I know common advice is make sure you have a routine for your dog. I would argue that in certain breeds this INCREASES anxiety as they are predicting things and when something goes out of the normal predicted routine then all hell breaks loose!
You have seen those memes where a dog didn't get fed right on time at 5:00 p.m. and now they are losing it because it is now 5:01 p.m.
The fix? Feed them at different times. This counts even if there is a 30 minute difference.
Vary your patterns in your day. Do you normally come home and let your dog out right away? Next time, wait ten minutes (unless you are potty training a baby pup with a super tiny bladder). I you can come home early sometimes do that too (I can't so this is not a deal breaker).
Take your dog out through a different door if that is available to you.
Pick up the leash and put it back down throughout the day. This is perfect activity for the weekend as you have all day. Eventually picking up the leash will mean nothing. You will get rid of the super excited puppy pulling and jumping and going nuts. I have to do this with my jacket. My dogs know if I'm putting on my jacket they are going somewhere fun! So, I put on my jacket and take it off. This helps break the chain of prediction. Just because I put on my jacket doesn't mean we are going outside. Likewise, I could also put on the jacket and GASP! go outside without them!
This week-think of 5 different ways you can ditch the routine and do things differently with your dog. Can you walk them out a different door? Take a different route on your walk? Go at a different time? Feed one time instead of twice? Pick up their leash and put it down and don't go out with them. Put their leash on and sit and have some coffee. Get creative and share your ideas with the Happy Tails NWI community.
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