A Resolution for Separation Anxiety
James is exceptional and has helped us enormously. Before he visited us less than 3 months ago we could not leave our rescue Greyhound Friday alone in the house because he would howl, race back and forth between the door and the window, and chew the blinds. With one home visit from James and a few follow-up calls, Friday is now fine to be left alone for hours at a time. He is happier in himself, and we are ecstatic about being able to go round to see our friends or go for dinner on our own without having to worry.
Before this, we had tried to find a solution for over a year. We had tried many different techniques for solving separation anxiety, including the Julie Naismith Be Right Back method, but none had worked. We felt Friday didn't have separation anxiety per se, but more like FOMO, yet we could not find anything that worked for more than five minutes.
James's visit changed all that. He has such a calm manner, and took the time to understand both Friday and us. He explained so clearly what the issue was, and it suddenly made a lot of sense. He then explained the path to solving it, and we saw immediately that this was likely to work. Once James had left, Friday's improvement was rapid. While we did have some small stumbles as we sought to understand how Friday responded, these were quickly sorted through the follow-up phone calls, where James was so generous with his time and advice. The peace of mind he has given us is priceless.
✶✶✶✶✶
Ben, Evelyn & Friday
Separation Anxiety Feels Permanent.
It isn’t.
Most people who reach out to us have already tried something. A Kong, a licky mat, the radio left on, a worn t-shirt by the bed. Calming sprays, plug-ins. “Doggy TV”. And when none of it worked, the conclusion they draw - reasonably enough - was that their dog was just one of the difficult ones.
They weren’t. The approach was.
Separation anxiety is one of the most resolvable conditions we work with. The vast majority of dogs we see go from unable to be left at all, to relaxed and settled for meaningful periods of time — usually within a matter of months. Not because we have a magic method, but because we start in the right place.
Most separation anxiety programmes are built around the same idea: leave your dog alone, start with seconds, build up to minutes, repeat.
The logic sounds reasonable. The problem is, it teaches the dog nothing.
A dog that’s been alone for 30 seconds without incident hasn’t learned to relax. It’s just been alone for 30 seconds. The anxiety is still there - unaddressed, unresolved - and the clock is still running.
Owners end up with a dog that seems fine for five minutes, ten minutes, apparently making progress — right up until the first time they leave for fifteen minutes. Then everything falls apart.
We start somewhere different. Before we ever ask your dog to be alone, we teach them to genuinely relax — independently, confidently, with you still in the room. Because a dog that can’t switch off when you’re there has no foundation whatsoever for switching off when you’re not.
Solve that first. The rest follows.
Separation Anxiety is a Distance issue, not a Time issue.
One of the Core Principles of solving Separation Anxiety is understanding how our dogs relate to our personal and intimate space, and how they manage their own.
Dogs that struggle with separation aren’t simply anxious about being alone. They’ve never learned to be comfortable in their own space — even when you’re in the room. They follow, they crowd, they can’t settle unless they’re close. The relationship with distance hasn’t been established, so the relationship with absence can’t be either.
It takes an average of 3 months to take our clients from not being able to leave their dogs at all, to happy dogs being left comfortable and relaxed for around 2 hours or more. Whilst every dog is different, and every dog progresses at their own pace - these three building blocks mean that the majority of our clients can reach a meaningful resolution that actually gives them their lives back in a reasonable timeframe.
The Three Piece system we use to take our clients from Struggling to Settled.
Independent Relaxation
Teaching your dog how to make the decision to relax on their own - anytime, anywhere, regardless of who’s present. Building confidence, independence and the ability to self regulate is an essential piece of overcoming Separation Anxiety.
Independent Sleep Routine
When you leave, all you want your dog to do is rest. An independent sleep routine gives your dog the opportunity to practice this every night, with you still in the house. In your dogs mind, leaving to go to bed and leaving to go out the door should mean the same thing - sleep.
Setting boundaries
Helping your dog to understand when they can be close, when they can follow - and crucially when they can’t - is the final piece of the puzzle. Your personal space is precious, and its important to set the same boundaries with you dog that you do with people. It’s just polite.
Start changing your perspective.
Members Page Exclusive Preview.
There’s a Human Side to This Too.
Separation anxiety doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Dogs and owners are in it together — and in our experience, the most effective work happens when we acknowledge both sides of the relationship.
Dogs are extraordinarily good at picking up on the emotional state of the people they love. If you’re anxious about leaving, your dog knows. If you’ve been dreading the moment you walk out the door, they’ve felt that too. It’s not weakness — it’s just how the relationship works.
We’re used to working with the whole picture. Whatever you’re carrying into this process, we’re used to that too. And we treat it as part of the work.
Everything you need to get your life back. In one programme.
Exclusive to Yorkshire and the North East. Our all-in-one programme for separation anxiety — everything you need, at one price, to help your dog find their calm and give you your life back.
-
The Programme includes two home visits, so we can work with you and your dog in person - and follow up if we need to get you back on track.
Single Visit Standard Price | £299
-
Programme members also get access to unlimited free phone consultations, so we can check in with you every week and guide your progress.
Single Phone Consultation Standard Price | £40
-
Supplement your learning with our library of video content and downloadable booklets - also included in your programme.
After an intense 3 month period of stress in our house our 2.5 year old spaniel had become very upset about being left alone in his crate or in the house at all.
James kindly fitted us in promptly after my call for help & within 10mins of watching our dog & listening to our story he knew how to tackle it. He left us with a clear plan. 3 weeks later we have our happy, relaxed spaniel back & more importantly, as a family, our lives beyond home as we can leave him again at home & know he’s safe & happy.
Honestly James was amazing & so generous with his time & expertise. He rescued us. Thank you!!!!
✶✶✶✶✶
Lindsey & Cosmo
James (and The Dogs Way) work miracles! I rehomed my 11 month old Working Cocker Spaniel 2 months ago and it soon became apparent she really struggled with separation anxiety to the point which I couldn’t leave the room for a matter of seconds without her crying and clawing at the door. At a loss for how to resolve this I gave James a call and after the initial phone consultation I had all the confidence in the world if anyone was going to help Cally it would be James. We had a home visit the following week and I was amazed at how quickly Cally took to what James was teaching us. Fast forward to not even 2 weeks since the home visit and I’ve just been able to leave Cally for an hour and a half with absolutely no whimpering, crying, scratching! It genuinely feels like we have a different dog! I couldn’t recommend James and The Dogs Way enough!
✶✶✶✶✶
Chloe & Cally
James has been amazing and massively helped us resolve seperation anxiety in our 8 year old Jack Russell. We were like prisoners in our own home as we were terrified to leave the house, most of the time we would come home to destruction. We have tried everything in the past such as leaving the radio on, Kong toys, leaving clothes with our scent, nothing worked. James came to our home to establish the root cause of the behavior, he explained in details what the issues were and how to fix them. We had weekly check in calls to see how we were progressing. As Ruby is 8 years old I assumed it would take considerably longer to see any improvement. Within just a few weeks we were seeing massive improvements and are now able to leave the house. I cannot thank James enough for the tips and advice he has given and would definitely reccomend to others. You need to be fully committed and put the time and effort into training but the end result is very much worth it.
✶✶✶✶✶