80 of 80 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for dealing with AND preventing separation anxiety, March 17, 2004
This review is from: I'll be Home Soon: How to Prevent and Treat Separation Anxiety. (Paperback)
My new puppy didn't have a full-blown case of SA. But she barked incessantly everytime I left her alone in the house, which needless to say drove the neighbors nuts. By following the techniques in this book, I was able to replace the habit of barking with the habit of chewing on a specific treat - a kong filled with peanut butter in her case - so that now she actually looks forward to my leaving the house. It wasn't a change that happened over night. It took about a month to train her, but it was well worth it. The advice in this book is incredible, but it does require patience, especially if your dog is already displaying behavioral problems (such as chewing on things in the house or barking).
I think this book is helpful for anyone who has guilty feelings when leaving their dog alone. Whether your dog has behavoiral problems or not, this book can give you advice on how to turn your daily departure from the house into a positive experience.
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45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Effective! Intentionally short., March 13, 2006
This review is from: I'll be Home Soon: How to Prevent and Treat Separation Anxiety. (Paperback)
Patricia McConnell knows how little time many of us have which is why she makes this series of books only 30 or so pages long. She is direct and to the point to solve your training problem without lots of fluff and cute little dog stories. When we have a dog training issue very few of us have time to read a novel on how to solve it. I for one want to cut to the chase and start solving the problem right away. The methods used in this book are clear and easy to apply and they work. My dog has stopped destructive chewing when I'm away and is clearly much happier. Thank you Ms. McConnell (oh and Daisy my APBT thanks you too) A few reviewers gave these books a low rating because they are short. Amazon clearly indicates how many pages this book has and it's priced accordingly.
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40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Useful only for certain populations, March 6, 2009
This review is from: I'll be Home Soon: How to Prevent and Treat Separation Anxiety. (Paperback)
It pains me to give anything by Patricia McConnell less than 5 stars. However, after adopting my beagle mix, who turned out to have strong separation anxiety, this little volume was not immediately useful for my situation.
Key to this program is the ability to leave your dog with someone (or leave someone with your dog :) while working in the tiniest increments imaginable to desensitize (and perhaps counter-condition) your dog to your absence. Both leaving my dog with human company and counter-conditioning her (given her fear was so extreme she would not think of eating) did not work out for me. Thanks to the Web, I was able to find advice better suited to my circumstance. When I had no choice but to leave her for longer periods, I used one location. When I was actively working with her, I used a different location. I also implemented an "independence" program of rewarding any voluntary efforts on my dog's part to be somewhere other than glued to me.
Later, when with the help of medication her frantic state lessened, I did actually include most of the suggestions in this book in our program. After 6 months, we were able to wean off the meds. She still doesn't enjoy seeing me go, and she is still confined to limit her powers of destruction (I give her acceptable outlets for her "need to shred") but together we have survived one of the hardest trials in doggiedom.
I do agree that the level of detail in this book is exceptional, as is the section on deciding whether your dog has SA, or other issues. But you may still need to shop around for additional advice to fit your needs.
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