I have been keeping an actual handwritten, day by day journal of Chloe’s progress, but now I have decided to share my first week’s experiences with you all.  Chloe has always had separation anxiety and it is only now that she is living with me that I really have to face it head on.  We have always joked that Chloe is a big baby because she is a whiner, but really I think it is just one of many symptoms indicating her separation anxiety.  Moving her from my parent’s house where she has spent her whole life with her older sister Rocket about a month after her surgery has certainly been stressful and most likely has added to it.  For those of you who don’t know what this is, basically a dog feels insecure to be by themself.  They whine, cry, destroy things because they want to be with you, their pack.  Most of the time this occurs in rescue dogs like Chloe, who have an unknown past.  I remember when we got her, her host Dad said she grew up around vicious dogs and when we took her home, we also found out she had worms.  When I first started taking her to the dog park, she would lie submissively on the ground, tail tucked under and pee herself.  And if she got too stressed, a strip of hair rose on her back and she growled. I had to stop taking her for a while since it was just too stressful.  When she had to quarantine from the other animals after we got her home (to prevent worm spread) she would whine and cry, stopping only when someone was with her.  That person happened to be me.  And so ever since, she has been my shadow.

You might think that her following me is “cute” or “sweet”, but really its a problem.  I worry about tripping over her and dropping things on her.  This is most problematic in the kitchen when I am making meals.  I have decided that I need to do something about this now because in all other respects, she is a wonderful dog.  Sweet, playful, leash trained, potty trained and very smart.  I know this is going to take more than just a few weeks.  It will most likely take months to fully “cure” her of it.  But I really love having her here and I am willing to do what it takes.

For those of you who do not wish to read this novel (I can already tell it is turning into one), please feel free to just look at the videos and pictures and skip to our “Accomplishments”.

Step 1: Desensitize. In the first few weeks it is crucial that I get her “anxiety cues” desensitized. What do I mean by this?  Well whenever I put on a certain jacket and a pair of running shoes, Chloe bolts upright expecting that I am going somewhere.  This means I have to act like a crazy person getting dressed for an “outing” multiple times a day and go nowhere.  I have mostly done that, but now when ever I stand up, she stands up too.  It turns into a “who can stand the longest” and with both my legs, its always me. Sometimes we stand for a good 10 min before she sits back down.  I always praise her when she does something I want like lay or sit back down.  I have to encourage her to be calm and laying down no matter what I do, what clothes I put on or whether I am sitting or standing in the room.

• It is also important that I desensitize her to the front door and the door to the garage.  I have to gradually desensitize her to cues like unlocking the front door, opening the front door, stepping outside, closing door, locking door, staying outside for random short intervals (seconds right now).  And before I do this, I have her “sit and stay” on her “rug” near the entry way.  She is far enough from the door that I will KNOW if she moves.  She needs to know that it is OK to remain in one place while I go about business as usual.  Chloe doesn’t know the word “down”, which is why right now I mostly practice “sit and stay”.  Its just important that she doesn’t move when she is not allowed to. However, I am looking online to figure out how to train her lay down because I want to incorporate that in the future.

Step 2: Being APART. It is just as important that she gets used to the idea that we can’t be together all the time.  Sometimes we have to be apart. Using her entryway “rug” I also require her to “sit and stay” while I am in the kitchen doing stuff.  I can’t have her following me all over until I trip over her or drop something on her accidentally.  It is a hazard.  This at least provides space between us and still allows her to watch me.  I do a similar tactic with her crate.  I won’t go into a tangent about crating, but if done properly it can be a refuge of “safety” for her no matter where she goes.  I will be sure to make a separate post on this in the future.  Right now, it is just the place she sleeps and spends most of her day.  I want to get her comfortable being in it while I am away.  The crate is in my room, so I practice having her “sit and stay” while I increase time and distance (going down the hall and hearing me go down the stairs).  I am also working with her to understand “Chloe Crate” as a means of going into it on command.

Step 3: Testing the Desensitization and Separation Training; I haven’t fully reached this stage yet, but eventually I will increase the time spent apart, both me in another part of the house and me out of the house altogether.  I might invest in a cheap nanny cam to monitor how she does when I am gone.  I want to make sure that she just remains calm the whole time.

Other things I keep in mind: I see EVERY opportunity as a training opportunity.  Yes we have time set aside EVERYDAY to work on these things, but I need to be consistent or she will never respect me.  Basically I no longer allow her to do anything she wants when she decides. For example:  If I want to leave the room to go downstairs, its “Chloe sit, Chloe stay” I walk to my destination, then “Chloe Come”.  If I am working in the kitchen and she moves from her rug, I go over, “Chloe Sit, Chloe Stay” and at random intervals I go over and praise her if she stays.  I have to repeat the command after I praise her, so that she doesn’t move.  When she is fed, it is “Chloe Sit, Chloe Stay” put down food, wait a period of seconds, then “Chloe Come”.  I am working to include this when I let her outside to go to the bathroom.  In addition, if she comes over to me seeking attention, I ignore her.  If she brings me a toy, I ignore her.  This is very hard to do because all I want to do is hug her and play, but she needs to know that I am the alpha and we do things on MY terms.  When I come home and she greets me with wiggly butt and all, I ignore her for 10 in until she calms down.  Then I pet her.  I don’t want to encourage over the top greeting when I come home because that will encourage her to pent up that anxiety and then get rewarded when I pet her in that state.

So before I spent an hour laying out my plan of how I was going to accomplish this momentous feat, I decided I analyze the things for treating SA.  I made a list of things that haven’t worked and instead look to incorporate other techniques to complement my planned regime. Things that haven’t worked (common “suggestions” online, but were utterly useless for my dog):

1. Wearing your dog out before you leave: Even though my dog now has 3 legs, she still has loads of energy.  We can do two separate hour long walks a day and she is only fatigued for maybe an hour or two at best.  Not all day.  And did I mention we are doing this in sand? It is much harder to run on than paved road, however it is easier on the joints.
2. Leaving a garment that smells like you: Never interested in my sweaty, stinky gym shirt.
3. Leaving a toy or bone for your dog: Because she has anxiety when I leave, she won’t eat! I can leave food out all day and she won’t touch it! I even left a cooked chicken breast out!!! This might actually work for other dogs, but she only seems to like to eat when I am around.  I will be working to encourage her to play with a food toy when she is in her crate so she won’t get bored.  That too will take time.
4. Feeding your dog just as you are leaving: Doesn’t work for same reason as #3.

Things to complement her training instead:

1. Thundershirt: What is a thundershirt you ask? It is a special wrap vest (soft Tshirt material and velcrow) that you put on your dog to help with anxiety.  Chloe is scared of thunder and fireworks, which is why I originally bought it.  I decided that I will start using it in my training process as a natural way to take off the edge.  I know that it is working because one night I forgot to take it off, a firework went off in the distance and instead of panicking, she just remained where she was and went back to sleep.  For those of you going through this, BUY ONE!!! There is a Tripawd Amazon Selection blog which will link you to where you can buy it on Amazon. And the best part is? Part of the sale goes to helping keep the Tripawd Website up and running for free!!! See Chloe modeling it below!
2. Crating:  I wanted to create a “safe haven” for Chloe since she will be going with me when I visit my parents from time to time.  Instead of having to retrain her SA every time she and I move (even temporarily), she will always have her crate because it will always come with us (collapsable, see below).  Right now I have been working with her to get used to the crate by putting her bed inside and having her sleep on it every night.  I was fortunate that she had not many crating experiences (apart from vet and groomers), so within a few hours she was sleeping away in it!

Accomplishments:

1. “Chloe Crate” command without first baiting the crate.  She now can “sit and stay” in the hallway (not seeing crate) and go inside on command.  She gets a treat afterward.


2.  Chloe will sleep in the crate all night with the door shut, no whining.

3.  Chloe will “sit and stay” on rug and I can now go out the front door completely, shut the door, come back in and she remains seated.

4.  Similar to #2 “sit and stay” on rug and go into garage, out of sight for 15 sec.

5.  Chloe will “sit and stay” on rug when I am in the kitchen for up to 3 min.

6.  Chloe will “sit and stay” in my room or in her crate, while I am in hallway for up to 45 sec.

And yes we have hit setbacks, stubbornness, and *ahem* things occurring beyond my control, but this has been a great learning process.  Since it is not a “quick fix” though, it is hard not to get discouraged.  I have found that on days I have class I am too tired to work with her for more than 10 min, but I always do my “every opportunity” training.  I have gotten such support from the Tripawd community that I know if I stick to it, Chloe and I will get through this!