It’s Not What We Think It Is
Don’t call a group of behaviors “separation anxiety.”. List the behaviors the dog is doing. Identify the behaviors they’re doing that making you call it what it is.
You’ve Just Solved the Problem
You can do one of two things:
- give a title to their collection of behaviors,
- or describe their collection of behaviors.
The second approach is the better answer.
Explain and identify their behaviors. Why? Because by describing the dog’s behaviors — instead of naming the collection of behaviors — you provide the list of things to look at and fix. You’ve identified what’s causing your dog to behave the way it’s behaving. Paradoxically, you’re describing symptoms with its title, but like a ghost it doesn’t really exist. It’s the same as a book title. It’s a placeholder term that’s being used to describe a collection of behaviors. It’s a linguistic trap, and it’s hard to understand. Maybe that’s why it’s lasted as long as it has.
Stop the Name Calling, Start Talking About the Behaviors
Interestingly, once you start talking about the specific behaviors, the behaviors can be addressed. Then, as long as owners keep calling it by an inaccurate label, they will distance themselves from identifying the behaviors that give them the clues and the answers to the problems their dogs are having.
Executive Summary
High energy, excitement, and triggering levels trigger the unwanted, undesirable behaviors in dogs. Get their energy levels to decrease — get them to relax and submit — and their problems go away. The same is true for the separation anxiety label. It’s a different approach than barking or lunging, but one that needs your attention regardless.
Call me. Respectfully submitted.
DOuGTrainer.com