Finally relaxing alone... E-Book

Nadja Kalinowski

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Seitenzahl: 56

Beschreibung

Do you know it too: you come home and your apartment looks like a debris field? Has the rubbish bin been emptied, the laundry rummaged through, furnishings destroyed and maybe there is urine or feces on the floor or your bed? The neighbors are annoyed and you get complaint after complaint about your dog barking when you are not at home? I know how you feel... In this book I report on my personal experiences with the topic of "separation anxiety" and you will receive step-by-step instructions.

Leseprobe

Table of Content

About me

Example Lefi (true story)

Introduction

Management

Self-assessment

Video analysis

Evaluation

Causes

Exercise

What is important for dog training?

Rest & Sleep

quiet and safe zone

bed/ sofa

Rituals & Boundaries

What does leadership mean?

5 suggestions for your home:

Training structure "staying alone"

Testimonial

Attention

Relapses

10 Common Mistakes,

Conclusion

Attachment

About me

Welcome! I'm so glad you found this book. My name is Nadja Kalinowski (www.trustandlead.de) and I would like to introduce myself.

My journey as a professional dog psychologist began in 2013. At that time my male dog Milo was three years old and my female dog Lefi was one year old. Both dogs are completely different and have challenged me in different areas.

Milo tends to be a loner and very self-confident in many situations. If he is barked at by other dogs on the leash, it does not interest him at all. As a terrier, he wants to be challenged and needs clear rules and structure.

His individual distance - the personal distance he needs to have from strange dogs in order to feel comfortable - is very high. If this is not respected, he might demand distance from the other dog using his communication skills. However, this also causes stress for him.

Over time I learned how to understand Milo and his behavior. I can now relieve him of the stress that it is causing him and control the situations for him. In addition, it is nice to see how his trust in me has grown more and more as a result.

Lefi was a hyperactive bundle of energy in her early years. She could not be alone or walk relaxed on a leash. Her initial panic and fear of dogs didn't make going for walks any easier.

At that time we lived in the middle of Hamburg, Germany with constant new attractions outside the door. That was an additional challenge for the training. With a lot of patience and commitment, we were able to successfully work on her issues.

Despite her issues, Lefi's lovely and sweet nature has already helped many children to overcome their fear of dogs. She used to teach them how to deal with dogs and imparted knowledge in a playful way in kindergarten classrooms and schools. Lefi has now retired from this job.

Through my own experiences with my dogs, I know how my clients feel and how hard the road can be at times.

My dogs have taught me so much. I am grateful for their valuable lessons, especially on the topics of trust and leadership. My learning never stops; I can learn something new from every dog I get to work with.

I now pass on my accumulated knowledge in the field of dog psychology to my customers in the form of online or in-person home sessions and workshops.

More info: www.trustandlead.de

Example Lefi (true story)

When Lefi moved in with us, she was about 10 weeks old and I never expected that we would have the problem of "separation anxiety". I knew we were going to face some challenges. Lefi was hyperactive and it was difficult for her to concentrate and control herself. However, the topic of "separation anxiety" did not come to mind, because Lefi was not alone. She was added as a second dog to Milo, who never had a problem with being home alone at all.

Already on Lefi's first day with us I had a bad feeling. The situation was as follows:

Lefi, Milo and I were in the living room together resting nicely. I got up to go to the kitchen and closed the living room door behind me. It must be said that there was a frosted glass window in the living room door, so that shadows and lights could be seen. I went briefly into the kitchen and immediately heard a yelp and excited jumping back and forth. When I came back after a few minutes (or probably seconds), Lefi appeared extremely stressed while Milo was sleeping in his seat.

I put the situation down to the fact that it was Lefi's arrival time with us. In the following days she settled in and I started a new attempt.

This time Milo and Lefi were in the living room and slept. The room door was open and I sneaked out of the apartment for 20 minutes to buy something. I had a good feeling, because Lefi didn't even notice that I was leaving.

But when I came back home, I could already hear Lefi in the stairwell. She was barking hysterically and occasionally howled like a wolf. I unlocked the door and she jumped wildly at me with a pack of pills (luckily sealed) in her mouth.

It was clear to me: I - or we - have a problem!

I was so frustrated, shocked, sad... actually all emotions came up in me. From now on (almost) everything had to be based on the dog. No shopping quickly, going to the cinema or do something with friends without a dog.

Every non-dog activity now had to be carefully planned and organized for the dogs. Of course, letting Lefi “simply cry out” was not an option. There are a few cases where the dogs can calm down on their own. Lefi is definitely not one of them and her stress would also last for hours. So simply ignoring her behavior and doing my “thing” wouldn`t work.

Also, I couldn't have endured letting Lefi suffer and I didn't want to annoy my neighbors with Lefi's barking.

The limitations of separation anxiety are enormous. I was lucky at the time that I was able to give Lefi 24-hour care. She was with me in the office during the day and we were also together in the evenings and on weekends.

Since giving up was not an option for me, I got all the literature on the subject of "separation anxiety" and also read through various articles on the Internet. Unfortunately, most of the tips didn't work for us.

But what could I do now to help Lefi?

In order to get a precise overview, I first set up a video camera and observed what Lefi was doing.

And this was seen:

Immediately after leaving the apartment, Lefi ran around in panic. She checked out the rooms and jumped on the furniture. She seemed to be desperately looking for me. After a short time, Lefi started to bark hysterically, coupled with howling, like a wolf. The dogs throw their heads back and want to call the pack together.

After the howl there is a pause in which the dog waits for a response from the pack.

The only good thing about the situation: Milo slept unimpressed on his pillow.