Training Philosophy
Does your puppy hate the crate way more than most puppies? Does your puppy bark and cry nonstop whenever you’re away from them? Have you ever felt like you can’t leave your house due to your puppy’s anxious behavior? Puppy separation anxiety can be incredibly stressful for any pet parent. Occasional crying in the crate is normal puppy behavior and is nothing to worry about but nonstop vocalizations for over an hour paired with stress signals could be the start of serious separation anxiety. Our Kansas City Puppy Separation Anxiety Training Programs are scientifically designed to treat puppy separation anxiety. Your Kansas City behavior consultant will come directly to your home to treat your puppy’s anxious behavior.
Does your puppy experience high levels of stress whenever they’re not right by your side? After treating hundreds of puppies suffering from separation anxiety, our data-driven puppy training programs can help reduce or eliminate separation anxiety in any puppy. Led by Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Echterling-Savage, our pre-training team will analyze your Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior to craft a personalized, science-based treatment plan for your puppy. Your Kansas City trainer will use behavior modification training based on principles of classical conditioning to teach your puppy that good things can happen outside of your presence! Your Kansas City trainer will create a treatment plan to make both you and your puppy confident and relaxed whenever you leave the house. Treating your puppy’s separation anxiety is a lifelong investment that can significantly increase both you and your puppy’s quality of life!
Training Programs
Our goal is to treat your puppy’s separation anxiety and reinforce calm, quiet behavior when left alone including but not limited to:
Most puppies whine for a few minutes in the crate but true separation anxiety is incredibly alarming for pet parents to witness. Although this behavior normally develops around the age range of 3-5 years, in some extreme cases it is present during puppyhood and adolescence. Signs of serious separation anxiety might include hours of crying in the crate, soiling the crate as a result of the stress of being alone, and self-injury. Puppy separation anxiety only gets worse as your puppy matures so it’s best to address it as early as possible. We treat separation anxiety with classical counterconditioning. Over time, puppies learn to be comfortable and confident and no longer show high levels of stress when left alone, in the crate, or outside of their owner’s presence. Research by Zurlinden et al. examined levels of barking in kenneled, shelter dogs and showed that counterconditioning is an effective treatment method for treating separation anxiety. According to our resident CAAB Dr. Echterling-Savage, “Pet parents’ worries about separation anxiety can be put to rest with behavior modification training and simple modifications to their daily routines.”
The All-Inclusive Program for Separation Anxiety encompasses 20 training sessions across 5 intensive weeks with 2 follow-up sessions spanning a total of 22 training sessions over 8 weeks! After you submit your training contract and Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, our pre-training team, led by Dr. Echterling-Savage, uses the information provided to craft your personalized dog training program. Then, your trainer will put your training plan into action! Your trainer will work with your dog one-on-one for three (1) hour sessions during the week. The fourth session each week is dedicated to your training! This structure is designed to produce seamless learning and long-term behavior change. After the 5-week-long training, there are 2 follow-up sessions to support your progress. Please note that our indirect behavior assessments will confirm the severity of your dog’s behavior and if deemed severe you may incur a small additional fee.
If you are a pet parent with an insurance policy covering behavior modification, our puppy separation anxiety behavior modification is likely covered. When behavior training is under the direction of a CAAB or a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist, most companies with behavior policies such as Trupanion will cover behavioral training.
Want to treat your puppy’s separation anxiety but don’t live in Kansas City? Schedule a 1-hour virtual consultation with one of our behavior experts! Our CAAB Dr. Echterling-Savage or one of our Kansas City behavior consultants under her direct supervision will give you expert training advice on how to get your puppy comfortable with being left alone. After completing the Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, we will recommend one or multiple sessions with Dr. Echterling-Savage or with one of our other behavior consultants under her supervision depending on the severity of your puppy’s separation anxiety. Pricing for a 1-hour virtual consultation with Dr. Ectherling-Savage is $375. Pricing for a 1-hour virtual consultation with one of our Kansas City trainers is $150.
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