Understanding Regressions and Plateaus in Dog Separation Anxiety Training
For those working on separation anxiety training with their dog, you likely understand the emotional roller coaster this experience can be. When your dog excels in their separation anxiety training exercise for the day, it feels like you're on cloud nine. Conversely, when they struggle with a training exercise, it can feel like your world is falling apart. Sometimes, these struggles are just minor setbacks, and the next day they bounce back and perform perfectly. However, other times progress can stagnate or even regress. It's important to know that while this can be emotionally exhausting, it's completely normal for dogs to experience this.
As a runner, I often compare dog separation anxiety training to running. Imagine you belong to a running club that holds a 5k race each month. If you're new to running, you'll likely see progress in your early races as long as you consistently train between them. But after several months, your race times might plateau or even slow down, despite your continued effort. You wonder why. You’ve been doing the work, so why aren’t you getting faster?
This is because progress is never linear. If all we had to do was show up, we’d all be the next Usain Bolt. The same principle applies to dogs. Separation anxiety training in dogs follows a similar pattern. Progress isn’t linear; there will be days when your dog performs wonderfully and days that aren’t so great. This is normal and expected. I often tell my clients that it’s not a matter of IF their dog struggles, but WHEN.
On days when dogs don’t excel in their separation anxiety training, I use these moments to address training questions. I examine the finer details of the day to see if there’s anything that might explain why the training didn’t go as well as before. I ask questions like:
Did we train at an unusual time of day?
Did anything stressful or out of the ordinary happen to the dog today?
Did the dog receive its regular amount of exercise?
Were their needs met before training? Potty break? Full tummy? Etc.
These finer points can often provide valuable insights and help us overcome regressions or plateaus. Instead of viewing regressions and plateaus as negatives, let’s change our mindset and see them as positives. Identifying these trouble spots is ultimately the way forward. As I frequently tell my clients, slow and steady wins the race.
For those eager to dive deeper into our training approach or seek further insights into separation anxiety in dogs, I encourage you to explore our website, read our blog, or schedule a complimentary discovery call with our team. Together, we can work on helping you and your dog regain your freedom.
Everdog Training is based in Boston, MA, but we accept separation anxiety clients both nationwide and worldwide.
