Adrienne

Hi there, so sorry for the late reply. It sounds like you and your young Weimaraner are going through a tough time. You’re not alone considering the fact that Weimaraner are high-energy, intelligent dogs who require significant socialization, structure, and training, and it can be overwhelming if life circumstances made that difficult early on. Since you describe your dog as “depressed” (lying around, looking sad, not wanting to engage), the very first step is a veterinary exam. Pain, illness, or hormonal issues can look like depression, resistance to training, or even irritability. So yes, a vet exam is in order to rule out physical causes before assuming it’s strictly behavioral. Chasing and ignoring recall is very common in adolescent sporting breeds. These behaviors are self-reinforcing (they feel good to the dog). In these cases, management is essential: long-line leash, secure fencing, no off-leash time until his recall is reliable. Recall training should always be positive, rewarding with high-value treats, toys, or play. Never punish for not coming back, it will make avoidance worse. It can also very well be that he is very anxious and over threshold which makes it difficult for him to focus on you. The barking, growling, and then immediate friendliness when your husband appears could be excitement mixed with uncertainty. This often happens in under-socialized adolescent dogs. Have your husband ignore the dog at entrances, no eye contact, no talking, until calm behavior happens. Reward calmness with food, praise, or a gentle activity. You can keep your dog behind a baby gate during entries to prevent rehearsal of problematic behavior, until he learns to act more calmy behind the gate. Try to pair your husband’s arrival with something good (treats tossed on the floor after asking him to sit) to change the emotional response from “over-aroused” to “predictably positive.” if he’s avoiding you, it may be because interactions have become stressful for him (even if unintentionally). Focus on building trust with low-pressure activities: hand-feeding, gentle enrichment (snuffle mats, puzzle feeders), and short, positive training sessions (like teaching him to sit, you toss a kibble and then when he comes back to you, reward with another sit and repeat several times.) Avoid forcing closeness, just let him approach you and reward that choice. Weimaraner require lots of exercise and mental stimulation. Also, offer predictable routines which are reassuring. Service dogs need stable temperaments, consistent training, and strong bonds with their handler. Given your dog’s current age, history, and behavioral struggles, it may be an uphill battle. It’s not impossible, but you may want to work with a professional for in-person guidance to evaluate whether he is a good candidate. I hope this helps, Best wishes and happy training!

You are very welcome, keep up the great work!

For sure this is mentally and physically draining! I share your concern about wondering what may be going on if all the labs come back normal. What is odd is that this seems to have started out of the blue- well sort of. You mentioned about the pool drinking back at the end of May, then things seemed to go back to normal for some time and then things seem to have snowballed lately. I think it's worthy to give your vet a call just to keep her in the loop on where she's at drinking these days and inquire how long the testing is done for. I know we often feel like we're bothering them considering their busy lives, but you have spent a whole lot on that last visit and I think it's your right to know where to go from here. At least, if the vet is too busy, they let you leave a message for the vet and the vet assistant will note the message in Esther's chart, the chart will be put on your vet's desk and she should return your call at the end of the day or when she has a break or have vet staff call you to give you some type of instructions (like if you still need to log things or if what you have is enough). I think it's important to let her know if you are planning to try reducing water intake. I love the kennel/washing station ideas for when you head out. When I worked for a kennel, they were easy-peasy to hose down quickly, so I can see how dog owners may like something like that somewhere in their properties especially if they have dogs prone to potty accidents. I wish you continued success in building these and yes, you should advertise them as I am sure many dog owners would love them! Glad that the muzzle training is progressing well. Sounds like you are starting to get a positive CER to it when she sees it. Not pawing at it is a great sign!

Oh wow, setting a timer every 20 minutes brings me back to memories of fostering 7-week old puppies. That's crazy peeing for a dog her age. I hope this gets sorted out soon, it must be very tiring for both of you.

Wow, that's a lot of drinking! Is the pooping in the kennel something new?

Thanks for the update. I am happy to hear that you found a great vet. She sounds very thorough and willing to listen. Best of all, she seems collaborative in making sure Esther is comfortable. Wow, 42 ounces already and the day isn't close to being over yet!

That's a lot of accidents! Remember to mention to the vet that this behavior has recently started getting out of hand, her extreme thirst and increase in accidents. Many vets chalk it up to potty training issues, but the thing that strikes the most and should raise a red flag is the sudden increase in drinking/urination. Home visits would be great! Back when I lived in PA, there was a mobile vet who just did that, went home-to-home to do vet visits. I was about to tell you, that if she saw the vet recently at Banfield, they may accept a urine sample without seeing her as a starting point to rule out UTIs and see how concentrated or dilute her urine is, however, eventually they may want to see her if they need to dig deeper into diagnostics. When my sweet Petra was sick, we had an established veterinarian-client patient relationship, so that even though she saw the vet 3-4 months ago, the vet would prescribe her stuff or I could drop off urine or fecal samples or I could just call the vet and ask questions without Petra needing to physically see the vet. You can only do so much to prepare for the exam in these COVID times. Normally, it would help to swing by the vet's office and make great things happen and have family/ volunteer friends practice (possibly with a muzzle in place, just in case), but in these pandemic times everything is more complicated. Hopefully, the trazodone will kick in and help keep her under threshold.

You are very welcome! When you make the appointment ask your vet if they want you to bring in a urine sample, it's much easier to obtain at home than trying to collect it at the vet's office. And if you refrigerate it, remind your hubby what it is, or he'll think it's some type of juice😁!

Hello, Welcome to the forums! What a cutie! He looks like a big pup already! Please see some of my observations/thoughts/questions in bold. Our 4-month goldendoodle puppy barks really loud and whines when we have to close him in a separate room when someone comes to our new house to fix smth etc. But one of us (either me or my husband) usually stays with him in the room. We try to play with him and distract him but he is just obsessed with going out of the room and keeps on barking (very loud&annoying, deafening...!) What to do in this case? It sounds like he may be eager to meet/greet the person and the presence of the barrier (baby gate) perhaps frustrates him. If that's the case, I would expect him to bark facing the repair person, with loose body language and an eagerness to meet. On the other hand though, some young pups bark when they are intimidated by people visiting and repair people who walk back and forth carrying tools and large items stress them out. In that case, the body language is more tense. If he's very social and more on the confident side, the meet/greet scenario sounds more likely. I cannot use the "attention heeling command" because we are not on a walk but in a closed small space. Should I ignore him as recommended in the chapter "attention-seeking barking"? I tried but the thing is... he doesn't stop and keeps on barking. Please help. In the case of somebody coming over to repair, I think your pup may benefit from learning to respond to the smacking sound using some high value treats, practicing first in a quiet area and then with increasing distractions. Since somebody is with him in the room, you have a good opportunity to practice it. Here's how to train it: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/ Once you have a solid response, you can start playing the "look at that" game, making your smacking sound every time a volunteer, and then later, the repair man walks by. Your pup may do better initially on leash at a distance from the baby gate. Here is how to train it: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ The advantages of this game is that it helps get the pup to be more responsive to you, it keeps the mouth busy (so less barking!) and on top of that, it helps create positive associations with having people over (and repair men which are often barked at as pups develop and become more standoffish/territorial). Once your pup becomes more responsive and develops more impulse control, you can then train him to go on a mat when people come over where he'll receive treats for watching visitors/repair men walk by. An indoor tether attached to a body harness can come handy initially when his stay on the mat isn't too reliable yet (always be around when your dog is tethered). Below is a guide on mat training: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/ Also we have a big issue with barking & whining when he is separated from us by a fence. We need to separate him like that while vacuuming or exercising on a yoga mat (he hinders us greatly). He starts going crazy when he is blocked and cannot go to the room (hates walls, fences, closed doors, any obstacles between him and the rest of the world in general). He can see us, the fence is transparent (see the picture attached). What to do in this case? Just ignore and remove the fence only when he calms down and stops barking? This type of barking/whining can stem from him wanting to be with you and perceiving any type of barrier as an obstacle from being part of family activities. Jennifer's tips of giving something tasty to keep him busy can help with that. This should be given contingent upon you vacuuming or exercising so your pup looks forward to this routine. You want to make being confined there a great place to be. You can also build some anticipation for being confined there. A few minutes before you need to vacuum or exercise, place a safe long-lasting edible chew or food dispensing toy in the confinement area with the baby gate closed so he cannot access it. This will help build enough anticipation so that when it's time to close him, the moment you open the baby gate, he'll be eager to enter on his own. If your puppy still barks/whines despite the long-lasting goodies offered, this is often a sign that he is too over threshold. In other words, being separated from you is too overwhelming for him to focus on eating. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ You may therefore need to work on baby steps, building up the time he stays enclosed there and creating positive associations. You can start with some peek-a-boo games while your pup is behind the baby gate, as outlined in this guide: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-prevent-separation-anxiety-in-puppies/ Start with being away just a few seconds, then gradually add in more time but every now and then mix in shorter absences so that your pup doesn’t predict an increase in difficulty. For the yoga exercises, once your puppy can stay alone for the allotted time, you can see if doing them out of view helps reduce the barking. Many pups can't resist joining us when we are sitting on the floor or moving certain ways that may be interpreted as an invitation to play and being behind a barrier frustrates them. And as always, don't forget to keep that brain busy with brain games and training. Impulse control games may also help build some more frustration tolerance as he matures: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ Hope this helps! Happy training! Adrienne

I get the point of water restriction for preventing leakage, it makes totally sense, I am just not a fan of restricting water mainly because if there's an underlying medical condition at play, it can cause problems along the road. For example, excessive drinking can be a compensatory mechanism to flush out something the body perceives as foreign and potentially harmful (think toxins, excess calcium levels, excess glucose etc) so if we restrict water in those cases, concentrations of these potentially harmful substances could accumulate with harmful effects. On top of this, with some dogs of unknown history, like if water was scarse for some reason or the dog had to compete with other dogs for it, restricting water may cause it to become more valuable, causing the dog to crave water more and drink more in abundance. Increased water intake (polydipsia) often goes hand in hand with polyuria (increased urination, even to the point of leakage) so that excess drinking leads to excess urine output, therefore, it's likely that vets will be more concerned why the dog is drinking more than the other way around (urinary incontinence). In some cases, when there is a history of drinking a lot and consequential frequent peeing, I have heard that kidneys may somehow "unlearn how to concentrate urine" and get lazy, I think the phenomenon is known as 'medullary washout?" and the vet may have to find ways to retrain them through gradated water restriction. It seems like this started as a once in a while ordeal (like last time you mentioned drinking water from the pool I can't find how long ago that was) and now it is happening in other circumstances, so yes, I feel vet visit is important. If it's just a tiny leak versus a puddle, that can sometimes be a sign of a UTI or spay incontinence, this latter can happen in young puppies too although not that common. It's triggered by estrogen dropping and affecting the muscles of the bladder and urethra. However, the extreme thirst you describe may point to something else.

Yes, too much exciting play can trigger barking too in dogs prone to that so you'll have to find the right balance between keeping him busy to not bark at triggers and not getting him too excited to trigger excitement barking. Games that keep his mouth busy can help with that (bottle game, treasure hunts, clicker training etc)

How come one time of the day he can settle alone, and the other part he would just become crazy ? It's like there is a off button existing and working mostly fine, but disabled in the evening 😂😂Can it he understand that in the day we're busy working and are not available ? While in the evening we can hang, so he's more clingy in the evening ?Also the heat of course. Yes, being super fluffy, we should surely factor in the heat. As it cools down in the evening, he may have built up excess energy and a need to release some steam. Also, if it happens after dinner, factor in as well the fact that food has an energizing effect and feeling full is a nice sensation. In a dog's past history, they had to work hard to find food, walking many miles in search of food and sometimes that meant leading a feast -or- famine lifestyle. In other words, food was often scarce, but at other times it was quite plentiful. Domesticated dogs no longer have to hunt or scavenge for food. They are now fed in shiny bowls and have the luxury of having the security of daily meals. Since they no longer have to work hard to find food, this often leads to a surplus of energy that can be drained by acting crazy, running around and playing. Certain foods may too play a role in hyper behaviors. I am not qualified to make specific food recommendations, but more and more vets, veterinary nutritionists and veterinary behaviorists are learning how certain ingredients in dog food may lead to hyper behaviors. For instance, Dr. Jean Dodds in the book: Canine Nutrigenomics, the New Science of Feeding Your Dog for Optimum Health, points out how certain dogs foods with high-glycemic index carbs may cause hyper behaviors in dogs similar to those seen in children who become wildly hyperactive shortly after consuming a sugary food or drink and then crash into a state of sluggishness a couple of hours later. Other factors as you point out are yes, Loki potentially understanding that you are done working. Even if you work at home during the day and finish working in the evening, your puppy will understand that when you are away from your desk your body language is more loose and he is more likely to garner your attention. And once again, puppies, just like babies and toddlers, may turn particularly irritable and cranky when tired. Puppy owners often refer to this increase in hyper behavior observed in the evening hours as 'the puppy witching hour." If it happens often and predictably, it may help to preempt the behavior by understanding what is going on. If he's just hyper after dinner and has had enough sleep, you can strategically take him out to the yard for some games, take him on a walk or organize a fun training session using your clicker or putting his nose to work in some nosework activities. The goal is to burn that excess energy in more productive, calmer ways. If he is cranky from feeling tired, then you can set the stage for some sleep by dimming the lights, providing access to a quiet area, a comfy bed and playing some soft music.

There is a great increase in the numbers of dogs suffering from separation anxiety due to the pandemic, so rest assured, you are not alone. To answer your question, no, it is not too late. Although it is best to work on it early, or even better, prevent it through a variety of exercises during early puppyhood (starting from when the puppy is in the breeder's care acclimatizing puppies to a crate) not all is lost if a dog has been rehearsing anxiety from being left alone for some time. If you and your husband are retired, this offers the perk of working gradually and possibly taking turns when going outside. It is good that she is able to relax when you are out and left with your husband. Some dogs may attach to one person only and may never relax even if somebody else remains home. I will be posting below some info on separation anxiety. Something to consider firstly is that separation anxiety can be a little tricky to diagnose at times (it's now called "the great imitator" for this very reason). The best way to diagnose separation anxiety with more certainty is recording a dog's behavior when left alone and having your veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist take a look at it. Important would be to set your recording device with a clear view towards the area you exit and both leave for a brief absence sticking nearby as you monitor her using your remote monitoring device (cameras) so that you can come back quickly if she starts getting into trouble. If your pup has truly separation anxiety, this requires time and several baby steps to tackle before she is ready to be left alone and cope with it. One of the most challenging parts of separation anxiety behavior modification is that it requires management when the dogs aren't in "training." This means that to "protect" the hard work and preventing dogs from rehearsing the problem behavior, absences should be avoided during the behavior modification process (you can still leave though if she does OK with your hubby, just don't leave her completely alone). Working from home or being retired offers therefore an advantage as mentioned as it allows to take turns going outside. Helping a dog suffering from separation anxiety is not an easy task. Many dog owners wonder how long it will take and there's no easy answer as each case is different. The more a dog has been rehearsing the problem and the more severe it is, the more work may be needed. Severe cases may require the addition of medications (veterinarians are likely to prescribe them, if they feel it's needed). If separation anxiety is what your dog turns out having, here are some general protocols used for addressing this problem. It goes without saying, that each dog is different, so they may need a more individualized approach. What's needed? Interactive toys, treats, food, a mat, baby gates, possibly calming aids, and some technological gadgets such as remote monitoring devices and/or automatic treat dispensers are used in the exercises. Although optional, the use of these technological gadgets come extra handy considering that they allow to monitor dogs remotely so to evaluate whether it's a good time to raise criteria or whether a dog is being pushed too hard. A safezone will also need to be established. This safezone is the dog's confinement area where the exercises will be performed. For comfort, it is best to use an area that is central to family activities such as an office, kitchen or living room. Dogs who enjoy their crate, exercise pen or playpen and love to lounge in it, can have it placed in the safezone as long as these enclosures remain open as some dogs with separation anxiety suffer from concomitant containment phobias. A safezone should be blocked out by a baby gate or in homes with open-plan layouts, a super wide gate may be needed. Tier 1: Protocol For Clingy Dogs Who Follow Owners Room- to- Room One thing many dogs suffering from separation anxiety share is extra clingliness, so much so, that many dog owners have started to nickname their dogs "Velcro Dogs." These dogs follow their owners from one room to another and like to sleep by their owners' feet so to be the first alerted when their owners are about to get up and walk around. This component of treatment for separation anxiety in dogs needs its proper protocol since it would be non-productive starting practicing outdoor absences if these dogs aren't even able to tolerate brief absences within the home. The goal of these exercises is to gradually build on distance until the dog can be left in a room while the owner is in another. On top of these exercises, it's ideal to encourage these dogs to sleep at night on their own bed or mat and sleep there as well during the day (rather than sleeping constantly on the owner's lap, glued to the owner's body or at the owner's feet). Note: some dogs are particularly attached to one person. To start the exercises easily, it is best to start with the person the dog is less attached to and then progress using the person the dog is attached to. Step 1: The first step entails having the dog to be able to relax and cope without following their owners everywhere. These dogs need to learn to perform brief sit/stays or down/stays on a mat or other comfy place while the owner walks around, but initially remains always in the dog's sight. Here is how to train these: Sit: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/ Down: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/lie-down/ Stay: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/stay/ Stay on a mat: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/ Initially these sit/stays and down/stays should be very brief for just 1-2 seconds while the owner just takes a step or two away in various directions and then returns to reward. Criteria is then raised with the owner just walking a few steps away (3-4) and then returning to reward. Gradually, distance and duration can be added, but it's important to make sure to not make increases in time and distance predictable as dogs will soon come to predict this increase in difficulty and may grow incrementally anxious. To avoid this, mix in shorter (less time) stays and closer stays (less distance) frequently. For example, 2 second stay, then 4, then 3, then five, then 1, then 4, then 6, then 2 etc or 2 steps away, then 1, then 3, then 4, then 1, etc. Distractions at some point can be added as well. Clap your hands as you walk away, count to five out loud, turn your back to your dog, lift your arms, walk around your dog etc. If your dog ever breaks the stay just say a casual "oops" and send your dog back to the area where he was asked to stay. Resume the exercise, this time making it a bit less difficult before progressing to asking for more. Many clingy dogs follow their owners every time they get up from sitting. If your dog gets ready to follow you every time you are sitting on a chair or couch, and you put your hand on the arm rest or put down the remote, practice sit/stays and down/stays as you repeat these actions over and over. Then increase criteria, and start to get up repeatedly from your chair/couch/. Then get up and take a few steps and may be even walk around your dog and go back to sitting. These exercises should be done until fluent and the dog appears totally relaxed and no longer eager to follow. End the sessions with a jackpot of treats. Step 2: Gradually increase distance/duration. With longer duration, it's best to request down/stays to prevent tiring. Take more steps away (from standing or sitting) and for gradually longer times and start going out of sight. Ask your dog to down/stay on a mat as you briefly get out of view behind a wall or door for a split second, then return and reward. Repeat several times as you gradually mix in shorter absences and longer absences and shorter distances with farther distances, making sure to not allow you dog to detect an incremental pattern of difficulty. You can mix in brief errands too such as opening/closing a closet, grabbing a beer from the fridge or closing a window as long as they don't cause you to be out of sight for too long. These exercises should be done until fluent and the dog appears totally relaxed. Always end the sessions with a jackpot of treats. Step 3: Increase more the distance and duration. Install a baby gate, hide several treats around the enclosed area, send your dog there and have your dog explore his new confinement area and find the goodies. Leave the baby gate open for a couple of days so that the dog can freely visit and discover goodies in there Next, practice briefs stays as you get in and out of the baby gate and return. Stay always in sight. Gradually increase the time you stay out as always mixing in briefer stays with longer ones, but not more than a minute in length. At some point, get out of the baby gate and start preparing a stuffed Kong that can be easily unstuffed in just a minute or so. Place the stuffed Kong behind the baby gate where your dog can see it and smell it and cannot get it. Your dog should try to get the Kong. Wait for a little bit of frustration to set in such as your dog trying to paw it or whine. Grab the Kong and give it to your dog as you remain in view at a distance behind the baby gate for 1 minute. Return inside. Repeat, reloading the Kong again making it more challenging to unstuff and then less challenging, so that you can increase the the time you stay out as always mixing in briefer stays with longer ones. Try to return when you know your dog is just about to finish unstuffing his Kong. Step 4: Start incorporating the treasure hunt game, using a portion of your dog's meals as outlined in the course. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ Have your dog sit/stay or down/stay as you get a portion of your dog's meal allowance and hide the kibble around. Have your dog watch you in anticipation and then as you leave the room and release your dog. Allow your dog to hunt as you are briefly out of sight. Return and repeat the exercise hiding the remaining portion of your dog's meal allowance and leaving as your dog goes on his hunt. As always, gradually increase the time you stay out of sight, mixing in briefer stays with longer ones, but not more than a minute in length. Alternatively, in lieu of the treasure hunt game, you can stuff a slow food dispenser such as a Kong Wobbler, Buster Cube or regular Kong with the kibble and let your dog work on it while you are away. At some point, start delaying your returns a bit so that your dog has finished hunting or eating from the Kong but doesn't appear to anxious about running out of food and being alone. Tier 2: Protocol for Uncoupling Pre-Departure Cues You mentioned your Yorkie getting anxious when you use your makeup..hair spray or put on your shoes or grab you purse..Yorkies are very smart and attentive. Dogs in general are masters in reading body language and learning all the cues that culminate into our departures. It's therefore not surprising when they start acting nervous when dog owners get up, have breakfast, and then put on makeup, shave, brush hair, put shoes on and grab the keys. These are all pre-departure cues that put dogs on high alarm, as these cues have been chained one to another and associated with departures. Uncoupling these associations requires some work. The work encompasses desensitizing to the pre-departure cues and breaking up their associations with the departures. These exercises are done when not leaving the home. Make sure that you therefore have time set aside for this. To start, compile a list of behaviors you perform normally when heading out and identify the ones your dog seems to react to. Then, place them in order chronologically, starting with the one that is farthest away from leaving the house. You will then work on exposing your dog to these behaviors starting with the first and then chaining them one by one until the dog becomes uninterested in them as they lose value due to them no longer leading to departures. For instance, if your list looks something like this: put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys and walk out the door, your exercises will look something like this: (please note, sit on the couch/watch TV is an example, you can do many other things that your dog associates with you being home like knitting, washing the dishes etc.) Put on shoes, sit on the couch, watch TV (when you sit down and watch TV or read a book or go prepare a meal, do so for a few minutes each time) Put on shoes, grab briefcase, sit on the couch, watch TV Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, sit on the couch, watch TV Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, sit on the couch, watch TV Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door slightly, close door, sit on the couch watch TV Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, then back in, close door, return, sit on the couch watch TV Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, sit on couch, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door (with you outside), quickly reopen door, close door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV. Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, sit on couch, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door (with you outside), lock the door, unlock the door, return, sit on couch watch TV. Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door (with you outside), and increase duration of staying outside gradually, but for no more than half a minute (always mixing in shorter absences in the midst of longer ones), then unlock the door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV. Note: If your dog seems upset by any of these behaviors, you may need to split them further. For example, if your dog is doing well up until you start opening the door (like you catch your dog whining), then, you may want to split the action of walking to the door in further segments (e.g take a few steps towards the door, return, sit on couch, then, walk to the door and stand in front of it, return, sit on the couch, then, walk to the door and touch the knob for a split second, return, sit on the couch, then walk to the door and open the door a bit for a split second, return, sit on the couch. Do this until the door can be successfully opened without the dog worrying about it. Tier 3: Exercises by the Door Monitor your dog for signs of distress These exercises are more difficult, and therefore, require dogs to be very well proficient at the previous tier level. Dogs should therefore have reached a point where they are fine with being left alone for up to half a minute as the owner stands behind the closed door. Because these absences are longer and more distractions are added (car engine starting), it helps to provide some high-value long-lasting goodies for the dog to consume such as a strategically stuffed Kong with layers (e.g a layer of cookies stuck at the bottom, kibble mixed with peanut butter, a cookie stuck midway, canned food, another cookie at the top). For longer absences, on top of a Kong, an automatic treat-dispenser set to release treats at frequent intervals can turn helpful. When providing goodies to consume for these absences, it's important to provide them as well while you are at home to prevent them from turning into a pre-departure cue signaling to your dog you are about to leave. At this point, it may also be important to use some form of remote monitoring so to assess how the dog is doing and keep tabs on progress and/or setbacks. Body language should be carefully assessed. Anytime a setback is noticed, it means that one must work more on a lower level until the dog is perfectly comfortable with that level. For example, if the dog becomes anxious upon being left alone for 8 minutes, more time should be spent practicing at lower times. Increments should be done in seconds rather then chunks of minutes always mixing in briefer times to make the exercises as variable as possible. Build the time gradually up to 30 minutes if possible. Arrivals should always be no big deal. Ignore your dog as you walk in and just go straight to the couch. Example of exercises: Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door, start car engine, then unlock the door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV. Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door, start car engine, spend a bit of time in the car, then unlock the door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV. Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door, start car engine, move the car a bit ahead and then back into parking space, then unlock the door, return, sit on the couch, watch TV. Put on shoes, grab briefcase, grab keys, walk towards the door, touch the door knob, open the door, take a step out, close the door, lock the door, start car engine, drive the car around the block and then back into parking space, then unlock the door return, sit on the couch watch TV and so forth. Gradually increase more time spent away, mixing in shorter absences. A Word About Treatment For Separation in Anxiety in Dogs It's important to consider that slow and steady wins the race in behavior modification. It will take time, commitment and determination to attain results with the dog being calm enough to cope with gradually longer departures. The goal is to get a dog to be calm and reward that. Setbacks are always possible during behavior modification no matter how well planned the program. To reduce the chances of setbacks, it is best to perform separation anxiety exercises with the help of a professional for in-person evaluations and coaching. Some severe cases may require prescription medications (prescribed by a vet) to help the dog relax enough and open the lines for learning to take place. Calming aids may help too for milder cases. These may include: -Using a recorder you can program to play every thirty minutes a recording of your voice. -Calming supplements such as those containing L-theanine (ask your vet for recommendations) -DAP diffusers such as Adaptil/Comfort Zone -Adaptil collars -Dog calming CDs (like Through a Dog's Ear) or calming music for dog on YouTube -Puppy toy with heart beat (Snuggle Pups Behavioral Aid) Finally, remember that separation anxiety is often misdiagnosed and there can be other issues at play. Just to have an idea google " dog separation anxiety the great imitator," and you'll find an article divided in 4 parts written by a veterinary behaviorist doing an in-depth list of all the potential "differentials. " I hope this helps you!

OK, please take this info with a grain of salt, it's based on what I have learned in the past working at a vet's office and it can be outdated. It's therefore not meant to be used as a replacement for professional veterinary info. Generally, -very generally-the normal intake of water in dogs is 1 ounce (30ml) of water per pound of body weight in 24 hours. For sake of an example, a dog weighing forty pounds, should be drinking around 5 cups per day of water (which is around 1182.94 mL, as one cup of water is 237 mL). So what's important here is determining whether your dog is drinking too much or not. Now, this is not easy and should be strictly determined with the help of a professional. There are many things to factor in here (heat, humidity, activity level, etc. For instance consider diet. Dogs on dry kibble tend to drink a lot more than dogs on canned, raw or soaked kibble. Some dog foods have more sodium than others. I know dogs on Blue Buffalo being reported for drinking a lot. Dogs fed treats may drink more too as treats may contain some good amounts of sodium. Too much peanut butter may pack a punch too unless you feed an unsalted variety or make a homemade version. You'll therefore need to work with a vet to determine whether Esther is drinking too much and how much is too much for a dog with her diet/activity levels etc with accuracy. In regards to psychogenic polydipsia, this is something that is typically diagnosed only once other potential medical conditions have been ruled out. It's therefore a disorder that's diagnosed by exclusion, with the veterinarian possible going through a loooong list of medical causes (differential diagnosis) for excessive drinking in dogs. Several of these medical conditions can be ruled out by having the vet perform some baseline tests such as a complete blood count and serum biochemistry profile, a urinalysis, and a urine culture. However, if I recall well, there is no blood test to confirm diabetes insipidus (DI). In the past, veterinarians used to run a water deprivation test, but this was time consuming and had some associated risks. So in order to confirm it, or rule it out, a trial of treatment for diabetes insipidus is ran (desmopressin) and the dog's response to it is monitored. If the excess drinking reduces, bingo! it's likely that, if it doesn't than likely it's something else, which may put psychogenic polydipsia higher up the list of possibilities. The good thing is that if you decide to work with a veterinary behaviorist, he/she can help you out in this department too!

Aww, what a cutie!

So I found myself yesterday, being a mailman to deliver an excuse letter in all the houses in the neighborhood 🙂 That was very nice of you to do that! so we try to shush him off by shouting "quiet ! quiet ! it's late"... I'm pretty sure it encouraged him even more Yes, it's unfortunate but when we start yelling at dogs for barking, they are often too aroused to listen and may even interpret our yelling as us joining in the barking frenzy rather than us trying to shush them. We first started with environment control : for now, the part where he can view the fields is forbidden at night. We switched to the road side, and he's now tied to the long leash in a restricted perimeter around us, where he can have access to a little part of the house + a little part of the yard with access to grass First question on this : he seemed "weird" about that. I guess it's understandable, as he has more restrictions than before, without really knowing why Still, we tried to ease into it, as we will be out chilling also in the same spot, and gave very good edible chew like ham bones Is there anything special to do ? or any special recommandations in case of change of routine in a "worse" way? When a dog had access to a large area or was free to roam off leash, and then we must provide access to smaller areas or put them on leash, it is possible for some frustration to build in, especially initially. It is a good idea to give something tasty to compensate. I used to board/train a dog who who was used to roam free in the yard and eat his own poop. When he was in my care, I kept him on leash to prevent him from engaging in the poop eating. Needless to say, he was unhappy with that and would scratch his collar in frustration. Things changed though for the best once he realized that sticking nearby me and ignoring walking by his poop, earned him tasty rewards. We went also on barking / trigger training, and our implementation is quite simple : when we hear a loud barking, we're coming with high value food, and calling "Loki !" or smacking sound as positive interrupter, and start treating when he looks at the trigger (dog / people passing by, birds, critters...) and remains calm. question : is there a risk we reinforce "he barks => we come" which is counterproductive if it's attention seeking barking. If so, how should we proceed, as the triggers are coming randomly ? Is the implementation at least okay-ish to get some results ? It has becoming a neighborhood issue, so we definitely say "its ok for now, we will address this later" It would be important here to distinguish barking at triggers and barking for attention as it requires a different approach. Barking at triggers: dogs will orient toward stimuli, ears perked in direction of sound, you will often hear/see the triggers (although not always). At night may intensify as the dog becomes more alert and reacts to nocturnal triggers and sounds. Barking for attention: dog is usually bored, happens often indoors, there is nothing better to do, dog is bored and the dog orients the barking towards the owner or barks at something random hoping for a response. From your description, it sounds like there was something going on in the fields. As you know, lappies are herding dogs, and as such they tend to bark and make good watch dogs. Environmental control is important in such cases (keeping dogs away from areas that evoke the most barking-taking dogs out at times they are less likely to bark). It should be the primary approach considering that patience may run thin in neighbors as it takes time to train a reliable response to reduce barking. Also, through environmental control we are preventing rehearsal of the problem behavior, considering that, when dogs are bored or find a "job" such as taking watchdog duties seriously, it becomes habit forming, to the point that dogs will head out in the evening, just with the intent to bark. When we have some time to train, it helps to take baby steps, creating new routines, where we teach the dog to engage in something else in the evening outdoors that is fun and rewarding to do like a game of hide and seek, finding a hidden ball etc. Also helpful is, if possible, being very attentive and identifying what is triggering the barking. If you know it's triggered by a specific sound or sight, you can try the "hear that" method, making your smacking sound BEFORE he has a chance to bark. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/ If the triggers are random, unexpected or you cannot hear them, train a fluent response so that you can stop him in his tracks and redirect him to some activity that engages him. If he still reverts to barking despite this approach, it's time to give priority to your neighbors and take him back inside or to an area where he is less likely to bark.

In the end, it's my gf that had it "he's too much of a pain right now, it's late but he's going in the pen right now... This won't do" I was a bit reluctant because it was late already, and I thought now he may not need to sleep in the evening as he sleeps a lot in the day But she was right, he whined 20 seconds and settled. His behavior was like a cry for help saying "please let me nap, I need too, but I cant do it alone" Some puppies and young dogs appear to have no "off button." In other words, they can't relax even if they are feeling tired. Perhaps, like children, they don't recognize tiredness, very well. They don't know that their busy brain needs sleep to function. They just get overwhelmed. Some puppies may therefore fight the tired feeling simply because they'd rather be awake and playing. They may be trying to sleep one moment, and then paw at toys and get up to play the next. It's almost as if by falling asleep, they have a fear of missing out and want to be in tune with everything that's happening in their surroundings. When this happens, they need quiet time in a familiar, calm environment. Some dogs may relax enough to sleep deep only when their owners are sleeping too. These are dogs who want to participate in every living moment and can't fully relax until their owners are "completely OUT" sleeping as well. Both Einstein and Petra had a routine of going to bed every night at midnight. Sure before then, they would nap on their mats, but it was mostly light sleep. If we got up from the couch to do something they would twitch their ears because they were ready to be taken out to potty before going into the bedroom and sleep for the night. So they were anticipating it and every little movement had them wondering if it was time. If for some reason we were a little late because we wanted to watch something lasting longer, they appeared annoyed by it. Sometimes they would even whine as if saying "Hey, how much longer do you have there?"

Yorkies are very attentive as they were selectively bred to hunt down rats. I concur that it could be triggered by some type of insect, especially considering that the timing coincides when there is an increase activity of bugs. If you notice your pup continuing to stare at the same spot on the wall or ceiling, have a listen for yourself. You might just pick up the tiny scurry of mice or other unwanted creatures sharing your living space. Some dogs are even capable of detecting termites! If your Yorkie has detected such pests, make sure to get an appropriate exterminator out to take care of whatever might be hanging around in a safe manner (considering that several pes products are toxic to dogs). This should tackle the underlying problem at the root and reduce her searching for the pests over time. Being bred to be ratters, Yorkies can also get bored when there is not much going on in their lives. Their minds and bodies were built to detect the slightest sounds and hunt. A bored mind can cause them to look for a "job" and therefore get into a mission to hunt down critters. Helping her find an alternative "hobby" that can be equally if not more rewarding may help. For instance, increase her brain games and find some activities that allow her to "hunt things down" such as the ball pit game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-ball-pit-game/ Organize treasure hunt games done with her kibble: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ Create a sand pit where she can hunt down her toys or engage her in "earth dog" trials and barn hunts. Finally, if she's obsessed by the wall, in a way that she cannot be distracted by it, consider discussing this behavior with the vet. There may be some other medical concerns if your dog is staring off into space or snapping at things that aren’t there, they might be having a neurological issue going on. In particular, staring at walls can be a sign of focal seizures, vision problems as well by other medical conditions such as metabolic disorders and therefore require an in-depth veterinary assessment. Also, if she's very intent to lick and eat drywall that can be a sign of some nutritional deficiency. Grab your phone the next time your pup is interacting with the wall and record a video to show your vet to help them give a clearer diagnosis if a medical issue is at play. A video is worth 10,000 words.

Since she stops whining once she finds a place to hide it, I feel more inclined to think it's natural, instinctive behavior to hide and cache something perceived as valuable. This behavior can be reminiscent of a dog's ancestors who used to bury surplus food to protect it from spoilage or opportunistic scavengers. If this behavior gets your attention, where you look at her and talk to her, it could also have some attention-seeking component into it. Mothering behavior is mostly hormonally induced, so more likely to occur in intact female dogs or recently spayed dogs, although there may always be exceptions (like dogs whose spay surgery left some residual ovarian/ uterine tissue behind inducing heat cycles and false pregnancies).

Bark Busters is a franchise. Before enrolling in my certification program I was interested in starting my career with them, but I was turned off by their methods. It's a franchise where people pay money to study their curriculum, and then they open their business. I am not sure if they have changed much since then, but from what you are mentioning, it seems they are still stuck with some outdated methods (like mimicking what dogs do to each other) and other methods I first learned about them using more than a decade ago. How about Dr. Terrie Marie Curtis? She's a board-certified veterinary behaviorist who does house calls in Florida. I am not sure how much she charges, but from her intake form, I can see she is very thorough and uses methods based on science. https://www.terrycurtisveterinarybehavior.com/services-offered

Yes, those 'pack talks" and mimicking what mother dogs do with their pups send red flags about outdated methods.

"I still remember the day she and Mo got into it and I was Shocked that Gertie was the instigator. Mo was approaching her food toy, something he normally didn't do, and she had something to say about it." The big question here would be whether Gertie was close to her food toy or whether she voluntarily relinquished it (which rarely happens unless a dog is sick or finicky) and then suddenly decided she wanted it back. In general, when a dog has access to a food toy and another dog goes to grab it, the dog doing the grabbing is considered the "instigator" as he's ignoring social boundaries. It's as if a dog who has a food toy, has an invisible space bubble around it that shouldn't be surpassed. This is an example of how complex finding the real "instigator" in certain interactions may be. Even then, interactions are rather fluid rather than static and the instigator dog may behave in such a way in certain contexts and not in others. For example, Einstein would often push Petra out of the way when going through the door. Going out first was important to him. Petra, on the other hand, was really determined in maintaining access to resources such as bones and new toys.

Hmm.... treat-free and clicker free makes me think they must have something against these. I have known many trainers who are aware of the the popularity of force-free methods and like to advertise themselves as such, but then it turns out, they are actually simply balanced trainers using a variety of corrections 😞

Question is, what can we do to let him these behavior towards her ? As cute as he is, it would be important that your girlfriend act calm and use a calm tone of voice around him and follow the same rules you have established. If she must praise, it must be done in a lower tone, that doesn't cause excessive excitement. It would help to involve her in the training. Take turns training, side-by-side, you first ask for a sit, praise/reward then right afterward she does, then you ask for a down, then she does, etc. Should we do normal stuff like redirecting and preventing behavior as in the very beginning? Yes, preventing the behavior and encouraging calm interactions is important. As he's not doing it with me, we're not sure the problem is to address biting or humping itself Both biting and humping need to be addressed. Should she just interact with him more ? I would base the amount of interaction on how much he is able to stay calm without engaging in biting/humping/jumping or other over the top behaviors. If the interactions are mostly hyper, best to limit them, to prevent rehearsal. The more he is calm, the more he gets to be around her. This can work to your advantage since Loki seems to want to be near her. So you can use her presence as a reward for him acting calm. The moment he engages in the earliest sign of hyper behavior, she can get up and leave the room. Once calm, she can return and stay for as long as he remains calm. She tried ignoring, lamp post, stopping the interaction and going away, but still at some point, he would be excited again and go on with this kind of behavior. It's important to enter slowly and not interact upon entering the room. Just walking in calmly, no talking, touching, eye contact. If Loki tries to bite/hump upon her entering the room, she does an about face and leaves. Then she tries returning again slowly and ready to leave at the smallest sign of acting hyper. If Loki must be pet, it should be done when he is not hyper and he should remain calm. Asking for a sit and petting him briefly, before he gets to the point of wanting to bite/jump/hump etc. If she wants to sit for some time, she can ask for hand targets or sits and toss kibble at a distance to encourage alternate behaviors and give Loki other activities to replace the excited behavior. The use of a baby gate can turn helpful for this type of training. He can learn to see her from behind the baby gate and not react in a hyper way. Alternatively, an indoor tether can keep her at a distance from her until he is in a calmer state. If your girlfriend's praise make Loki hyper, you can do the praising for the behaviors you like until she's able to praise in a tone that doesn't hype him up. We notice it happens more when he's in a tired / overexcited state Careful when he's in this state. Providing him a safe edible chew and a place to chill would be important.

That's a big TV! I can see how Loki may find the images and sounds stimulating to trigger a variety of emotions. Glad to see him relaxed enough to lie down so close to it and even take a nap. Great job in finding a channel that keeps him under threshold.