Austin Dog Trainer Blog

The Dog Jobs Board!

We just added a new service to our website!  A job board for listing and searching dog related jobs all around the country.  You can now go to our website if you want to find or post a job as a dog trainer, dog groomer, kennel technician, veterinary technician, pet sitter and more.  Just visit www.BuddysChance.com and click on the button on the left that says The Dog Jobs Board!  You can then search for full time, part time, volunteer, and apprentice opportunities.  Good luck finding work that feeds your passion as much as our work as dog trainers and behavior consultants feeds ours!

Cara, Buddy's Chance, Austin Dog Training, Dog Behavior, and Dog Day Care

How do you know if your dog has separation anxiety?

There are many things that may look like separation anxiety in a dog.  For example, your dog may bark endlessly when you leave your home.  That barking could be caused by separation anxiety, but it could also be boredom or the squirrel outside the window that insists on tormenting your dog everyday. 

I get calls from dog owners whose dogs eliminate in the house when they're away.  While this could be a sign of separation anxiety, it could also be a house training issue or a sign that your dog has a medical problem that needs to be addressed.

Some of the indications that your dog truly has separation anxiety are:

• Panting, pacing, and drooling when you're gone
• Repetitive barking when you leave home, particularly where it starts withing the first 15 minutes of you leaving your dog alone
• Destruction of exit ways, such as the door you leave through or window frames
• Destruction of crates
• Digging or clawing through floors and doorways, particularly where the dog causes injury to its teeth or nails
• Defecating and urinating, particularly where there is not one large area of urine or feces (we tend to see several small piles of urine or feces when a dog is eliminating because of anxiety)
• Lack of appetite (if you leave a peanut butter stuffed Kong toy and the dog doesn't touch it, that may indicate a high level of anxiety)

If you're not sure if your dog has separation anxiety, contact a canine behavior consultant for help!

Cara, Buddy's Chance, Austin Dog Training, Dog Behavior, and Doggy Day Care

Puppies and Play

How important is it for my puppy to play with other dogs?  Who should my puppy play with?  What should that play look like? 

These are all important questions to ask when socializing your new puppy.  Ideally, get your puppy into a GOOD puppy class before the age of 10-12 weeks so that you can have some playtime with other puppies in a well-supervised setting.  Look for an instructor that will actively supervise the puppy playtime and stop play that is overly rough or frightening for any of the puppies.  Ask questions about why the instructor is or isn't stopping play so that you can learn what is acceptable play and what is not. 

In general, you want your puppy to play with other puppies very close in age (even a few weeks older than your puppy may make a big difference at this age!) or with good adult dogs that are calm enough to not overwhelm the puppy.  For example, if your puppy is 9 weeks old, she should not play with a 16 week old puppy or an adolescent 2 year old Labrador!

As for what the play should look like, it should be fairly even.  Both puppies or dogs should spend some time on top of the other rather than one puppy always being pinned to the ground.  If one dog looks fearful (cowering, hiding, etc.), give it a protected area to stay during initial play sessions.  An exercise pen or baby gate works well for this.  If you're uncertain about the quality of play, pull the two puppies apart and hold them apart for a few seconds.  Then, let them go and see what happens - if they both run back eagerly, the play is probably okay.  If one seems less eager to return to the play, or even relieved at having the play stop, it was too rough!

Last, stay out of the dog parks at this age!!!!!!! Not only is your puppy at risk in a dog park because it is not fully vaccinated, you have no idea what play style and manners the dogs at the park will have.  Your dog may be exposed to bullies and dogs that will teach it very poor play rather than teaching nice manners.  Stick to puppy classes or play dates with pre-screened dogs in your own backyard until your puppy is at least 6 months old.

Cara, Buddy's Chance, Austin Dog Training, Dog Behavior, and Dog Daycare