Separation Anxiety Part 2

It's Eva's crying that really gets to me and wears me down, I'm trying so hard not to give in to her! If I do a sharp bang on the door with a loud no it's usually enough to stop her but I really don't like doing it. Just when I think I'm getting somewhere Alfie starts barking which sets Eva off again! If hubby puts them in the back room of a morning Eva constantly cries but Alfie is quiet. Yet when I put them in there later in the day they both tend to be quiet for much long. So far I've managed to leave the house for 2 hours and they seemed fine.

We are also crate training Eva too, she really does not like you leaving the room while she is in it. But she will happily stay in there and sleep if you're in the room. There is definitely progress with both of them it just seems 1 step forward and 2 steps back!

Separation Anxiety

There is so much training advice out there for puppy's and dogs its hard to know whats best. After watching many many videos I've come to the realization that not everyone is right or wrong. What works for one dog may not work for another. So don't stop searching till you find what will work for your dog. We all very much love our furbabies and want the best for them so don’t give up!

I've realized letting Alfie follow me around the house was not a very clever idea especially now we have Eva who's just over 4 months, Alfie is 2 years old. She will go absolutely nuts if I leave her even if there's another human in the room! Alfie is really good at sitting, lying down and staying so I thought I’d use this to my advantage especially after watching a YouTube video using lie down and stay as a block builder to being left alone. It seemed to me that this would fit well with Alfie and be a good base for him to succeed.

So I get Alfie to lie down and stay while I leave the room for 10 seconds I also pull the door too but don't shut it completely. Eva seems to follow what Alfie is doing and lies down next to him. Considering she hasn’t been taught to do anything other than sit. to me this is great progress! I do this again building up to 30 seconds and then long enough to visit the loo without either of them following me, barking or crying. I’m going to continue this every time I need to leave the room and will let you know how I get on!