Dog Separation Anxiety Tools
I’m often asked about what dog separation anixety tools and products I recommend for dog separtation anxiety, and the truth is there are a lot of products that fall in to the ‘can’t hurt might help’ category.
Unfortunately, what that often means is people spend a lot of money on many different products that are meant to cure dog anxiety, and even when one does work, they aren’t sure what one it is because they are trying so many!
The other thing is that these products also take time to work, and while you wait for the next miracle spray or calming treat to help your dog not feel stressed when you’re gone, you could have used something better or spent that time on training!
I digress, but all of this is to say that I’ve compiled a list of tool and things I think truly are useful when you have a dog struggling with separation anxiety!
1. Cameras
Cameras are an essential tool for dog separation anxiety training. You need to know what your dog is doing when you’re not there, and you need to be able to see their body language clearly to check out their thresholds.
You can use old phones, tablets and laptops to watch via video call but often having a dedicated set up is much easier and doesn’t become a pre-departure cue!
These two are my favourites for cameras in the UK, the Ring is slightly more expensive, but it does mean you can link it up to your existing system if you have one.
2. Enrichment Toys
You can buy heaps of different enrichment toys but these are a few of my faves. Dogs need to practise their scavenging and hunting skills every day, and they do this by chasing, licking, chewing, gnawing, smashing stuff around and dissecting!
DIY enrichment toys are the best way to give them new experiences but also altering what goes in enrichment feeders goes a long way in scratching that itch for novelty that many dogs crave.
3. Toys
Your dog also needs to play in order to elevate their mood, and practise hunting behaviour – play is great for stress relief, burning energy off and teaching self control.
Different ‘types’ of dogs will like different types of toys and toy play depending on their type – Retrievers, Labradors and Gundogs have quite different desires to Sighthounds or Bulldogs!
Here’s a couple of suggestions of good quality all purpose toys
3. Chews
Dogs need to chew, of course some like to chew more than others, but recreational chewing is good for stress relief, dental health, relieves frustration and is a need that should be satisfied every day.
It’s tempting to just get harder and harder chews when you have a strong chewer, but be careful as they will just encourage your dog to chew even harder!
4. White Noise Machine
A lot of dogs with separation related problems also have comorbidities. Separation problems do not exist in a vacuum and noise sensitivities either through territorial barking, sound phobias or other noise related struggles often benefit from sound masking.
You can do this with apps on your home speaker or buying specific machines.
5. A comfy bed
I’ve wrriten extensievely about how to not rely on using a crate with separation anxiety dogs, but having a comfy bed near an exit point can encourage dogs to make a better choice and settle themelsves while they wait for you to come home.
6. Window Film
Along with sound masking with a white or brown noise machine, many dogs struggle with people walking past your house or flat.
Using a simple removable film on the lower part of the windows or doors allows light in while blocking your dog’s view, so they don’t feel the need to protect the property or react at passers by,
7. Stopwatch
Separation anxiety training is possibly the most data driven of all behaviour modifcation protocols. To work effectively you will need a stopwatch, and as you’ll likely be watching your dog via your home camera on your mobile phone, it’s worth getting a separate stopwatch. A basic one will do just fine!
I hope this list of dog separation anxiety tools will be useful and perhaps made you question what you really need to do or buy to help with your dog’s alone time challenges.
The key thing to remember that no product alone will fix it, to fix dog separation anxiety we work with behaviour modifcation and work to change your dog’s emotional reponse to being left. Yep, that means training and desensitisation!
To learn more check out my article on the The Do’s and Dont’s of Dog Sepatation Anxiety Training.
You can also book a call to talk to me about your dog.
