Potch

Separation anxiety was an issue for Potch and his worries around being left alone were coming out in barking behaviours, which was not ideal for Potch or his neighbours!

Potch’s owner had recently moved home and this is when the behaviour presented itself; Potch had always been happy to be left at home before the move. We identified that it wasn’t being away from his owner that was making him anxious, but being left alone in general. 

We spoke about enrichment to offer Potch to de-stress him and make sure he was as chilled out as possible and had more capacity to cope when he was left alone. We then looked at how to desensitise Potch to the exit cues of his owner so that these no longer made him worried before he was left alone. Finally, we looked at how start small on separations and work towards extended periods of time on his own. 

Separation anxiety is never a quick fix and Potch still has a way to go before he will be happy to be left alone for 4 hours again. However, I am delighted to say that Potch has done amazingly well adjusting to his new enrichment-filled routine and is he now comfortable being left alone for short periods. With continued training, Potch’s owner will have their freedom back and Potch will have nothing to be worried about when he’s home alone.