Posted by: "Maria Perkins" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I read a post about a year ago with what seemed like a good approach to
desensitizing an sa-prone dog. I don't remember all the details but the
gist of it was:
You gradually accustom the dog to longer and longer periods alone (like,
from 1 minute if necessary up to a few hours and more) over the course of 2
or 3 days. You really have to be committed to the plan because basically
you spend the whole weekend in your house reinforcing good behavior while
the dog is in the xpen or crate.
They used an xpen, don't see why you couldn't use a crate except that there
is already an association of anxiety with the crate?
Set up the x-pen in the room where you want to leave the dog during the work
hours (say, in the kitchen)
put dog in x-pen with blanket/cushion, toys, water, normal setup stuff.
Just put her in there and stay with her for a few minutes til she lies
down/relaxes.
Walk into another room for 1 minute (or less, make it an amount of time so
that she is successful at being good, by herself, in the x-pen) and return,
give a treat, praise, etc.) let her out, play, do normal stuff, then maybe
15 minutes later, repeat, adding a minute onto the time she's in the pen.
I think you have to personalize to the situation, if she is good for 15
minutes, then stay away that long and increase by 5 minute increments etc.
Work up to leaving her for a few hours in the x-pen while you are home.
Anyway - does anyone else remember the details of this plan/is the person
who did this on the list? I feel like I am forgetting some significant
tricks / tips, but like I said, it seems like an approach that really could
work and is based on positive reinforcement.
HTH!
Maria Perkins
Perkadane
Georgetown, MA
see Hamlet & Spock: http://home.att.net/~perkadane
