How to help a dog with separation anxiety
This video just came across my Facebook feed. I was in tears by the end. Please watch this, and if you have time the entire movie! Science and the top dog trainers in the world all say that aversive and abusive training is not successful and can lead to more behavior problems with your furry friends. It just doesn’t work, unless you want to be bit or have a dog that is more reactive and likely to bite you.
Malignant Behavior: The Cesar Millan Effect from Sandgrain Films on Vimeo.
I recently phoned one of my old vets to get them to forward me Manchego’s vet records. When I told the receptionist (possibly vet tech?) that my new vet wanted to review his vaccination history she told me that I didn’t need to worry about getting the records, he should be vaccinated every year so I could just go ahead and vaccinate him again. I almost fell over when she said this. First of all, We haven’t been to that vet in 6.5 years, she has NO IDEA what we have been doing for that time and when he was last vaccinated not to mention the fact that he has an auto-immune disorder. And more importantly I was shocked at the lack of education that the people at this clinic seem to have regarding updated vaccination protocols. After speaking to many friends their veterinarians seem to hold the same outdated belief that pets should be vaccinated yearly!
I would like to make people aware that there is a lot of current research out there and the AVMA recommends most vaccinations every 3 years now (including Rabies). Be sure to check the regulations in your area and as always research, research, research to make sure your pet needs the vaccinations your vet is recommending!
“With the exception of rabies, the vaccines for CDV, CPV-2 and CAV trigger an immunological memory of at least seven years,” he explains. (Studies testing the duration of immunity for rabies shots show it lasts about three years.)
For these reasons, Schultz suggests that dogs receive rabies shots every three years (as is required by law in most states) and the other core vaccines no more frequently than every three years.
Because vaccinations are not harmless. They can cause a whole host of problems and chronic conditions in our dogs:
But, as many veterinarians are realizing, over-vaccination can actually jeopardize a dog’s health and even life. Side effects can cause skin problems, allergic reactions and autoimmune disease.
So please, learn the laws and regulations in your area and be sure to research which vaccines your pets actually needs! Also be aware that sick animals should not get vaccines as stated on the vaccination labels. Some states have exemptions for animals who are sick so check your local laws.
Here’s what we got:
This is Such an awesome idea! Too bad we don’t get any Dog Trick-or-Treaters! I like them because we take treats on our walks and this way I just grab a pack and go! They are perfect for throwing in my pocket or even in my backpack when when we are headed for an outing or a hike. The treats are shaped like little flowers and can be broken up into smaller pieces for training which is nice. The only down-side is that they are a cookie-style treat which I generally try to avoid for my dogs. I much prefer pure dehydrated meat to keep their teeth clean but a cookie style treat every once in a while doesn’t hurt as long as you feed raw bones to clean their teeth after!
Another fav of my dogs! They of course had it gone in under 30 seconds being expert chewers from all of the raw bones they get but still a highlight of the day for them when I have to sit at the computer all day and they are bored!
These are nom-nom licious! The dogs also love these… I know, I know… my dogs love most treats! They seem to love how crunchy these are and I love that they are a different protein than they normally get! Yum!
My dogs love this toy. They like to tease each other with it and play tug or keep away! Seems durable and fun for them to chomp down on too!
Well, we’ve all ready lost this toy so no photo! I take that as a good sign for the toy, if it’s missing that means the dogs loved it and probably carried it around until it rolled under a couch or somewhere that they can’t retrieve it. This will come in handy when it starts getting dark at 4pm (if we can find it before then!). It would be nice if it was more bouncy like an orange Chuck-It Ball but the dogs don’t seem to mind much!
So far we are loving the BarkBox program! It’s so much fun to get new toys and treats every month and the quality of the products are top-notch! It also saves me time from having to go to the store to pick up training treats every month and of course the dogs love getting a new toy or two every month! Even better, they give 10% of their proceeds to a local shelter or rescue!
Get you BarkBox for as little as $19 a month AND receive $5 OFF on your first month by clicking here!
1. There are some things we can smell better than dogs
2. Dogs are much more likely to eat something if they smell it on the muzzle of another dog
3. Animals that live around humans vocalize more
4. Dog vision in terms of identifying people is very limited
5. Short Rapid sounds vs. Slow sounds to excite or calm dogs
6. Dogs are red and green blind. Yellow and Blue toys are the best for their vision.
7. Signs of Stress: Sniffing, looking away, stiff body and closed mouth, fight flight freeze or frantic, yawning, tongue flick, whale eye.
8. The look most people identify as ‘guilty’ on a dogs face is actually a look of appeasement (not guilt!)
9. Humans are primates and we like to pat dogs, they find this annoying.
10. Hugging a dog is considered very rude and possibly threatening by the dogs (NEVER do this to a dog you do not know very well!)
I got this Seek-A-Treat Puzzle Toy from my grandma as a present! It is super fun and boy do they tire me out! My mom likes to make me work on them before she leaves me home alone (especially on cold or rainy days when we can’t play ball) so that she knows that I will be super tired and sleep the whole time she is gone.
She said that she wouldn’t leave us home alone with these because our paws scratch them up and they would be easy for us to chew into little-bitty, entsy-weansy pieces that we might swallow. So she said it is best to let us play with these puzzles supervised and then give us Kongs when she leaves us home alone.
This Seek-A-Treat Puzzle is pretty fun but don’t tell mom that I think its pretty easy… I like the easy ones because I can get the treats out faster! I heard her saying that she wants to get me some harder ones so that it takes me longer but I hope she keeps giving me this one!
Anyway, here is a video of me showing you how the Seek-A-Treat Puzzle works to tire me out and make me sleep so I don’t have dog separation anxiety:
What do you think? Am I a woofy star now?!
If you want to get one of these toys to help tire your dog out mentally you can order one on Amazon.com.
Woof!
Manchego
ps. Check out more of my favorite Toys for Dog Separation Anxiety.