Separation Anxiety

5 cards · about a minute

1. 01

   Not natural to a dog

   A dog in a pack is never left behind, so being shut alone in a flat is nothing your dog has an instinct for. It has to be taught, kindly and early.

2. 02

   Walk it out first

   A dog left alone after forty-five to sixty minutes of structured walking is already in a resting state, and no training compensates for one who has not moved.

3. 03

   Structure builds the nerve

   Confidence comes from the same walk, the same meal and the same rules daily, a dog who can predict the household can survive a few hours without it.

4. 04

   Practise leaving

   Once the walks have settled your dog, leave for two minutes and come back with no ceremony, then five, then twenty: dull departures teach dull waiting.

5. 05

   Measure by the week

   A bad day after a good one is normal here, so judge it week to week, but a dog hurting themselves or the door needs professional eyes now, not in a month.