5 Ways to Help Your Dog Feel Happier Home Alone

Happy New Year! I hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas - I know that the festive period isn’t always the easiest when you have a dog with Separation Anxiety. With many day cares, pet sitters and dog walkers on holiday, it can be harder to suspend absences and easy to feel even more isolated than normal if you have had to turn down social plans to stay at home with your dog.

If you’re like me, you might have spent some time over the last few days setting some goals for 2023 (one of mine is starting and sustaining a dedicated Separation Anxiety blog. So here we are!). If your dog has Separation Anxiety, one of your goals for this year might be to finally help your dog to feel happier home alone. And now is the perfect time to start! With the hustle and bustle of the festive period over, January social plans are usually few and far between. So why not use this extra time to focus on your Separation Anxiety training, and make 2023 the year that you regain your freedom. If you start today, who knows what your dog could achieve by the time next Christmas comes around - you could be saying ‘yes’ to those social plans that you had to turn down or cancel in 2022.

So whether you are new to Separation Anxiety training and don’t know where to start, or you have been trying and failing to work on your dog’s Separation Anxiety for a while now - here are five ways that you can help your dog to feel happier home alone in 2023.

1. Ditch the Food Toys

Despite what you might have been told, Kongs, Lickmatts or any other type of food toy will not help your dog overcome Separation Anxiety. If you put down a food toy then leave your dog alone, there are two possible outcomes (and neither of which change how your dog feels about being alone!).

1. Your dog will refuse to eat due to their anxiety

2. Your dog will be distracted by the food toy but panic when the food runs out. This is because whilst your dog is distracted, they aren’t actually learning anything (and even the best food toys won’t last long enough for this to be a reliable option).

Worst case scenario, the food puzzle might even become a predictor of a scary home alone experience and your dog will start to become anxious at just the sight of the puzzle.

2. Focus on Gradual Desensitisation

Instead of using food toys as a distraction, focus on a technique called Gradual Exposure. Gradual Exposure involves exposing your dog to tiny amounts of alone time, and very gradually building this up over time as your dog’s association with alone time changes from scary to safe. The key to success is ensuring that your dog remains ‘under threshold’ at all times, and that they do not experience anxiety during training sessions. To get started, you need to find a version of alone time that your dog is comfortable with now - this will likely be seconds, or you may need to start with some door desensitisation before you start leaving for any duration.

3. Have a Training Plan

Ensure that you have a plan for every session - for Separation Anxiety training, this means setting a ‘Target Duration’ (the amount of time you aim for your dog to be alone and relaxed in that session). By having a plan and sticking to it, you will stop yourself from ‘running the clock’ and risking pushing your dog over-threshold. Remember, your intention is not to test your dog to see how long they can last each day. The aim is to ensure that they have a safe experience of being alone, and this can only happen if you return when they are still fully relaxed and comfortable.

4. Stay Consistent

There are no quick fixes for Separation Anxiety and you need to be prepared to be working on this for months, not just days or weeks. I recommend training 4-5 times per week if you can, but make sure you set yourself an achievable goal. If you can realistically only manage 3 sessions per week, that is absolutely fine. Set this as your goal, and anything extra is a bonus. Simple things such as having a dedicated camera that is always ready to go when you are, can really help with consistency. If you’re struggling with consistency, working with a Separation Anxiety Specialist can really help by bringing some structure and accountability to your training.

5. Don't be Afraid to Ask for Help

Separation Anxiety training is simple, but this doesn’t mean it is easy and asking for help from a qualified Trainer does not mean you have failed. Separation Anxiety training is more than just teaching a new behaviour, it involves changing an often deeply rooted and strong emotional response. The process is long and can be a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Working with an expert who offers 121 Separation Anxiety coaching can be game-changing. Not only will they be there to guide you through every step of the training process, they will be there to support you through the ups and downs and provide you with the accountability that will help you achieve your goals.

If you’re serious about helping your dog overcome their Separation Anxiety in 2023, click here to find out more about my 121 Separation Anxiety Training Packages.