Teach Your Dog To Be Home Alone

When we leave our beloved pets at home by themselves we need to make sure that everything will be okay.  JexRose has put together the following 5 stage treatment plan to help with the separation anxiety.

See below for a specific list.

This is not a complete list and Arizona Goldendoodles does not hold any legal liability, when in doubt please contact your Veterinarian.

Stage 1

Teach your dog the meaning of the word “bed”

  1.  Throw a treat into your dog’s bed as you point to it and “bed!”
  2. Only say “bed”, nothing else.
  3. Repeat at least 10 times, praising calmly when the dog goes to their bed.

Stage 2

Teach your dog to love being on their bed

  1.  Regularly throw treats into your dog’s bed without them seeing.
  2. Calmly praise and sometimes pet your dog whenever it is in its bed.
  3. Send your dog to its bed 20 times a day with a “bed” cue.

Stage 3

Teach your dog to lay down on their bed even when you walk away

  1.  Throw a treat into your dog’s bed as you point to it and say “bed!”
  2. Calmly praise so they remain in their bed.
  3. If the dog gets up within 10 seconds, stop praising and ignore it for 2 minutes.
  4. Start the whole plan again until the dog remains on the bed when you walk away.

Stage 4

Teach your dog to stay on their bed

  1.  Send your dog to their bed: “bed!”
  2. Calmly praise the dog verbally as soon as it lays on the bed.
  3. Leave the room for 2 seconds, then come back.
  4. Repeat leaving the room for random periods of time: 5 seconds, 30 seconds, 4 seconds, etc.
  5. If your dog stays on their bed, do nothing, but if they leave, send them back to the bed and start stage 4 again.
  6. When you can leave the room for 4 minutes without the dog leaving their bed, move on to stage 5.

Stage 5

Teach your dog to stay on their bed when you leave the room and close the door

  1. Send your dog to their bed and leave the room, the first few times touching the door when you go.
  2. Now when you leave, close the door leaving it ajar.  Repeat several times.
  3. Now leave the room, close the door for 2 seconds and enter the room again.
  4. If the dog remains on their bed, ignore them.  If they move, start stage 5 again.
  5. Finally, leave the room, close the door and stay our for random periods of time.  Enter and ignore the door if he/she has remained in its bed.

Top Tips to Maximize Your Success

When at home with them, leave the dog alone sometimes.

Always give your dog something to do when you leave.

Your dog should sleep on their own bed at night and even better if not in your bedroom.

Be patient and calm.

Whatever you do before you go out (i.e. pick up your keys), do this often throughout the day