How we avoided SEPARATION ANXIETY with our Havanese puppy

[@AM-ou1wt]

Forgot to add- your tips are spot on. Our dog went from anxious to confident when left alone and this translated into a happier dog who also trained more easily. It's not easy to let them whine but it makes all the difference if they can do so in an environment that shows them you are there for them.

[@jacynthakamor]

I totally agree about the neutral hellos and goodbyes. My Havi is fine on his own for awhile and I think it’s due to me being very chill about the transitions. It’s really NOT in our human instincts so I mostly had to train myself. lol Thanks for the other tips as well. I appreciate and totally agree with your message of building trust and security. I think that’s the best foundation for training any dog. And Havis are very special and do have their particular needs to be happy and healthy. 🐶❤️

[@backtobreeality]

I’m so glad your Havi is doing well. Definitely a challenge to train yourself for some of these things!

[@meronmery-do1ke]

thanks, I just got havapoo and i was going crazy. this is beyond helpful, and your voice is so soothing.

[@thebirdnest4195]

I have a knees had major anxiety. But the minute I started saying to him bye-bye see you later. Be a good boy. He calmed right down and he’s never been anxious again about us leaving. It’s funny if we forget to say it and come back he really gives us the business.😅

[@motherof1doll.]

This makes so much sense. It’s so similar when you help a child understand how to make choices with you will not be around. I notice many people struggle feeling guilty but it’s a gift and a healthy choice to give this to the pet AND child because they are not an accessory or just a piece of property that we own or that we use for our own comfort. They should be shown how to feel confident and secure within themselves as well as when we are there. 🤗

[@emilyrosenzweig9946]

Lots of great tips -- thank you!!

[@timothyslaughter476]

We have two havanese brothers who are 9 months old and they are heaven on earth. The separation anxiety we deal with is when they get apart from one another. Its very painful emotionally for them. Because they always have each other, the seperation anxiety with us isnt bad if we're not around because they have each other. So to give them solo time, i take them on individual walks and we separate the kennels so there in the same area but apart enough so they dont see each other. This really helps. So not exactly what this video is about but still dealing woth a core issue. But these dogs couldn't be more wonderful. Same behavior traits as human brothers minus the video games! Lol.

[@arhans68]

Hello,we lost our 15 years old little boy in august 22,but we're getting a new Havanese June 1. It's been a long time since the puppytime,so these videos are great to "catch up" 🙂.

[@conniehill4851]

Can I ask what breeder your using? I just lost my 15 year old Havanesse Moose. I want to start planning my next😊

[@arhans68]

@@conniehill4851 Hi,I am from Norway,guessing you're not buying from here :-).Or..... ;-)?

[@ruthiewilliams3482]

I lost my 15 year old shitzu four weeks ago. I’ll never get over it

[@grantmcalpine6364]

Thanks for this. We're getting a Havanese in a couple weeks and these videos are fantastic.

[@backtobreeality]

Best of luck with your new baby!

[@AM-ou1wt]

Unfortunately our Havanese is not food motivated but we found we can use a lot of praise and petting along with switching up the treats. One problem we have is that the treats on the market he would love the most have sugar and gut disrupting content that causes diarrhea. The other ones, like pure liver, his favorite, can't be given in large amounts due to risk of overload of vitamin a, iron, etc. It took a month to figure out (recognize) that praise and petting really works well for him and save the liver for the highest value treat..

[@ellief5646]

Hi! Thanks for your tips. They're awesome! This is my first time owning a Havanese, and they are sooo smart. Would you do a video on what you feed your baby? It would be very helpful since they seem to have very sensitive stomachs. Thanks again!

[@backtobreeality]

I’m glad it was helpful for you! One day I’ll make a video on feeding - if I ever figure that out myself! Our girl is SUCH a picky eater and doesn’t eat her kibble as much as I wish she would. My best recommendation is canned food (nice and smelly) because Havs love it and it helped with her diarrhea in the past, but it is more expensive. I also give her a scrambled egg (no added seasonings) sometimes if I feel she hasn’t been eating enough.

[@ellief5646]

@@backtobreeality Thanks so much! That's helpful! My girl is not picky, but she's only 5 months old, and I find she doesn't eat as much as she should. I'll try out the egg to see if she likes it and maybe do a canned food to see how it goes.

[@ferrisulf]

I love these ideas. I've implemented some of them with our late dogs. Funny enough with leaving music on, we found by accident that our old shih tzu LOVED Kate Rusby's music. Any time we put her music on, he'd crawl into his bed, let out a big sigh, and go to sleep. So we'd put on Toby's "Kate playlist" and he was quite content with that. ^_^

[@judithcoker8047]

You have such good pointers here. Thanks for sharing

[@backtobreeality]

I’m so glad you find them helpful!

[@mikaylapoon7540]

I’m getting a Havanese in July and I’ve been binging your videos! It’s my first time owning this breed and there aren’t a lot of Havanese specific videos out there. I’d love if you could post more about your puppy experience (eg socializing your puppy). Thank you so much!! Love your content ❤

[@backtobreeality]

I plan to do more puppy-stage-focused videos soon! Thanks so much for this sweet comment. Best of luck with your little baby - it just gets better and better.

[@mikaylapoon7540]

@@backtobreeality Thank you!! you’re awesome, I’m definitely gonna use the tips you share when I get my pup :)) PS your voice is super soothing too - you’re a natural!

[@backtobreeality]

@@mikaylapoon7540 You are so sweet, thank you so much!!

[@littlecatfeet9064]

I see why Jonny Devaney calls Havanese Stage 5 Clingers! Your girl is adorable and I’m glad you’re meeting her needs.

[@sweetprincess3368]

Thank you for recommending this video I had some ideas of those, but you enlightened me with others ... really thank you

[@CherylsCreativeWorld33]

Thank you for such useful advice!

[@cathysteele924]

These tips are gold!!!! Thank you. ❤

[@mijaukl1]

super helpful, thank you!!!

[@backtobreeality]

I’m glad it helps!

[@flowerpixel]

Good tips especially ignoring while she's whining. That will be difficult for me!

[@backtobreeality]

It’s no easy task! But it’s for their own good, keep telling yourself that.

[@roseanncordelli4996]

So helpful! Thank you.

[@jdenino6022]

I put a ring camera in the room where my havanese dogs stay when we’re not home.

[@yvonnetrott801]

My havanese is 4 months old ,she howls when I.go out,been carrying my keys around a huge trigger .rattled them a lot ,is slowly getting used to it.open both doors close them and she is getting better. I step outside for a few minutes ,in her crate she's better .But when she does howl boy she's loud. So I hope I will get there .thanks for video

[@KennM12]

what did you use under your pup's play pen area? 3:03 are those just blankets or something else?

[@backtobreeality]

It’s a picnic blanket with a vinyl bottom! Keeps liquids from getting to the floor. You can find them on Amazon.

[@reneev5039]

We got our havanese puppy Benny. He is amazing. Took to peeing outside on the grass super.easy (yes has his accidents of course) and his crate as well for naps and night time took longer but that is working out too. . Just DEF. needs to know you are there are night. Checks too. I leave one side of the cover up a little to stick my fingers in as well as let him see I am there when he wimpers and glances up. The PEN is our issue. The yelping all day. My husband works from home. Should he even acknowledge him other than pee breaks and meals? We are trying treats in pen when quiet then walking away and coming back a few seconds later during a break of whining and givig a treat in the pen. I just wish it was easier. We have both left the house for a few min. already. screams his head off. I guess it will just take time? Let me know if you have a suggestion.

[@backtobreeality]

My parent’s havanese was named Benny! Great name. It does take time and consistency. The tips in this video are my best advice for you. Not acknowledging them when whining helps a lot, but it’s hard. Practicing crated naps might help so you can transition into crating when you leave the house and he’ll know he can just sleep instead of stress.

[@reneev5039]

@@backtobreeality Thank you for the advice. And yes that is a great tip about the crate when we leave the house. Thanks

[@tht8916]

What pen do you use that has worked for you? I know there are MANY on Amazon, etc. but I have one to use at home and want to get maybe a small one for my office so I can take her at least part of the day with me to work and limit her to her pen.

[@nross71]

Thank you for the knowledge..... question i have a studio apartment in NYC.... unfortunately I cant use a pin or crate....will it be smart to let him roam around, and should i leave water or food out when i leave for work ?

[@backtobreeality]

You could still use the pen to section off part of the room! Definitely leave out food and water.

[@nothingnatural]

This video is great. Just got a Havi over the weekend. He’s 8 weeks and I want to start off on the right food with him. Do you have any resources you can share that helped you to refine your strategies? Thanks!!!

[@backtobreeality]

Congratulation on your little guy! I wish I had better feeding advice for you, but it’s still a bit of a struggle over here. Pistachio isn’t an enthusiastic eater of any kibble. If you’re on Facebook, try joining “The Trained Havanese” FB page - I’ve used that as a resource for lots of recommendations and people have great suggestions in there.

[@jodyaman9783]

Help. We have a 13 week old female Havanese , who is having trouble going to bed in the evening and sleeping through the night. She cries, barks and she usually wakes about 4 in the morning. Any advice on how to get her to sleep, we have been putting in her crate with her heart beat toy. Thanking you in advance for advice

[@backtobreeality]

Is she sleeping within arms reach? It really helped baby Pistachio to sleep in her crate on our nightstand the first few weeks, and when she’d cry we’d stick our fingers in which helped a lot.

[@Havaneseangels]

❤❤❤❤love

[@monyhany]

Hello would love your help, my beautiful little Havanese is 10months old, I work from home which made it harder to train him to be alone. Currently I trained him to last 40min alone, however those 40min look like the following : 18 minutes playing with his puzzle eating his snacks 4 minutes on/off howl / bark 10 min watching people from the window 4 min on/off bowl/ bark - is this normal he howls/bark for a few minutes in between? - is it true that once you break 20 minutes you can leave them for hours and they don’t sense time? - is it normal he watches people and not just sleep? - how much howling/barking is too much? M thanks for your guidance 🥲 I think this is harder for me than I thought

[@megan5873]

Is it possible to have a havanese while you do a full day at work? I really want one but fear I will have to wait until I am retired to get one because of seperation anxiety. My current cavoodle is able to manage full days while I’m at work he just sleeps and listens to his podcast. I also did a lot of these things with my cavoodle from the day I brought him home and he has only ever had minor separation anxiety and is able to stay home and chill the majority of the time.

[@backtobreeality]

My first Q&A video talks about this! :)

[@megan5873]

@@backtobreeality thank you I watched it it was helpful I’m a big homebody apart from work so I could still be a good candidate !

[@ericng5271]

Do you have any advise if there is any problem keeping 2 Havanese pup at the same time? Will they develop littermate syndrome?

[@jenniferb.7250]

This is a wonderful video, probably better than many of the training videos I’ve watched. We have a 11 week old Havanese puppy, and he does not like it when we leave the room unless he has settled and is already sleeping. My question would be if they get really panicky and start scratching on the cage and seems super upset. What do you do?

[@backtobreeality]

Thanks so much Jennifer! When Pistachio was still spending much of her day in her pen, she used to whine very loud when we’d walk out of the room. We started leaving her immediate pen area so that she could still see us but we were further away than she wanted (she was in the living room and we were in the attached kitchen) and we wouldn’t acknowledge her or let her out until she stopped vocalizing. It BROKE my heart. It’s so hard to hear them upset. But I wanted to teach her that good things happen when she finds her inner peace. Eventually, she started sitting quietly by her pen gate when she wanted to come out or be with us. She learned that calm behavior was what led to more interaction. For crated naps, we also covered that crate and played brown noise to help her not wonder where we were, and she’d usually settle pretty quickly. Also, distractions always help - you could leave him with a puzzle toy before you leave the room to build up that positive relationship with alone time. Hope that helps!

[@AM-ou1wt]

​@@backtobreeality Our Havanese was four months old when he came to us and suffered separation anxiety until we started following through on the training above. Yes, it was tough but it worked and it gave him confidence. When we have to leave for a few hours we see he settles after a few minutes and plays with toys and naps. He used to howl. he is very active, happy and healthy. I used the method of going through all the movements he picks up on when we leave for a few hours and then not leaving. So I'd rattle keys and grab a purse and leave for one minute and then come back in...I did this several times a day everyday and still do. This way he doesn't associate our leaving with any particular movement. Your videos really help us. Thanks so much.

[@bryorbrie3853]

Hello! Amazing and interesting video! Good work! I have a question that worried me a lot, I'm planning of getting a havanese, but I work 9 hours per day 5 days a week, and I can only work from home 1 day a week. Of course I'm planning of spending quality time with my future dog each morning and evening with games, cuddles and walks, but do you think that no matter the efforts, it is a very bad idea for getting a dog ? I feel like a lot of people are doing it and dogs are happy anyway, but I read so much awful things about working people having a dog that it makes me really anxious I would make a dog unhappy and unwell 😥

[@backtobreeality]

Hi there, thanks for that feedback! I would recommend watching my most recent FAQ video - one of the questions I answer is on working full time away from home with a havanese. It’s a tricky subject for sure!

[@bryorbrie3853]

Thanks a lot! :)

[@grantmcalpine6364]

What do you use to play music or noise on?

[@backtobreeality]

We have Sonos speakers in our home that we use, but you could use any speaker or TV. Even a phone or laptop!

[@jimquantic]

All dogs---all of them, are "pack animals"--it is NOT natural and good for them to be the one and only dog. GET TWO, and mix the sex while you are at it, also around the same size. Two females, not so good in many cases, two males--worse, and two males with either intact, "there will be blood". As you know, you can't always be home, or always take the dog with you, so get a second dog. A different breed is fine--though no terriers, those are in fact the exception to the rule, even mixed sex and same size--can still have trouble when terriers are involved. Just get two dogs--better for their mental health--and yours too.

[@backtobreeality]

It’s definitely ideal to have two dogs, but there’s a lot of reasons a person may only be able to have one dog - financial reasons, housing restrictions, etc. In my experience, your family becomes your dog’s “pack” and a solo dog can still live full, rich, low-anxiety life with a loving family.

[@jimquantic]

@@backtobreeality agree

[@jimquantic]

Agree @@backtobreeality