Separation Anxiety And Meditation

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Mum wants me to talk about separation anxiety.  Why?  Well it's happening to me and probably lots of puppies and doggies around the world too.

Cesar Millan
The Dog Whisperer

Mum has been up half the night with me and she's decided that enough is enough!

Mum is a big fan of Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer who sadly has announced that his famous TV series is coming to an end.

So when Mum needed a little extra guidance on dealing with my whining and crying at night, she's turned to Cesar's book "How To Raise The Perfect Dog"

First it's important you humans understand us doggies and what makes us tick.  Here's an extract from Cesar's afore-mentioned book on the topic:

Dogs are programmed to want to follow the pack, and try to reunite the pack when separated.   If they can't follow the pack, they'll call them back with their voice.   


Much of the time they succeed in bringing people back this way.  What's more, they bring them back feeling sorry for the puppy/dog and guilty about leaving.   


Often the people they bring back also bring them treats.  So the message they get is" They're not here to stop my anxiety, they are here to reward my anxiety.


If they don't succeed in bringing us back, it's a logical next step to try and dig themselves out from behind walls if they can't find any other way.

Cesar recommends that firstly to hide out of sight a short distance away.

Mum did this with me and yes, whine and cry I did.  She didn't let me get to the point of screaming before she reappeared from her hiding place and immediately addressed my behaviour with Cesar's famous 'tssst' and calm assertive body language.   She also made a clicking sound which I know means I have to sit.

Cesar makes a good point here:

Even though your puppy/dog might sit, check his energy since he still might be in an alert state. Many people make the mistake of thinking yawning means a dog is tired/relaxed, but puppies especially yawn if they are anxious or frustrated by a situation they can't figure out.  If this happens, stay in sight of your puppy/dog until he goes into the relaxed state you want.

Mum waited a little longer cos I was still a bit anxious.   I moved away and then Mum moved out of my sight again and I started pacing and darting away cos my survival programming tells me that I need to be part of the pack again.

We repeated this exercise again.  It takes much patience on both sides and it's something we are going to work on today and the next few days.

Mum is learning to meditate and is now playing some relaxing chill out music for us both.   Yawn.  Sleepy now!

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