dog was removed too early from his litter and mother's care, typically a mother dog will nurse her pups up until 4 to 5 weeks after birth, or could be us giving affection immediately after a dog had a traumatic experience and the list goes on.

The symptoms of separation anxiety includes:
- inappropriate urination and defecation
- excessive barking, whining or even howling
- destructive chewing
- trembling
- aggression during departure
- vomiting
- drooling

The above are just some of the symptoms commonly observed in dogs experiencing separation anxiety. And as their owners, it is imperative that we display the leadership that they need to help them learn the correct behavior. It is important to appreciate the fact that dogs live in a pack and must have a pack leader that he can always look up to for leadership and direction. A dog living with a human pack who does not provide leadership will place it upon himself to take the lead. A house with such a dog will eventually find themselves being own by the dog and behavioral problems will also begin to emerge.

Back to separation anxiety, a technique that many dog owners used is systematic desensitization. The aim of this method is to work on his discomfort of his owner leaving him a little bit at a time and gradually desensitize him to the absence of his owner.

The steps are as follows:
1. Designate a safe spot and get your dog to rest there.
2. Get a chair and sit next to your dog and give him a treat. In my opinion it is better to give him something that requires him to focus and takes some time to chew. Repeat a few times with a short pause in between.
3. Stand up for a brief moment while your dog is focusing on his treat. Repeat a couple of times until he is totally focus on his activity and not you while you are standing.
4. Give your dog his treat again and in addition to the sit and stand up routine, move a step or a few steps away from the chair and stay for a brief moment before returning to sit on the chair. Your dog should be totally focus on his activity at all times. If he show any sign of anxiety or gets up, you will have to correct it immediately by bringing him back to his spot and repeat from the previous step.
5. Gradually increase the distance you take away from your dog. In the steady state you should be able to move around the room without your dog getting anxious or away from his position without your permission.
6. Once you are able to move around the room freely, move out of the room for a brief moment and return. As before, your dog should be focus on his activity and not move away from his position without your permission.
7. Gradually increase the time out of the room.

This is a time taking process as some dogs requires daily practice with their owners to condition and change their behavior. Patience and commitment is the key to success. Other things to take note is, always start with the end in mind, you have to believe in it first before you can materialize it. Be confident and always project a calm and assertive aura so that your dog can be influence by your aura and be induced into a calm state too. When he sense your leadership, he will most probably follow your directions.

Recommended resources:
Don't Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog's Separation Anxiety
I'll be Home Soon: How to Prevent and Treat Separation Anxiety.