In my last blog, I talked about the quiet signals dogs sometimes show during alone time—the subtle shifts in body language that can tell us a lot about how a dog is feeling.
But noticing those signals is only the first step.
The next step is learning to listen to them.
When people think about separation anxiety, they often picture something dramatic. The sounds of nonstop barking. The image of destroyed doorframes. The stress of neighbor complaints. And yes—those can absolutely be part of the picture. It can look big. It can look loud.
But sometimes, it doesn’t.
The Quiet Signals: Understanding Subtle Signs of Separation Anxiety Read More »
In my last blog post, I wrote about the moment I decide to end an alone-time reassessment—the quiet pause, and the responsibility of pressing Send. What I didn’t fully explore is how that decision is made, or why ending at the right moment matters.
This work isn’t about stopping quickly, and it isn’t about pushing bravely forward. It’s about stopping well.
Ending at the Right Moment: Why Timing Matters More Than Minutes Read More »
When I think of “press the button,” I think of dramatic, irreversible choices. But the button I’m thinking about today is seemingly small: the send button on a text message—written in advance, hovering on my screen—while I watch a dog on Zoom who is home alone.
There’s a moment in almost every alone-time reassessment when my heart goes still and I have to decide: do we keep going, or do we stop? My text is already written. I can end the alone time session at any moment by pressing Send. And the outcome of that decision affects everyone involved.
Hovering Over “Send”: The Quiet Decisions Behind Separation Anxiety Training Read More »
I spend a lot of time normalizing the big feelings dogs experience when they struggle with being alone.
Today, I want to talk about a different set of big feelings, the ones carried by the people who love those dogs.
If you’re at the beginning of your separation anxiety journey, you might find yourself caught in a quiet tug-of-war. Part of you wants to feel hopeful. Another part feels afraid to let that hope take hold. You may be thinking, I want to believe this can help… but I’m scared to be disappointed.
When Hope Feels Fragile: Beginning the Separation Anxiety Journey Read More »
With the start of a new year comes the idea of new beginnings and new or renewed senses of hope, joy, and optimism. Many of us make resolutions — things we want to commit to or recommit to — or bucket lists of the things we want to make sure to do in the months
Unleashing New Hope! Introducing Mission POSSIBLE 2.0 Read More »
So why do I say this is a gift of comfort and peace? Peace plays a pivotal role in fostering the feeling of safety, creating a harmonious environment that allows individual beings to thrive emotionally and physically.
Pawsitively Secure: Unwrapping the Gift of Comfort and Peace Read More »
Your dog is urinating in the house when you are gone. He should be told he’s wrong, right?Your dog chewed up the couch while he was alone. He should be scolded, right?Your dog is barking when no one is home. You should tell him that he is misbehaving, right? It is a common theme
One of my top goals is to spread hope about positive outcomes for dogs with separation anxiety. After working with many cases personally for many years and recently having witnessed the trainers I’ve trained be successful with their cases as well, I know that separation anxiety can be successfully resolved. Spreading this message of
A Hard Truth: Separation Anxiety Can Exact a Heavy Toll on Guardians Read More »
I have often spoken and written on the topic of suspending absences while working on separation anxiety. What I mean by that is that you can’t leave the dog alone except during training. A frequent reaction is that this is an outrageous expectation. I disagree. Expecting anything different is unrealistic. Many types of behavior
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