separation anxiety
Does your dog struggle when crated, separated from you, or alone? Do they bark, whine, stress urinate or defecate, chew things, try to escape, or injure themselves? If so, your dog may suffer from confinement or separation anxiety or distress.
Our team of talented behavior trainers can help! Our owner and head trainer, Jenn Gavin, literally wrote the book ‘Pleasantly Independent’ for owners whose dogs suffer from these crippling anxieties. She developed a method for treating separation anxiety that does not just rely on desensitization for stopping the outward signs of anxiety. This method, outlined in her book has helped thousands of clients help their dogs, overcome separation anxieties.
Many clients who have worked with other separation anxiety trainers, even very well known trainers, tell us they found our method to be faster and easier, with less recidivism.
you can pick up your very own copy of the book at the link below, or in person at our school for dogs.
what clients have to say about it
“I got Charlotte at 9 weeks old from a breeder. She has always had severe separation anxiety. Anytime I would leave her home, she would howl and scream and urinate on the floor. After trying all different types of natural remedies (you name it we tried it) and then working with a veterinary behaviorist with a multitude of different medications as well as three different CSAT trainers (certified separation anxiety trainers) that implemented a desensitization training program. For two years we worked with that, never leaving Charlotte home alone. She always had a dog sitter if we weren’t there with her, and it severely impacted our lives. It was really tough. If you have a dog with severe separation anxiety, you understand. Finally the veterinary behaviorist recommended Jenn Gavin and A Pleasant Dog. She said that she was known to have a different type of training regimen and luckily we connected with her and started working with her virtually. Within a month, we were able to leave Charlotte alone for about 45 minutes comfortably with no panic and now after three or four months, up to two hours, sometimes even three hours. It has been amazing. Jenn is great to work with. Her staff welcomes questions and they’re very responsive. The cost is a lot less than working with a CSAT trainer, very reasonable, and the results have been incredible. So we are really grateful to have found her and to work with her. If you have a dog with separation anxiety issues, I would highly recommend her.” -Lisa and Princess Charlotte, Saratoga Springs, NY
“Seven weeks ago I was ready to give up on my dog’s separation anxiety (SA). After *over a year* of best efforts, we were getting nowhere (multiple regressions) with a qualified and dedicated SA trainer. Then things changed in a BIG WAY! For the past six weeks, I’ve been working with Jenn Gavin and I am thrilled and amazed at our progress! Jenn was recommended to me by a veterinary behaviorist who recently spent a week at Jenn’s facility, and said her rewards based SA program works well (she uses a remote feeder). And boy, does it! It’s still early days (4 Zoom sessions so far), but we’re already light years ahead of the standard SA training that we tried and failed at for over a year. I can now be outside (or drive away!) for 45 minutes of monitored alone time. This training is also as easy on me as it is on my dog (Chili). Chili is as happy as clam to spend time alone with her remote feeder. Jenn is confident that my dog won't need to be on the remote feeder for much longer, and I'll be able to transition her to a frozen stuffed Kong. Amazing! Jenn is super kind, empathetic, and takes a holistic approach to the SA issue. She even helped me solve some other problem behaviors! Thank you so much, Jenn! I still can’t believe how quickly you’ve turned things around for us!” -A Pleasant Client
*new* we have also developed a new online course using this method, purchase our self guided video series below!
The method is also the subject of two upcoming studies to demonstrate its effectiveness. We can’t wait to share the results with you.
In the meantime, if you would like our help tackling your dogs, anxiety, please feel free to reach out. We help clients all over the world virtually and in person.