Let’s talk about getting your dog in the right state of mind. Scout is here to work through several issues, but we’re diving deep into working on her anxiety. She really struggles with being alone -she barks, whines, paws on the crate door.
The solution to all of that starts with getting her in the right state of mind. We want her to be calm and relaxed -not only for our sanity, but because it’s a much happier way for her live. But if we can’t get her to relax when we’re with her, there’s no way she’ll be able to calm herself down when we leave. So we do this through lots of practice: rewarding the behaviors we want more of, and correcting the behaviors we want less of. With consistency, this girl is starting to understand what we are asking of her, and she’s starting to offer those behaviors on her own (which is the end goal)!
Stay tuned for our video next week on helping her relax on the place cot, and how valuable this skill is to the rest of her life!