Separation Training for Puppies and Adult Dogs

This tutorial is on separation training or in other words teaching your dog to feel calm and relaxed when left home alone. The way I approach separation training for dogs and puppies is setting the dog up for success by training him what I do want him to do and how I do want him to feel and leaving little room for error.
It really depends on the puppy or dog and their previous training and experiences as to how fast you can progress through the steps as well as how quickly you can add duration. With my own puppy Halo the breeder had already worked with Separation from people and dogs before I got him, so I could on day one already give him alone time a few times a day when he was feeling like a nap. Tug my terrier came to me with separation anxiety, where I could not leave him alone at all. So for a month I build up the amount of time he could be left slowly and carefully to the point where I could leave for a couple of hours. By working on the settle you can tell when criteria is too high because the dog do will get up to follow you or get up and approach the barrier they are behind. It is a good visual signal for someone who is not good at reading dog body language to lower criteria without a set back in training.
Teach go to the bed:
• The EASIEST way to tra...
Teach go in the crate:
• Teach Go in Your Crate
The steps:
1 Reinforce a settle and calmness around food
2 Teach your dog to go to his bed and go in his crate or pen
3 Add duration while next to the crate or pen
4 Add movement away from the enclosure
5 Alone time
Information on spending too much time in a crate or pen:
• Crates and tethering: ...
Information on housetraining and setting up the pen with a litterbox:
• Housetraining 101
Check out my dogs’ daily antics on INSTAGRAM: / kikopup
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Happy Training!
- Emily Larlham (AKA Kikopup)
#dogtraining #professionaldogtraining #separationtraining

[@drman427]

Update on Ace - I have gotten him involved in playing some of the games kzbin.infoUgkx1_veP7CApJK_GWy_TczaMciuG64PqJeU and I can see a difference in his confidence already! My other dog played along and he became intrigued - now its a daily part of our routine - about 3 times a day we do the shell game and the muffin tin game. I am so grateful for coming upon your training techniques!

[@rebeccacaffet]

I have a 9 week old puppy, I've only had her about 5-6 days now and have had difficulties going into another room or even on the couch without her crying to follow me. I brought the kennel right beside the couch and started giving her treats through the back end of the kennel whenever she would look at it or go into it.. been doing this along with a calm "good" marker for 30 minutes now and the difference is crazy. She's hardly interested in me on the couch at all now! And is going into the crate constantly but leaving shortly after, this is fine I dont expect instant results but the change I've seen is extremely rewarding for me. Thank you!

[@TheDogVlog]

I really appreciate the comment about how ignoring the behaviours you don't like can lead to worse behaviour. That's definitely been my experience.

[@kikopup]

Some dogs just are a little more talkative and then settle down and are happy alone, but others aren't and trying to work through it, well just let's them rehearse all that unwanted behavior as their first behaviors when being left alone for the first time... So for me, it's important to at least reinforce what you do want first.

[@infidelle455]

The settle has changed my life. I have been religiously watching and rewatching your videos over the past several weeks in the preparation of getting my puppy. It of course hasn't been easy, but I've had my little boy not even 1 week and every new person who meets him is in utter awe over how calm, well-behaved, and chill he is for a puppy. You have changed lives and I can't thank you enough!

[@kikopup]

Awe thanks! I know it changed my training :) I am going to release a new video about the settle either tomorrow or the next day.

[@jemmacox]

Of all the dog taining videos on KZbin, I come back to yours time and time and again. Just the best!

[@SharonLKirby]

So much excellent advice and training tips throughout this video! Great job, as usual.

[@AndreyUlanovxzzz]

This is one of the best advice I've seen on this topic. Thank you!

[@SusanneBark]

Brilliant as usual.

[@brandimt590]

Another great video Emily. Thank you so much.

[@7thCobweb]

you're simply the best! 🥰

[@amyrex3575]

Excellent as always!

[@hannahschewe357]

Wonderful video. I really appreciate the videos focusing on more behavior modifications

[@Cheere]

Great job, bless you and all lovely dogs

[@Strabbit4275]

I'm glad you said not to just ignore the whining and bad behavior. Everything I've seen online so far has sad I need to do that. I've been doing that with my puppy and he's just been getting frustrated and he has been getting worse with bad behavior.

[@kikopup]

Here is a video about interrupting behavior and the 10 different ways you can do it without having to use physical or psychological intimidation. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r33VZJSjmp6Dqs0

[@jenwalker9419]

Thank you for this (now) very timely and information video tutorial!

[@analarson2920]

I love the crate, so a nice den for the dog. It has helped our dogs and us. Wish I knew what I know now years ago. Love the videos, prayers to the journey

[@vildhallon4709]

Thank you for this! I have a 10 month old pup that hates being alone and I will definitely try this! Better slow and steady than to force anything

[@sherigaynorcreativeawakenings]

Super helpful!!! Thank you.

[@relaxmydog]

Thank you so much for sharing this vlog - separation anxiety is much more common in dogs than people think - it's important for owners to know what it is and how they can help their pups. Thanks again

[@kikopup]

awe thanks!

[@ellieknott1962]

This is so helpful, thank you!

[@Sparksnorthern]

This is such a great video. I'm 3 days in with my puppy and have just been putting him into his crate and having him just "work it out" on his own. I'm sure this proactive approach will be more effective and get him to relax much faster than what I've been doing.

[@tamstastylife8149]

amazing video again like always

[@wolfiri6442]

You are my favorite dog trainer ever! I love your way of reinforcing behaviours you want your dog to do instead of simply ignoring the bad ones. Your techniques and insights are amazing and so effective. Thank you for all the great content :)

[@kikopup]

Awe thanks a lot and thank you for supporting the creation of the free videos! It means a lot to me!

[@7thCobweb]

i trained my dog just like this when she was a little puppy. it was a relatively fast process and there was no difficulty. great tutorial! edit: some dogs like to have blankets over their crate and generally to have their crate in a corner where they feel safe and are not going to be bothered by people walking by etc. my dog fell asleep faster and went to her crate more often when i put a blanket over it. it was like a little cave, and it's still her favorite spot in the house, we just never close the crate now

[@kikopup]

the blanket is an awesome idea :) Just for some dogs make sure they cant pull it into the crate. I use those octagon pens, and wish loves to be in hers, its like a cave, I got sick of having it in my room, and so removed it and jsut left her bed next to my bed, but she was up all night pacing around discontented so I put it back the next day.

[@analarson2920]

We do that too and we noticed she is calmer in general.

[@ruggafluff]

Started doing this with our rescue pup when this video came out, just a few days ago. Already she's choosing to lay calmly in her crate, with the door open! It's like someone replaced our dog with a calmer lookalike, and in only a few days. Thanks so much for making these videos. It's made a lot of difference for our high-strung, traumatized former stray.

[@kikopup]

Well, it's the work you put in. It's easy to watch a video, harder to put it into practice. So well done.

[@Dahlily]

Uh this is giving me hope! We're getting a rescue pup soon and separation anxiety is my number one anxiety since I live in an apartment and will have to leave for work etc eventually.

[@jimaaron6746]

Prayers sent to these dogs

[@earth2wendy]

A great reminder that even these everyday “life” behaviors need to be trained! Love your idea of having a wire crate near where you tend to settle so the dog(s) can build up a huge reinforcement history inside their confinement area as you work toward giving them freedom in the house. I can see how doing Dr. Karen Overall’s Relaxation Protocol with my two dogs must have serendipitously served me, as I did not consciously train “home alone” behaviors. A different tip that’s served me well in the past is to combine crate training with housecleaning. As my dogs could hear me rattling about the house, particularly during vacuuming, they were readily conditioned to relax and/or fall asleep in their crates long before ever being left alone. I loved seeing exactly how you set up your own dogs to relax and wait, unattended, as you leave. I would not have guessed you leave the little(s) and bigs all together in one room. But they are clearly in a calm and totally trusting state of mind about your reliable return in due time to attend to their needs. Animals just want to know what the heck is going on, what’s going to happen next. Our pups are constantly scanning us for clues. Predictable routines and consistently used cues help so much. I talk way too much to my bc. You distill your utterances to such clear, consistent language that I’m sure helps remove so much uncertainty. What a wonderful example you set, Emily. ❤

[@mimitello8322]

This is FANTASTIC information :) Thank you so much. It works!!!

[@kikopup]

Thanks!

[@lisetterossman377]

You are amazing, Emily! Love, love, love this video, and you know I am taking notes for future reference! Lisette

[@kikopup]

Awe thanks :) I wonder if it comes off confusing that most of the video the dog isnt "alone"... but its giving the dog skills to be comfortable "just being" and easy for people with little skills to follow. Instead of closing the door on a dog and trying to time the dog... which usually ends up with the dog confused and frustrated and hating when duration is added.

[@lisetterossman377]

@@kikopup No, this was just perfect and the message was 100% clear :)

[@01Bonnie03]

Best dog-teacher I know :-)

[@niralidundhalmeida4742]

I agree

[@zoebarbie]

I'm going to start on this first thing in the morning! Before Covid Nakia had finally learned at 6 months that being alone in living room was fine, no accidents, no barking but minimal crying. 18 months later she is so clingy, I can't even pop into the shop for a few things without her barking and howling and crying. I tried leaving for short bursts like 5 mins 10 mins 15 mins but none of that has worked. I have 2 weeks before I go back to work. Hopefully, we can get to calmness when I leave the house in that time (though I do have a sitter that will watch her for a half day). Thank you for this video, never seen such a helpful breakdown of how to keep the dog relaxed and calm when left alone 👍🏾

[@CreativeDiamondDogs]

Very enjoyable and informative. It was rather nice how fast crate training got my collie to be calm while in there. Now at night when its bed time as soon as I start to pick her up she immediately gets up on her own accord and walks right in and lays down.

[@kikopup]

I've got the problem where my puppy is too fast going to the room for separation... I have to hold his collar sometimes so he doesnt break his legs skidding round the corner to get to the room...

[@tedjack9184]

Thank you for this tutorial. We understand better and better the importance of the first week at home. ( We also like the joking part).

[@analarson2920]

We always take a week off to transition the pup with at least one family member. Works like a charm.

[@dabodo932]

Thanks for posting another fantastic tutorial. Your commitment, time, dedication, enthusiasm is very much appreciated & exceedingly valuable. I think it’s wonderful to see a growing number of thumbs up on your dog welfare tutorials. My next step is to try to learn how I can cope with separation from my beautiful Cavalier Queen Charles!!! Absolutely love all what you do. Thank you so much.

[@kikopup]

yes I need to work on my problem with leaving my dogs. :)

[@dabodo932]

@@kikopup I understand completely!!!

[@derekb.9177]

@@kikopup Please,dear Kikopup,i hate dog-cages and even more since look what happened to the hip-hop artist Rocky Badd(Cuban Doll did this) Ok.No dog-cages.Alltime wrong.But starts 8 minutes and 27 seconds,a much better solution,even if the dog can't see around.But the same dog is too sweet as an example for this.When you explain and say"and in four weeks the new Metallica longplay gets dropped,written by the finnish drummer Lars Ullrich,alone"and go on with the dogs,nobody would check,why changing the theme so much,cause "all eyez on me". And this is the ultra-sweet puppy.

[@desautumn]

Thank you so much for this video! Our heeler was very easy to crate train and settled well. We have a 12 week old shiba inu and she is really struggling with it. I’m going to start doing these steps ASAP! We have already been rewarding for calmness so that will help.

[@kikopup]

Congrats on your new puppy! Stay positive :) That is always important

[@gabrielam2144]

I love the concept of focusing on rewarding the behaviors you do want instead of ignoring the ones that you don't, I think this video is really helpful and the steps are easy to practice even if you have little to non previous experience with dogs with separation anxiety, thank you for sharing 😊

[@kikopup]

Thanks Gabriela :)

[@user-vq3qi3ox1z]

Great Video, Emily!! I try and sneak my keys into my pocket before she knows I’m going so she doesn’t hear the jingle. Basically sneak out while she’s busy with a Kong. Lol.

[@karenwinter2746]

Emily, you are the bomb! This video is so well organized. I love how you focus on setting the dog up to do what you want, cover the disadvantages of ignoring barking in the crate, reinforcing calm behavior and body language, demonstrate marking and rewarding calmly with increased duration and movement, how to troubleshoot, and how to give the dog more freedom in the house when s/he is ready. Awesome!

[@jeffkoons001]

what karen said!!!!!!

[@lorriejohns7597]

I’m so

[@lorriejohns7597]

I’m so

[@lorriejohns7597]

I’m 😅

[@lorriejohns7597]

I’m so

[@Clover13]

I can’t wait to try this method. We have had our puppy for a month and he is fine in crate at night but is struggling during the day, if I go out of sight etc. Ignoring the barking has not been effective so far, I think he has learned the behaviour pattern you mentioned about offering vocalisation before offering calmness, so not ideal. I think I will go back to basics with this video, thank you!

[@hithere5768]

Did it work?

[@fruitsandfourpaws]

How did it go? 😊

[@issadesignedembroidery]

Me too. 2.5w of puppy and I'm exhausted!!

[@chihuahuabulldog]

I only watched the first 0:55 of this video and can tell it is going to be, as usual, an excellent training tool! In just over a month I will be dog sitting (2 weeks) for three dogs, two of which come inside for feeding and night in their crates, eventually. I WILL watch your recent "house" training video and let you know how it goes. Just not enough migraine-free time to watch right now, even though I always love your videos. Thank you so much for caring, sharing and teaching!

[@kikopup]

:) Good luck with the house sitting :)

[@amberthomas2227]

This video is so great! Quick question though, what is the best thing to do if he’s exhibiting unwanted behaviors outside of training sessions? We are working with our pup to be calm in his pen and during training sessions it works wonderfully. He lays down calmly or chews on his bully stick. But, for safety, and because he currently likes his pen more than his crate, we put him in here for naps or to sleep at night, or if he’s becoming a land shark and needs to calm his play down a bit. Sometimes this works, but other times he paces, howls, and starts chewing on the bars, even if I’m sitting right outside of the pen. My instinct is to redirect him to a toy also in his pen, but then he thinks I’m playing with him, and only playing/paying attention when he’s doing something naughty. He seems to know what we want when he’s calm, and his settle is quickly becoming a default, but otherwise he loses it and practices behaviors I’d rather he not get used to. Any advice here would be much appreciated. Thank you so much for this, and all of your videos! 🤗

[@vev8594]

This training has been SO helpful with separation training for my dog! I am just stuck on one step: my dog has now learned to settle/nap in her room but as soon as she wakes up (usually only 30 min to an hr) she gets restless and starts whining at the door. I leave her with puzzles and chews and stuff but she only uses them for a few min tops. How can I increase duration of her separations? A lot of ppl I know have dogs that just "sleep and relax all day" when they're at work and I want to know how I can help my dog do that too?

[@saulmelman]

Hello Emily, a trainer referred me to your youtube channel which is excellent ! We have an 11 week old puppy that we are teaching incrementally to be alone in his crate and/or playroom. We were advised to allow "some amount of sounds" that indicate the puppy recognizes it's alone "but not too much" before returning to the crate / playroom. This is the most challenging aspect of this training for us because - besides the obvious - we don't really know what is "too much" - we definitely want to avoid training the puppy that if it vocalizes we will return - essentially teaching it the exact opposite of what we are aiming for. How do we set up the puppy (and ourselves for success) with this specific aspect if the training ? Thank you !

[@kangakong]

This is a very informative and well thought out video. I have a very well trained service dog, however I over looked one thing when training - teaching him to be calm on the rare occasion I don't take him with me. Such as if I'm in the hospital overnight or going to a family members home who has high allergies with dogs. He's a howler. I usually give him a run prior to my leaving, then he's too tired to howl, but he gets his second wind. I'm going to use this information presented. Thank you! By the way, KZbin unsubbed me from your channel. I went directly to your channel since I hadn't seen a video for awhile. I get unsubbed pretty frequently to channels and then subbed to channels I have no interest in. I'm surprised KZbin unsubbed me from your channel since there is nothing controversial I've seen. I think you're the best trainer on here. KZbin doesn't follow a path of logic.

[@kikopup]

Sometimes dogs do best left in the situation that you go to bed in, like being closed in the bedroom. However if the dog is used to paying attention to you for service work or likes laying against you the picture changes when you leave. One thing you can do, is take your dog to bed tell him "see you later" give him a biscuit then close him in the bedroom as you brush your teeth load dishwasher etc... (after the training in this video if your dog really has an issue) then extend the time, hae your dog go to bed, then watch a show on tv, then join him, when you enter the room just calmly walk and hop into bed no greeting. I did this trainign with my dogs because they were weirded out when I left late in the night. But for some reason my dogs seem to need to go to the vet late in the night, and then I spend hours and hours in the ER anda ll my other dogs are at home. SO now after I trained them to be alone at night, they do great they think its bedtime even though Im not there. Thats so weird :( And lame about the unsub. Was it recently?

[@tahqiqtv9051]

Nice

[@froast574]

Love how you explain why you don't ignore the behaviors you don't want. Extinction burst behavior is stressful to watch when you know dog language and I wasn't a fan of dog trainers that let it happen. Thanks for giving us a solution!

[@kikopup]

I guess if you really know your dog you can decide if ignoring is ok. I mean there are some dogs that might just whine once and give into their fate... but others that go into an extreme panic, or learn to do it forever before giving up... etc.

[@froast574]

@@kikopup thanks for the insightful reply. :)

[@olgalamm5679]

Thanks very much for all your videos and advice. I have been trying to train my dog to be on his own but I think he is anxious so I thought I will try this leaving not much room for error method. It turns out that I can leave him in the crate, he is perfectly happy and settled there with the door closed as long as I am in the house. However as soon as he hears me leaving the house his head is up and he starts crying. I have opened and closed the front door and got out and straight back in a thousand times (although not while he is in the crate as I just started that now). Any advice for this please?

[@jessicaboyd9148]

Love this! Thank you for making this tutorial. What would you do if you have a puppy who does not like treats?

[@kikopup]

Interestingly enough the settle exercise that is step 1 works great, because you are not asking for any behavior, and it can build interest in eating food without the pressure of doing a behavior first. You can use teh food your puppy eats, and drop a piece between his paws when he settles. There is also this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZ-8f5RmipqEkLc

[@rnagare9944]

You are a very good Dog trainer Kiko... And your way to teach is really preeminent.

[@kampover]

Hi, I just wanted to tell you our progress. I've been following your advice for a month now. My puppy now goes to sleep in her crate on her own during the day. At night she sleeps well in her crate since the beginning. Sometimes I have to remind her not to sleep anywhere else (she loves the sofa). I have been training her to stay in her crate, using the "place" command. Now she can stay calmly in her open crate, while I am out of sight, for about 15 seconds. When I'm in sight, she can stay in her open crate for about a minute. I feed her in her crate. This is a huge improvement. I hope that someday, she will stay in her closed crate without screaming while I'm gone.

[@kikopup]

I suggest playing the same games with an exercise pen in your house you can set it up next to a couch and leave and come back when shes settled or playing on her own. You could also experiment with leaving her in a large pen with a crate in it.

[@jensonly]

Great video! In the future can you do one where you interrupting unwanted behaviors?

[@kikopup]

I did interrupt two behaviors in this video, the puppy putting paws up and the dog leaving the crate. Do you mean somethign like this but with examples? kzbin.info/www/bejne/r33VZJSjmp6Dqs0 When you set up the training in small achievable steps then you dont really have to interrupt much

[@WickedPlaysChannel]

Hello Emily, my 10 week old border collie is making training a little confusing for me. I try to praise calmness and sit in his pen with him, but whenever he’s ready to sleep, he will come to my lap. He knows to go in his crate and I’ve fed him part of his meals in there, calmly. I’ve also made a mistake following advice to let the dog cry it out for as long as it needs in the pen / crate area. I found a middle ground solution of laying just out of the pen area until he falls asleep but he sometimes wakes up at the slightest noise and we’re back to square one. He’s not allowed free reign of the house because I have 3 cats and he chases them (I am practicing desensitization on that) so it’s been hard to capture calmness like you’ve done in your other video. When he does settle in his crate, I can’t reach the crate to give him treats as the pen is on the way. I’m considering changing the layout to make that possible, but I’m afraid that will put me back in the square one for training with him. I am buying your puppy insights membership. Hopefully I can learn what else I’ve been doing wrong lol. Anyway, you’re great, thank you so much for your great videos. I’m so glad I found you and I wish I had found you sooner.

[@kikopup]

I suggest teaching a default leave it from the cats kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJu8l36BZpyNeNU

[@magdalenakaminska2057]

Hello! I was hoping for some advice as I’m lost with this training. I have a 11-week-old GR puppy, who is very energetic and the only times that he’s relaxed are when he’s almost asleep. Is it a good time to train? Thank you!

[@Maria-io7fx]

How long does it take to see improvements in separation anxiety? I am having a very hard time preventing my 8 month old puppy from going over threshold when I leave in the morning. Currently Using an indoor pen. It only started just about 2 weeks ago but I also work Monday-Friday so adding pen games and calming activities and doing the calming yo-yo exercise has only desensitized him partially but I still Can’t leave the room. He barks to come out when he’s done with his treats/bone, even if I’m rig next to him. I feel like I’m making it worse more than better when I leave everyday but I have to work. I’m following your recommendations here, he gets a 2 hr break where I exercise him at lunch, mental stimulation and physical before/after, it’s just a 1-2 min outburst of barking and then he settles for a nap. Thanks!!

[@shhhpark]

hi! came across this channel looking for puppy training recommendations. I have a ~9-10 week old puppy and i've been trying to crate train/house break her and she refuses to sleep anywhere but on my lap or right near me on the bed. Any suggestions to get her to focus? I always feed her in her crate but she doesnt appear to like being away from me at all unless playing with my other puppy who was already 4 when we got her. Thanks for the great videos!

[@FarmerFpv]

Wow! @2:34 What a gorgeous dog! What breed? Some kind of cattle dog?

[@kikopup]

A mix of many breeds according to the dna test I believe cattle dog was one.

[@lazulianwater]

My 8 month puppy whines, barks, and cries everytime I leave home for work. My issue is that she's totally fine when left in the crate and I'm around, but she hates it when I leave. I didn't really understand the "alone time" part of this guide. How do I train her if I'm not in the house? If I come back and feed her isnt that reinforcing me coming back? Or do the treats stop once alone time begins? Also for management, since I have to leave for work, it's a little hard to slowly increase the alone duration criteria. Does this mean I won't be able to do this training program due to the poor management? And a final question is how do I get her to play with toys when I'm gone?

[@cindyd310]

Do you have any tips for owners who didn't have enough time to do this type of training, and had no choice but to leave their dogs alone? I think a lot of people are in this situation, surrendering their animals back to shelters since returning to work.

[@cgallo8197]

Very good lesson in separation training, thank you so much.. I have one question. Where do you keep a dog when you have to leave the house and they are not comfortable being left alone in a crate yet? I lose progress on getting my dog comfortable in a crate because she associates the crate with being left alone. If I don't use the crate she destroys things. I've done everything the videos say...exercise her, puzzle toys, leave clothes with my scent on it, have music/TV on. SIGH!!

[@delvallo9652]

Exactly, these happy path training videos are not applicable to many dogs

[@katherinenorthcarroll2603]

We have a pen and inside is a crate with an open door (for now). My puppy whines if I am outside the pen, so I have been standing inside the pen and waiting until he settles into his crate (I leave the crate door open), and then step out of the pen. I can't sit next to his crate and give him treats slowly and be outside the pen which is your suggestion on how to start the process of eliminating separation anxiety. Do you have a suggestion on how I can increase distance and have puppy feel okay? He whines in the pen even if I am in the same room. I try to not let it happen and am now captive to my puppy's naps! Thank you.

[@jessicaracanelli818]

Thank you :) Great video! My 6month old puppy is arriving shortly. Do you recommend to get a pen beforehand or wait to see how he behaves?

[@kikopup]

It depends on the training he had before. I suggest yes, for the first month monitor behavior when the dog is loose in the house and use a pen to train him to be alone when gone, so that you set him up for success, then as he succeeds have more free access gradually. With large dogs you can also use a room divider and then have the dog on one side of the room, if the floor isnt the type that could get chewed or ruined, and you can put something like windergreen oil on wood skirting. But its best with a very large dog to work on the separation training while you are home and in steps like in this video so if the dog had a habit of chewing you would be there to then go and interrupt it instead of the dog being left for many hours where they might think to start clawing or chewing on the walls or wood features.

[@jessicaracanelli818]

@@kikopup Thank you! He's a samoyed, so he's about 30lbs now, he'll be about 60lbs as adult. He seems to have a good temperament & he seems quite calm, but of course I won't know until he's here with me. For a pen, I saw you had a gate up, is that a kiddie gate or is it specifically for dogs?

[@inkwhiskers9948]

I'm going to try this with my 11wk old Aussie. She's such a snuggle bun that I think it makes seperation anxiety harder for her. She's also high energy and drive so settling is more difficult, but I will try my best. Ignoring definitely doesn't work, or hasn't for my dogs. They just work themselves up until they panic.

[@hithere5768]

Did it work?

[@inkwhiskers9948]

@@hithere5768 well to be honest she's never really showed much anxiety after all. I guess it could be my training, but it might also be coincidence🤷‍♀️ She was a little afraid when I first got her but I guess she grew out of it.

[@walkerjohnson8052]

Hello! I have a troubleshooting question I’m hoping someone can answer! How should I get started with this if my puppy doesn’t settle on his own? He only falls asleep while cuddling or if he is in his crate with no distractions

[@melissasilvestre2442]

Thank you, Emily. I lost my heart dog a few weeks ago and while I am nowhere near ready to think about adding another companion, watching this video helps me to see that some of the things I find daunting (like the skills you demonstrated here) can be managed. Would the same or similar process work on an older dog who was adopted ?

[@user-vq3qi3ox1z]

Melissa Silvestre I’m sorry for your loss. I’ve been watching Kikopup since she started (I think) and adopted two dogs 🐕 from shelters. One 8 years old. One about a year. Kikopup method works and the dogs love it. It’s like sign language for dogs. Take your time. My girl popped up on Petfinder in Alabama looking so pathetic I couldn’t stop thinking of her. Now everybody stops us every single walk asking what breed. She is so beautiful and cute. I say rescue, mutt? Lol 😂. She can do weaving, cross paws , cop cop, many cute tricks. I believe the right one will come when you are ready. ❤️🐕

[@kikopup]

​@@user-vq3qi3ox1z Awe. Yes. That happened to me too when I adopted Kiko and Tug. It was like I could not even sleep at night I was so obsessed with them.

[@kikopup]

Yes its the same process. But it really depends on the dog how fast or slow you progress. I do believe starting day one and immediately getting the dog used to being left alone and comfortable with it. Some dogs at shelters are comfortable being left alone all day, others might have ended up there who have never been left. I think its smart if you work a lot to not intentionally get a dog who struggles with being left alone from the get go...

[@melissasilvestre2442]

Dog Training by Kikopup thanks! Luckily I work from home so I’m hoping whether I have a pup, a rescue pup or a rescue adult or senior that I will be able to help them build the confidence and skill in being alone when they have to be. Thank you both so much!

[@user-vq3qi3ox1z]

Dog Training by Kikopup lol Emily, Just when I saw your ❤️ pop up, my girl started barking and pacing cause she needed a walk. I was laughing and told her I JUST was bragging about her to the best trainer on earth. Lol. She nods and says no. (I didn’t teach her.) Lol Yes a process😂

[@TH-gu8jo]

My five month puppy jumps up and down constantly when I leave her in the pen - I have left her no longer than 20mins. I am worried she will damage her little legs. She doesn't like the crate and becomes distressed. Feeling at a loss as what to do!! Any suggestions would be gratefully received. Thank you :)

[@BlackShepherdAzzy]

Watching this over and over again so I dont forget how to do this lol. Puppy was just born yesterday! I have 8 weeks to prepare!

[@BlackShepherdAzzy]

@@ejs5763 very well! He is 9 months old now and is able to be out of his crate completely when we’re out of the house

[@marieke6687]

I think my cat is jealous of Kiko's little cave, he suddenly looked up and didn't look away 😂 I do have one question, what can you do when you are a single human household and you need to get groceries or something when you just brought your pup home?

[@desertrose2085]

What do you do if you give him the treat while he’s settled, before the crate bit, but he then pops up to follow you? How could I avoid him thinking he’s supposed to follow, get redirected back down, and then get another treat?

[@thedukeofno]

What do you do if during step 3 (4:30) the dog is tearing at his bed. I have a 14 week old boston terrier.

[@madeleinehecker7599]

Great video as always ! It’s very useful for me as we are going to be fostering a dog very soon, an 18 month-old dog that has always lived outside (i live in Romania where there are many strays, but I am a French vet student aha). I am a bit worried about leaving him alone... My dog is totally fine left alone, leaving her a lot of chew toys really helped with her training. Now when alone she sleeps and plays a little with her toys (I walk her right before I leave the house). We were thinking to put the foster dog in a bedroom with the door closed (is a baby gate a better option ?) and put my dog in my bedroom in the opposite side of the apartment. When do you know you can leave your dogs alone together in the same room ? Thanks for your suggestions! Ps: I see Wish has a cool pen, is it because it reassures her to have a roof and her own personal space ?

[@kikopup]

yes Wish loves that pen and her personal space. I trained the other dogs not to go in there. I suggest beginning with the dog in a pen, then expand to the room, unless you begin the separation while you are home and you can see what the dog is doing on camera as you extend the time. I leave dogs together when I know they wont argue or play to excitedly. Wish my 3 year old is very scared of dogs going near her face and her butt. And was scared of Halo, so I did not keep them together when I left, only recently. I gradually worked on the issue of wish being ok with Halo smelling her as that was the 1 thing that I thought could cause Wish to get angry at the puppy. Now when I am home I see him sniff her and she looks relaxed. If she still didnt I would still separate them and make sure to keep working on it.

[@madeleinehecker7599]

Dog Training by Kikopup Thank your for your reply ! The pen for Wish is a great idea. What type of pen to you suggest for an adult 25kg dog ? With a roof ? Or just a baby gate to a secured room ? I see, Wish needs more time. How to you separate them ? In two groups ? Have you taught each dog to be able to stay alone on their own or are they always with another dog ? Thanks again for your amazing work, I can’t wait to see all the online content you are preparing !

[@kikopup]

@@madeleinehecker7599 Well, I do work on them being all alone by themselves at times so they will be ok if they were to go to the vet. I have to remember to keep up this training with my terrier, he doesnt care about being with any of my dogs but he sees Splash as a comfort and lays against her when I am gone, so when splash is not in the room, he can regress. So I make sure to leave him without splash from time to time. This is easy for me because I take my dogs on one on one outings and mix up who walks with who, so the dogs are getting left alone with random combinations. I used to keep Halo in my office and the others in the bedroom, and when I first got Halo, he would sleep in a crate in my bedroom so he wouldnt go and interact with Wish while I was asleep. But now Halo sleeps on the bed with me. I just started leaving them all together now that I trust that all my dogs wont argue without guidance from me.

[@turkishluv]

This is the best video about this topic that I encountered so far. I think this may work for my dog but I am also worried. My dog is 3 years old. She was fine staying in the house alone, she usually just relaxed and slept until we got back. I told her "will be back" and she would go lay down on her spot. We moved two times before, she was fine, always adjusted within 2-3 days. But this last time, we moved (changed cities this time) 3 weeks ago. (also I left the two couch we usually used at the other house, didn't get new ones yet so the room is kind of empty) I can't get out of the house since the first day! She panics, she vocalizes, she is very loud. I am worried that if I start crate training, which I never did, she might get confused? because she already actually knew how to behave? I am afraid I might encourage her vocalizing somehow if I start on any other approach. She never got treats, would she be like "Ohh, I get treats now! Let's keep up the unwanted behavior". Please help, should I try the approach on the video? I can't go out unless I am walking her :(( Also, she is a cockalier.

[@kikopup]

You give the dog the treat when they are not thinking about the treat to teach them to be calm around the food first before using it. I suggest trying to mimic the setup that worked before. And dont repeat the picture that didnt work in the new place. I suggest practicing leaving your dog in one of the rooms of the new place with music on while you are home during training sessions then your dog doesnt know if you are home or not. I really suggest building and reinforcing a place that the dog goes to relax.

[@turkishluv]

@@kikopup thank you so much. I started exercising being calm around food today, it is not going bad. 💓

[@turkishluv]

@@kikopup Hello again! I took your advice about trying to mimic the setup that worked before and only changed the location of one couch. She used to sleep on that couch when we were gone, so I put the couch on the left to the door. (it was it's location at the previous house) Her vocalizing is almost gone!!!! I can't believe it! For the last two days, she only whines for the first couple of seconds and goes to the couch and just sleeps there :) I hope this will go on and we won't go back to vocalizing like crazy :)) Thank you soooo much for your advice! This little arrangement made a huge difference.

[@cassandralam7347]

Hey guys, I just have a quick question as I'm struggling with pen training my puppy as she's moved around a lot in her first year. Does this mean that before the first few steps of training puppies cannot be introduced to the pen/left in the pen for short periods of time?

[@samfrances3489]

I wasn't sure what "quickly interrupt this behaviour" meant. Do you do that by giving the dog another command they already know like "sit" etc.?

[@MrRads]

I am trying your training method here with an older Chihuahua that Pees all around the house whenever we are gone and go to bed for the night. Due to this we started locking him up with a gate in the laundry room at night as well as when we have to go out with a potty pad (and bed) but all he does is bark all night long. We are having trouble training him on any of the things in the video due to his age it seems. Do you have any suggestions that might make this process easier?

[@beachgirl4583]

Emily, would you consider working with me to help my Lab with her neuroses? Separation anxiety is her biggest issue. She’s also bossy with me, but can be easy for others. She’s got other issues, like floor fears, and anxiety at farmers markets, where she displays submissive behavior (not aggressively). Mostly, I’d like to leave the house without her a couple of times a week. I can’t leave her because she barks nonstop when I do. I know you gave me a list of local trainers, but I like your training approach. Thank you.

[@kikopup]

I dont do private lessons at the moment because I am focusing on creating online content. BUt I can suggest to go to malenademartini.com/ they do online training for dogs with separation anxiety.

[@ivan11581]

How to teach dog separation,when I dont have fence or thing like that?Like I left my 2 months old puppy in yard with toys .Now when I dont work this week,I left her in the yard for 1 hour with toys and in the workshop she has bed,water .But she is barking,and makeing other noises ignoreing yard where she plays and toys. Today is third day of traning

[@farahziabutt9640]

Hello dear Emily, Its been awile sinds i came with a question. My Haru is now 2 years old. And at night he sleeps with me in my room. Sorry for that 😁! But at daytime he goes into another room and sleeps in there. First i was proud to see that he getting independent. But now i just wonder maybe it is something else? No he is not feeling sick or something like that. He still has some little separation anxiety but not that much as it was before. So my question is; couldnit be something else why he would choose to stay some time alone in another room than being independence? Thank you for this video and your time! Take care 🤗🤗🤗

[@GuitarNewz]

Our puppy could be alone for 4h when freein the living. In a crate or playpen he got super super hysterical. IF he happens to have an accident, so be it, he will learn to holdit longer and longer.

[@kampover]

My puppy is ok in the open crate and stays there as long as she can see me. But for now she takes it as training and when I give the release command, she happily goes away and curls up to nap elsewhere. When I tell her to, she goes to sleep in the open crate at night, but she doesn't go there willingly. She would rather sleep on the floor then to go to her crate on her own :D

[@SaraGG92]

Hello, is the crate essential in this training ? Can we just use the dog bed in a room ?

[@kikopup]

No its not essential. :) A pen or a room with a bed works great! I suggest working on a variation of different places, for my puppy Im working on the pen in my office, the bed in my bedroom, and a crate in the car to help generalize the behavior so if she has to be left somewhere new it will be a little easier than if shes only ok in the 1 situation.

[@linzibop]

Is it normal for a pup to feel adverse towards staying in a particular room? Our pup is fine if we leave her in the living room (no whining, will settle, plays for a bit when she wakes up before eventually whining), but we can't leave her in there when we go out as there's too much stuff she could destroy should she feel so inclined. The kitchen is the room we need her to settle down in, but she seems to hate it in there! We've managed to get from 0 seconds without whining to 1 minute so far...but it has taken weeks. Please tell me patience and perseverance will prevail?!

[@jessieb.4550]

how do you interrupt an unwanted behavior? do you use words, gently move them?

[@brianabonter2425]

For alone time practice, what happens if they whine and cry before you can get to them?

[@Maria-io7fx]

Hopefully a question for the pod! How long does it take to see improvements in separation anxiety? I am having a very hard time preventing my 8 month old puppy from going over threshold when I leave in the morning. Currently Using an indoor pen. It only started just about 2 weeks ago but I also work Monday-Friday so adding pen games and doing the calming yo-yo exercise has only desensitized him partially but I still Can’t leave the room. I feel like I’m making it worse more than better when I leave everyday but I have to work. I’m following your morning routine, he gets a 2 hr break where I exercise him at lunch, mental stimulation and physical before/after, it’s just a 1-2 min outburst of barking and then he settles for a nap. Thanks!!

[@alexie838]

Hi I am glad to read your story. I have same problem. My dog 12 and 10 years old had move to our new apartment and he had barking when I was leave them alone. I have practive them until now.. they only can left for 30 minutes , and then start to barking again for 1-2 minutes.. So, how about yours? Does Everything is well?

[@Maria-io7fx]

@@alexie838 hi! I hope the situation has improved since. My puppy has stopped doing this. I sensed it was more of a demand bark rather than a Whiny separation anxiety bark. We worked on more impulse control, desensitization, and classical conditioning. I think he was going through a phase in his adolescence and pushing boundaries a bit

[@brittanyharry2186]

We are a nonprofit in NC and would love to add your videos to our blog or share onto our website for foster and adopter resources. Would you be ok with that?

[@kikopup]

Yes, I have enabled embedding :) You are welcome.

[@stefanie5205]

what if the dog does digging in the crate? That's a behaviour I don't manage to stop when she starts it

[@lauraspencer5615]

I think with my dog when I trained this I didn't focus enough on the settle. I think I've trained a down stay in the crate or on a bed but the dog is too focused on me. He's calm but because to focused on me and the food not relaxed. When I sit next to the pen to reward a relaxed settle he gets excited and then gets frustrated that the treats aren't coming fast enough. He's a working fast busy breed so settling doesn't come easy. Should I reward more to shape a relaxed settle and prevent frustration or work through it?

[@kikopup]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6OUoJ-wnM6Xg9k In this video it talks about feeding a treat when the dog is not expecting it. You can do this by having the treat on a counter and nothing on you, then when the dog is relaxing around the house or in his pen you can go get the treat and drop it then show you dont have any more treats in your empty hands so the dog doesnt think its a training session.

[@sarahkalnajs5810]

Question: love the method to avoid barrier frustration but realistically how are you concurrently house training (crate training) a new 8-10 week old puppy? It’s one thing for us as professionals to take time off and spend a week acclimating our dog or puppy to being behind a gate or crate but as I’m sure you’re aware most “regular“ puppy owners can’t take that sort of time off and need to begin using the crate immediately. What do you do when you are thus training to antithetical scenarios at the same time? I ask this genuinely because I am old and there are likely new techniques that pop up that I may not know. I think the sign of any good trainer is to always know that we don’t know it all!

[@kikopup]

It depends on the puppy, I could leave my latest puppy for hours in a pen in a different room with a closed door right from day one, i guess genetics but also the breeder worked on him being separated. Honestly I dont have footage of it because his setup was not safe for a normal puppy... and a little weird. I mean, he was so housetrained that I just had a fancy duvet for him to lay on... lol a normal puppy would eat it and pee on it... With my other puppy I had to set up the pen so it was mainly a litter area.... because she was completely unhousetrained. And my terrier I got with sep anx at 5 months so I couldnt leave him at all the first two weeks and built up over a month to a few hours of leaving him. I do have a house training video kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYuTiXioaal6nNU that goes over me talking about the pen setup and what I do for house training. This video is about how to teach a dog to be calm and think to nap when behind a barrier or home alone. It goes over teaching the dog to "just be" and not be thinking about following you or getting to you when behind a barrier or have a door shut in his face. I do think its the number one thing to work on with puppies and dogs the moment you get them. So with young puppies, putting them in the pen every time they take a nap the first few days. I wanted to make the video longer but it started to get a little confusing, like one should be about getting a young puppy, a normal adult dog and a dog with sep anx, instead of this generalized info video. Having the dog in a pen overnight next to the bed etc I also didnt mention in the video... I guess this video is "fool proof" a normal trainer can put a dog in a pen and tell by the expression on the dogs face if he is going to play and then relax and sleep in his pen with no training. At least if people did this training the first 3 days or hopefully 7 days... with their puppy they might avoid the puppy learning to make noises or feeling stressed when alone. Its a great plan also for apartments where dogs are not to make any noise...I guess because I had the terrier with sep anx and then when I was married had the two sight hounds that had extreme issues... I just wouldn't wish that issue on my worst enemy... It's such a boring issue. And its so liberating when you can leave your dogs and know they are going to be happy if you know what I mean?

[@tedjack9184]

@@kikopup Thanks for your detailed answer.

[@amayberr]

is it possible to occasionally leave my dog at home in the crate if she isn't completely comfortable yet with me leaving? She is good in her crate and will sleep in there during the day when I am home. As soon as I leave the room or have to leave the house, she barks like crazy. Am I messing up her ability to ever be alone? It's not realistic for me to never leave her at home alone until she is ready. I'm talking about leaving her for 1-2 hours.

[@ikermb2377]

Question, i do not have a crane or pen, i just have a house bed that we put on the living room when we leave her alone, the question is we need a crate which i can lock with her inside, or it is enough a house bed where she can walk if she wants around the livinf room?

[@kikopup]

If your dog is great being loose in the living room, you dont need a pen or crate. I leave my dogs loose in the house. But when a dog is untrained I suggest a crate so they dont cause damage to your house and you can work on them feeling comfortable in a smaller space at first before expanding how much space they have if they get more anxious with more space. I train my dogs to be comfortable in a pen and crate, so I can have them in the crates in the car and also for emergencies at the vet- they put them in cages in the back room. You could simulate a pen or crate by just working on your dog being comfortable like in this exercise settling on a bed in your bathroom with a barrier across the doorway as you walk away and come back. etc. to prepare for a vet type experience.

[@ikermb2377]

​@@kikopup I appreciate your reply, The living room it is find, she can not bike anything it is totally prepare for her. we are starting the training for 1 week, we leave her alone 5 minuts 5 times per day, when we left we did not tell to much her and when we return too. next week we pretend start with 10 minuts alone, next one 20 always with 5 repetition per day. did you she this correct? is a puppy 6 months.

[@voncilledemesa2075]

I just got an 8 week old schnoodle who doesn’t find his kibble or treats given to me by Breeder as reinforcing so far. I’m not sure what to try because he barely eats his food and I don’t want to make him sick??? What do you think I should try for training?

[@kikopup]

Dogs show lack of interest in food for many reasons. Its hard to know exactly why it is, but sometimes it can be when food is left down, it can make the puppy disinterested in eating. Also with Kibble, if you put it in water and let it swell up before serving it, it can solve the problem that sometimes happens with puppies in which they eat until they are full but the kibble swells up in the stomach and so they are overly full. Sometimes the kibble swells up to be double the size of what it is dry. I suggest using the morning meal to work on training exercises and then dont train again until just before dinner, then give the meal if there is more of the daily ration left over, but if the puppy shows no interest, pick up the bowl and try again in an hour or two so the puppy isnt feeling off put by the food. I have this video about different treats to use for training too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIHCfoyLncmSeLs

[@voncilledemesa2075]

Dog Training by Kikopup Thank you so much! You’re right the warm water has helped!

[@Pookiii]

Could I ask for some clarification? If your puppy jumps up on the barrier and you interrupt with asking for a sit, does that help the unwanted behaviour? Because we have a border collie pup and always jumps up on the playpen when we leave or are eating. I would like to understand: would the puppy not just jump up to get our attention? If we are having dinner, would he not just jump because he knows that we would ask him for a sit and then reward him (aka giving him the attention that he wants with jumping up)?

[@kikopup]

The key is working on teaching the puppy not to do the jumping up. Feeding the treat from the ground of the xpen and teaching settle on the bed in the pen. What happens when you ignore the puppy is the puppy does lots and lots of practice of jumping... When seeing you eat, it was followed by jumping. That learning cant be undone so better to just interrupt it and prevent it from happening again. Perhaps you put the puppy in a crate next to your feet when you eat or put the puppy in another room where he cant see when you eat, until you have solved the paws up problem. Having the puppy loose and working on going to a bed is also an option (thats what Id do but then again I live alone at the moment so Its easy to do without interrupting a family dinner)

[@Pookiii]

@@kikopup Thank you so much!

[@TaigaVision]

I really need some help. I have a six month puppy and there’s no settling. He whines constantly if he doesn’t get what he wants. If I ignore it it doesn’t help. There’s no laying down and not paying attention to food cause the only way he’s laying down is if he’s in place or eating something. How can I even do this if he doesn’t stop staring at me??

[@paullane8798]

Can you elaborate on the topic you touched on, when correcting an unwanted behaviour, the dog may offer the unwanted behaviour then the wanted behaviour? Our dog will use the unwanted behaviour to get our attention and when we ask for the wanted behaviour she is happy to listen. How do I reinforce the wanted behaviour without encouraging the unwanted?

[@kikopup]

Are you saying something like you are working on the computer or watching tv and the dog barks at you? If its become a habit sometimes you sitting down to watch tv will cue the barking. So what you can do is sit down to watch tv with the dog on a leash and harness and go strait to working on the settle dropping treats etc or go to the bed. The thing with unwanted behavior is that even if you were to use even harsh methods the dog can sometimes be reinforced because they are able to control their environment and when they bark they make you do something. So it seems logical to ignore but this can cause frustration and possibly more intense behavior. If you really build strong cues and proof them, you can tell your dog what you do want them to do. Say for example, "go to your bed" BUt I wouldnt give the dog a treat, in real life training if the dog does something you dont like and then something you do like. If the dog was barking out of frustration for the treats, you could actually sit and massage the dog. As the dog was not barking for attention from you but for the food. This technique can really help calm the dog down when teh food is around and make him less likely to bark for food.

[@paullane8798]

Specifically we are see 2 things. 1. Similar to the watching TV example you gave. Usually after work we will eat dinner and watch tv. She will at this time try to bite our furniture, or jump directly on our coffee table. Calling here Will rarely get her attention. Standing up to will often get her to respond. This is where we lure her and call her away from where she was biting, or tell her off, and point to the floor. She listens when standing, and willing to follow us. It is important to note that she loves training. We can tell she craves training. We do several tricks and are always learning new ones. Our current favorite is jumping through a hola hoop. One of our thought process is that she loves training and its trying to get our attention so we will train. This leads directly to point 2. 2. We have a mat, and a raised cot, that we use for place. Our thought process is put her in place and work on positively treating when she is in Place. And growing the duration and distance over time. We Will put her in place and treat her, she is willing to listen. And we will continue to treat with a high rate of reinforcement to let her know place is a wanted behaviour. She Will end up biting the mat, or cot, the minute we are not reinforcing her. This gets our attention, and we correct her back into place. We do this with and without treats. It is as if she has caught on to the fact that if she does the unwanted behavior it will trigger the command, and the command gets a treat.

[@Legnerps]

Hey, I can't find your video in which you describe the correct timing of treats for reconditioning the reactive dog. I have one.😫

[@kikopup]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3PCnpaqapiAe5I

[@BrewbokOwl]

I've used these techniques and my dog is fine if I lock him in the crate but otherwise he follows me everywhere and cries or barks when I go somewhere without him. If I go upstairs he'll sit at the bottom and cry, or if I leave him sleeping in the living room with everyone else, he'll leap up and cry at the door til I get back. How do I help him learn to love being with the rest of my family, or on his own? If you have any suggestions, that would be so helpful!

[@kikopup]

I suggest getting help from a trainer to create a plan- my friend Tina in San Diego does online lessons specializing in Separation Anxiety www.doggyeinsteinstraining.com/ I also have this video about being calm behind a barrier kzbin.info/www/bejne/fX-rqoCdqL9oh6c

[@BrewbokOwl]

@@kikopup thank you! I'm working on the calm settle, such a great idea. It's tricky because he follows me so much but I'll just keep being patient. Thanks for all your videos, they're great!

[@eunice8116]

Ok I have a question for people that allow their dogs to stand and sleep on their beds! Do you actually wash your dogs paws after they run around outside on the streets and in fields where they could possibly pick up ticks or step on dead vermin, Or even stinking fox or other dogs poops or even men's urine, We all seen that man that has peed up the street walls or trees 🤢 Or do I just suffer seriously with OCD! My dogs are not allowed upstairs, let alone all over my beds their place is downstairs in their own place and space if they are not allowed to follow you around the house in every room it helps them to not suffer with this separation anxiety some dogs seem to develope today.

[@melissabell161]

What if my puppy is relaxing and anytime I move to reward the behavior they get up and run around me? Very anxious attached pup. Hard to catch then being calm when the slightest flinch from me has them running around in circles.

[@kikopup]

I suggest practice reinforcing the settle out and about. So you are at the park with the puppy just chilling next to you and then after feeding a treat there are distractions sights and sounds so less likely the puppy will be hyperfixated on you and the food. You can also practice feeding while on a walk, feed a treat, then point at the bushes and get your pup to engage in the environment after getting the treat

[@kikopup]

Inside the house you could work on calm massage

[@dorkatomankova5132]

Great video but the white text on black background sets of my migraine headaches 😔

[@alysonsmith6924]

Can one do this training without a crate or pen?