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    Canine Separation Anxiety Workbook: Training Dogs To Tolerate Being Alone
    Canine Separation Anxiety Workbook: Training Dogs To Tolerate Being Alone
    Canine Separation Anxiety Workbook: Training Dogs To Tolerate Being Alone
    Ebook82 pages54 minutes

    Canine Separation Anxiety Workbook: Training Dogs To Tolerate Being Alone

    By James O'Heare

    2.5/5

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    About this ebook

    The Canine Separation Anxiety Workbook is written to get dog owners to train their dogs to tolerate being left alone. It helps guide owners in defining the specific problem behaviors they face and then design and implement a contingency management plan to resolve it. The methods described are solidly scientific but written in an accessible language, providing dog owners with alternative approaches and the information to apply the approaches to their specific problem.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDogwise Publishing
    Release dateMay 24, 2016
    ISBN9781617811784
    Canine Separation Anxiety Workbook: Training Dogs To Tolerate Being Alone
    Author

    James O'Heare

    James O'Heare is a Behaviorologist who has spent over 25 years researching animal behavior and animal rights. He lives in Ottawa, Canada.

    Read more from James O'heare

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      Book preview

      Canine Separation Anxiety Workbook - James O'Heare

      Canine Separation Anxiety Workbook

      James O’Heare

      Copyright © 2016 by James O’Heare. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

      Title: Canine Separation Anxiety Workbook

      Publisher: BehaveTech Publishing, Ottawa Canada.

      www.BehaveTech.com

      Author: James O’Heare

      Cover art and book design: James O’Heare

      LIMITS OF LIABILITY AND DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY:

      The author shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages or loss in connection with, or arising out of, the furnishing, performance, or use of the instructions or suggestions contained in this book. This book provides information of a general nature.

      ISBN 978-1-927744-10-9

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      PREFACE

      CHAPTER 1. UNDERSTANDING SEPARATION ANXIETY

      WHAT IS SEPARATION ANXIETY?

      FUNCTION OVER FORM: THE ABCS OF BEHAVIOR

      CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT

      CONTINGENCY ANALYSES

      Antecedent stimuli (Identifying the A in the ABCs)

      Behaviors (Identifying the B in the ABCs)

      Consequences (Identifying the C in the ABCs)

      WRAPPING UP YOUR ASSESSMENT

      CHAPTER 3. CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING

      AVOID SENSITIZATION THROUGHOUT THE INTERVENTION

      GRADED ADDED REINFORCEMENT

      Introduction

      Basic Strategy

      Graded Approach

      Replacing Both the Target Operant Behaviors and the Motivating Respondent Emotional Behaviors

      Preparing Your Graded Exposure List

      THE REPLACEMENT BEHAVIORS

      CHAPTER 4. IMPLEMENTING THE CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN

      ADJUNCT MEASURES

      Stress Reduction

      Added Reinforcement-Based Training

      Play

      Exercise

      Nutritional Support

      Medication and Supplementation

      Sound therapy

      Scent Therapy

      PRIMARY CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT PROTOCOLS

      Differential Reinforcement of Other Behaviors

      Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior

      MAINTENANCE

      CONSTRUCTING YOUR PLAN

      HANG IN THERE!

      PREFACE

      I applaud you for taking the time and effort to help your dog through the challenge of these problem behaviors. Separation-related problems are extremely stressful on everyone—not just your dog but also the rest of the family. You have likely attempted some commonsense solutions that have not helped. You also may have spoken to your veterinarian, who may have suggested medication and offered a few pieces of advice or a referral to a dog trainer, and none of it has been successful. Maybe neighbors are complaining about the noise and you worry about eviction, or you are not able to take time off work, making matters worse. You are not alone. I had a dog named Rex who could not be left alone without whining, barking, yelping, urinating, and destroying doorjambs and couch cushions. He almost got me kicked out of the building I was living in. When I took time off work to be with him as I worked through futile interventions, suggested to me by the staff at the shelter from where I had rescued him, I almost got fired. Rex would panic as soon as I closed the door.

      I am personally familiar with the sense of urgency and crisis. I have experienced the dread of feeling helpless (through lack of effective tools) and considering highly distasteful options such as bringing the dog to a shelter, where you know no one else will tolerate the behavior either, even if the shelter did put the dog up for adoption. In my case, I had just adopted Rex from the Humane Society and they had made it quite clear that if it did not work out this time, he would not be given another chance. I was devastated that I failed poor Rex! Separation anxiety is absolutely a crisis, a problem with potentially serious consequences. In fact, that experience and my failure with it is what prompted my career in behavior technology many years ago.

      I am here to tell you, after all these years of study and experience, that there is hope and there are tools you can be armed with for resolving the problem. It will not be easy! It will not be quick! It will require a lot of work and sacrifice.

      I will not assume any background in the science of behavior for the reader except that which you would have received in any decent puppy group class or adult good manners class. This includes the basics of using a clicker and luring various basic behaviors, putting cues on them and thinning the schedule of reinforcement.

      This is a workbook of sorts. You will be called on to carry out some homework assignments, specifically with regard to developing your assessment and constructing your plan of action. You will need a pad of paper and a pen for this. Alternatively, you can use a word processor, but I have found it easier to work with pen and paper for this process.

      Some parts of this book involve the use of some technical terms, which will take a bit of getting used to. They are explained where

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