Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs

This book was exactly what I needed! It is written for the trainer, but helped me immensely as a proactive owner. Gave very small discrete steps that are achievable. Online, many guides would say "start out leaving your dog for 15 minutes and work up from there!" and I was just lost at how to build up to that. This book actually started with steps even more remedial than needed! It's refreshing to keep in mind that other dogs are worse off than mine. My two criticisms are just that 1) The book acknowledges that separation and isolation distress are different, but in the management plan portion still somehow glosses over the fact that my dog does not tolerate being left with friends and family. Also that I live alone and even with the bathroom open, my dog is only barely okay with me showering (I had to work up to it and still have to give her treats to get through it). When I adopted her, it would have been physically impossible to keep her below the anxiety threshold. 2) Another management option is bringing your dog and leaving them in the car - I don't drive, and my dog does not tolerate being left outside at all. If she can see me the whole time, I can put her in a down stay and go in, but that has about a minute or so time limit.

I have been very slowly desensitizing my rescue dog from her separation anxiety for 5 months now. This is THE book to get for this...crisis...yes, it is a crisis. So hard for the dog, so hard for the human! I hired a local trainer who, hands down, recommended Malena's protocol for my dog. I will be forever grateful for her work, words of wisdom, positive outlook about how successfully these damaged dogs CAN be rehabbed. I could not have done this without the guidance of this book! My dog can now comfortably stay alone for an hour and a half. Doesn't sound like much, but you have no idea what I started with! She has come SO far! Marlena is the world's leading expert on this topic, one I have found to be incredibly prevalent in the canine community, sadly. So many dogs suffer from this malady. I decided I had 3 options: 1. Return my dog. (Not gonna happen.). 2. Let her suffer, go on with my life. (Not gonna happen.). 3. Rehab her properly, carefully (very!), methodically. I chose option #3. It's working!!!! It takes work, dedication and patience, please understand it isn't easy. But this lady knows how to do it. My dog isn't "cured"...but we ARE making great progress. She is healing, and I'm so grateful. I know I will look back on this process and be forever grateful for not giving up on my dog...I could not have done this without this resource.

This separation anxiety training method is the best one out there. If you are a dog trainer, this book takes isolation distress/separation anxiety training in a new direction. If you are a pet owner, this book will open you're eyes to the extent of the problem and real methods to fix it. The old model of "give your dog kongs stuffed with food" whenever you leave doesn't get the job done, in my experience. Our dog has suffered from separation anxiety since we brought her home a year and a half ago. For the first year we tried the old-school training methods, and all it yielded was a beagle who was even more afraid whenever we walked out the door (or to the door, or near the door, etc.) After reading the book, I understood enough to know that I needed to hire a trainer to work with and am now working with one of Malena's trainers. Emma the Anxious Beagle is getting over her separation fears little by little every day. It's amazing to actually walk out the door and have her stay comfortably lying on her couch while we do so. The process will take a long time, but I know that we'll soon have a fully normal life back and not fret that Emma is fretting when I leave the house.

Separation anxiety in dogs is hard work. We read this book and worked with a trainer for 6 months in an attempt to help our rescue dog gain confidence. Our dog was never able to be home alone more than 1 hour after a lot of work. She did come a long way though, because she used to instantly freak out the moment we left her line of sight, so 1 hour is a ton of progress given where she started. Following through with what DeMartini-Price recommends requires hard work, dedication, and patience. It's definitely not a magic bullet, and outcomes will vary depending on the dog.

This is a book directed towards the professional trainer, not owners. Furthermore, the trainer should have a good grasp on how "splits" function in order to imagine where they might be necessary for an individual dog. The terminology and explanation of the steps, though detailed, is not meant to be all-inclusive. In my opinion, this is a good thing. A smart trainer knows that he/she must be ingenuitive for each dog. So the writer gives a basic outline of the steps, but expects that trainers will need to be creative in executing the steps per dog. For owners reading the book, please understand that this book is meant to be supplemental help. Please hire a professional trainer that will show you how these steps are applicable to specifically you and your dog. Overall, this is book is not a challenging read in verbiage. But it is very engaging, and I found myself creating shaping plans using this method for my current and future clients.

Really excellently written. It outlines a plan, and the why for each of the steps of the plan. It talks about different options, and also provides a few sample treatment plans. I've been using it with my dog, and we are up to 45 minutes by herself at home, and being calm about it.

With the general title of "Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs" I did not realize ithe book was written for trainers. In fairness to those who are not trainers and think the book is mass market and written for dog owners too, the book should have been titled "A Professional's Guide to Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs." The book seems helpful, but it is a slow, gradual process for training. But the book is for professionals, so 'BEWARE OF BOOK!"

If you're a dog trainer wanting to help clients with their separation anxiety dogs, or you have a separation anxiety dog yourself and you're committed to training your dog without physical or psychological punishment, then you need this book. It's a wonderful road map for helping separation anxiety dogs learn to cope with being left alone. I recommend this book to so many people and all of them have given me positive feedback about how much it helped them.

Très intéressant, une bonne base pour apprendre, comprendre et travailler les protocoles d'anxiété de séparation.

This is the best book that helped us to conquer our dogs separation anxiety. We are finally able to leave him at home all by himself!

Me ha llegado el otro pedido de "Manual de Ahí más Dog Training", el otro libro "Treating Separation Anxiety" está programada la entrega para el 5 de noviembre

Buon libro con spunti molto interessanti. Consigliabile acquistare anche i DVD "fixing the unfixable" Della stessa autrice (tutto rigorosamente non tradotto...)

Very good, worth readiing