Teaching a Poochon to Stay to Stop its Separation Anxiety

For this Omaha dog training session we shared tips to help 15 month-old Poochon Hazy get over her separation anxiety when left home alone.

I started the session off by showing the guardians a technique to stop dogs from jumping up on people. The guardians should practice this approach a few times a week by inviting friends and neighbors over to help her practice. Its a simple approach that works by repetition, preferably a whole bunch in a 2-3 week period to establish the behavior the guardians want.

After sharing a number of tips to flip the leader follower dynamic, I turned my attention towards one of the primary issues Hazy’s guardians wanted to work on, stopping separation anxiety. Dogs with separation anxiety often panic when left alone due to a lack of practice.

The way I stop separation anxiety in dogs is to create a situation where the dog can practice being alone, in the easiest situation possible. To do this, I like to train a dog to stay, so they can practice being alone for progressively longer periods of time, in the easiest way possible; with the humans in the home – just not in eyesight.

You can get some tips for helping dogs with separation anxiety and how to teach a dog to stay in the free dog training video below. And its ok if you aren’t a professional Poochon dog trainer, the method is so easy anyone can do it.

Once Hazy can stay for distance, the guardians can help her practice being alone for progressively longer periods of time. At first, just to get a drink, then bathroom breaks, folding laundry and so on. The more Hazy stays alone on her own, the more confidence she will build up. With practice, the guardians can help Hazy get over separation anxiety for good.

To help the guardians remember all the other dog behavior tips I shared in this in home dog training session, we recorded a roadmap to success video that you can check out below.