Dogs Unknown

Today's episode is all about separation anxiety in dogs. This is absolutely one of the most common reasons that folks might reach out to a dog behavior professional for help. It's also one of the issues that can be truly one of the most stressful (and sometimes feel debilitating) and can have a big negative impact on welfare on both ends of the leash.
Despite it being a really common issue, separation anxiety is often a little bit misunderstood when it comes both to the factors that can contribute to why it's happening in the first place and also the ways to treat it or help improve it.
So today we are very privileged to be joined by a powerhouse guest lineup to help us clear up some of these misconceptions about separation anxiety and share with listeners more about what it really is, why it happens, and paths to move forward.

We discuss:
- What is Separation Anxiety (and what it isn't)
- Causes of Separation Anxiety (perceived and actual)
- Prevalence in Separation Anxiety in companion dogs
- Treatment/Intervention options
- Common derailers of progress
- Success rates and timelines
- How to get started
Guests:
- Malena DeMartini-Price is renowned in the dog training world for her expertise in dog separation anxiety issues. She is the author of the books Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs, as well as Separation Anxiety in Dogs – Next-Generation Treatment Protocols and Practices. She is also the founder of the Separation Anxiety Training Certificate Program (CSAT).

Dr. Chris Pachel DACVB (Veterinary Behaviorist), Co-Founder and Co-Owner of INSTINCT Portland and Animal Behavior Clinic in Portland.
- Dr. Emily Levine DACVB (Veterinary Behaviorist), Co-Founder and Co-Owner of INSTINCT NJ/PA and Animal Behavior Clinic of NJ
Hosts Brian Burton and Sarah Fraser are Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of INSTINCT Dog Behavior & Training. Both are Certified Dog Behavior Consultants and have Master's degrees in Animal Behavior from Hunter College/CUNY.
INSTINCT has 11 locations across the US and services the global community via virtual consults. Over 19,000 students have also taken courses at INSTINCT's online school (with many free courses available): Learn more at https://www.instinctdogtraining.com/
INSTINCT Resources:
Online School https://onlineschool.instinctdogtraining.com
Free Monthly Seminars (Puppy Parenting Roadmap, Rescue Dog Roadmap, Behavior Roadmap): https://www.instinctdogtraining.com/seminars/
Youtube Version of the Episode (video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3xJy2GB3Ec

We have two incredibly intelligent and talented guests today to talk about a complicated and sometimes controversial subject; genetics and behavior. I promise this is worth listening to, and our guests bring a unique mix of scientific and practical knowledge that makes this episode one you don't want to miss.
Guests:

Dr. Jessica Hekman is a postdoctoral associate at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and teaches online classes about the biology and genetics of canine behavior. Jessica received her Ph.D. in Animal Sciences (Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics) in 2017 from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, where she studied canid behavioral genetics. Previously, Jessica graduated from the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in 2012 with a dual DVM/MS degree. Her Master's work was on the behavior and cortisol responses of healthy dogs to being hospitalized overnight. She also completed a shelter medicine veterinary internship at the University of Florida Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program. Jessica's current work focuses on the genetics of behavior in both pet and working dogs through a citizen science approach.
She’s also on the Darwins Ark team; a group that is working with pet owners to answer important scientific questions about genetics and behavior in dogs. I highly recommend you check that out at DarwinsArk.org. You can also view Dr. Hekman's website at dogzombie.com and her research at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jessica_Hekman

Trish McMillan is a certified professional dog trainer and certified dog behavior consultant who holds a Master’s degree in Animal Behavior from the University of Exeter in England. She is an internationally recognized speaker, sharing her expertise in behavior modification, defensive handling, and animal welfare to trainers, shelter workers, veterinarians & vet techs, and dog daycares across the country and around the world. She specializes in training and behavior modification work with dogs, cats, and horses.

Trish spent 7 years with the ASPCA, where she gained a wide variety of experience in the field of animal behavior. For three years she was the director of the animal behavior department at the ASPCA’s New York City shelter, helping staff, volunteers, and adopters work with animals and make great matches. Trish has also helped assess and rehabilitate animals from cruelty, hoarding, and dogfighting cases, as well as pets rescued from natural disasters. In addition to writing for the ASPCA’s Virtual Pet Behaviorist and other publications, she helped create and present several very popular webinars on dog and cat behavior and handling for the ASPCA Pro website.

When she is not traveling around educating animal professionals, she lives at her farm, Pibble Hill in Asheville, NC, with a host of very cool animals including her (famous) pitbull Theodore, and sees clients through her consulting business, McMillan Animal Behavior. She is also Vice President of Behavior and Training with Instinct Dog Behavior & Training. Also, check out Pibble Hill and Pibbling with Theodore on Facebook (I misspelled this in the episode). I promise you’re missing out if you aren’t following her.

Today we are focusing on practical advice that you can use for common behavior and training issues in this COVID-19 lockdown world. While the shutdown provides some unique challenges, it also provides some opportunities to make progress on behavior and training goals. We discuss enrichment (both mental and physical at 00:04:55), leash reactivity (00:26:00), separation anxiety (00:56:50), puppy socialization (01:14:42), and foster dog basics (01:23:00). If you are only interested in one or a few of these topics, you can see the time stamp for each above so you can fast forward to the ones you are interested in and skip the rest.

Guests:
Ruth CrislerRuth Crisler has been working with dogs and horses since 1991 and training dogs professionally since 1998. She is a Certified Behavior Consultant (CBCC-KA), IAABC Behavior Consulting Principles & Practice course mentor, and served as IAABC Ethics Committee Chair from 2015 to 2020. Ruth has contributed articles to The APDT Chronicle of the Dog, as well as writing for her own blog Spot Check.

Since 2000, Ruth and her team at See Spot Run have been offering customized, developmentally appropriate training programs for dogs of all ages and breed types, and designing humane and practical solutions to serious and longstanding behavior problems. She believes that different dogs require different approaches and that the best tools a trainer can possess are experience and an open mind.

Sarah FraserSarah Fraser is Co-CEO of Instinct Dog Training, Inc. and Co-Founder of Instinct Dog Behavior & Training. She oversees behavior & training programming for all Instinct locations and for the Instinct Online School. She develops Instinct Inc.’s internal policies and guidelines related to training and operations, and is in charge of marketing, communications, and brand management.

Sarah is an MA Candidate, Animal Behavior & Conservation at Hunter College/CUNY. She is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, Certified Professional Dog Trainer, and Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner, who has worked with thousands of NYC owners and dogs with severe aggression, fear, and anxiety issues. She has been featured in media outlets including The New York Times, The New York Daily News, New York Magazine, Martha Stewart, NBC Nightly News with Lester Hold, Pix11 News, and many more.
Resources:
- Enrichment Course by Instinct
- Enrichment Items (available on Amazon): Flirt Pole, Long Line, Rally Signs (free on AKC site), Scents (Pheasant, Quail, Rabbit)- Leash Reactive Course by Instinct
- House Training Guide for Puppies
- Defensive Handling Video
- Unprompted Attention Video
- Tether Time Training Article

Today we’re covering a topic that applies to EVERYONE who shares their home with a dog - whether it’s a brand new puppy, a totally happy-go-lucky, loves-everyone-and-everything dog, or a dog with fear, anxiety, or aggression issues.

• We’re talking about CONFLICT that arises in your relationship with your dog - and more specifically, we’re talking about how your dog (and you) approaches conflict and tries to resolve it.
• Conflict is a normal and unavoidable part of any relationship - including the relationship between you and your dog (and, if you have a multi-dog household, the relationship between your two dogs).
• It becomes a problem when the strategies used by an individual (or individuals) to try to resolve the problem are physically or emotionally harmful to the other party.
• Within our Nature Driven Nurture framework, we identify FOUR main conflict resolution styles that dogs use to try to deal with conflict when it arises - both with humans, and with other dogs.
  • Those include Peacemakers, Ostriches, Warriors, and Tasmanian Devils
• Understanding your dog’s conflict resolution style (and reflecting on your own!) is a huge piece of the puzzle when it comes to maintaining a peaceful household, and to protecting the relationship between you and your dog, or between the dogs in your household

Hosts Brian Burton and Sarah Fraser are Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of INSTINCT Dog Behavior & Training. Both are Certified Dog Behavior Consultants and have Master's degrees in Animal Behavior from Hunter College/CUNY.
INSTINCT has 11 locations across the US and services the global community via virtual consults. Learn more at https://www.instinctdogtraining.com
INSTINCT Resources:

• Online School
• Free Monthly Seminars (Puppy Parenting Roadmap, Rescue Dog Roadmap, Behavior Roadmap)
• YouTube Channel (video episodes of the podcast)
• Locations (all locations service the global community via virtual consults)

While waiting for Season 4 to start in October, we will drop summer mini-episodes in August and September! Episodes will drop each Monday. Also, a reminder that we do have video versions of the podcast in our recording studio, which can be viewed on our YouTube Channel
In this episode, Brian and Sarah give an update on their international move and discuss one of their viral Instagram reels that received over 2 million views and generated a lot of engagement and comments. The video was "How Not to Pet a Dog." You can see that video here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr0-YWBPd-q/
Some video comments were great, some were interesting, and some were very sad. Brian and Sarah discuss why this video is important and how one of the tricky things about living with dogs, because they are so familiar to us and we feel that we know them so well, is that we can have blind spots in our knowledge and understanding of their feelings and behavior.
Hosts Brian Burton (he/him/his) and Sarah Fraser (she/her/hers) are Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of INSTINCT Dog Behavior & Training. Both are Certified Dog Behavior Consultants and have Master's degrees in Animal Behavior from Hunter College/CUNY.
INSTINCT has 11 locations across the US and services the global community via virtual consults. Over 20,000 students have also taken courses at INSTINCT's online school (with many free courses available): Learn more at https://www.instinctdogtraining.com/
INSTINCT Resources:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instinctdogtraining/

Online School https://onlineschool.instinctdogtraining.com
Free Monthly Seminars (Puppy Parenting Roadmap, Rescue Dog Roadmap, Behavior Roadmap): https://www.instinctdogtraining.com/seminars/
Youtube Version of the Episode (video): https://youtu.be/qeLs2OEpaCs