The best way to curb separation anxiety is to get to the root problem. When a dog thinks they are in charge of the home, anxiety increases. Imagine if I told you today, I have the deed to Honda, do you want it? Unrealistic hypothetical situation aside, I'm sure you would want the deed. After a few weeks of owning Honda, you would be stressed out of your face. Thats how the dog feels. He doesn't know why he's taking on stress, but he does because he needs to protect you. Another example is if you have kids and I put you in a closet and told you I would be back in a few hours, your kids are fine, we are just going to throw a little party. You would panic. You'd be kicking and screaming. The same goes for the dog...you have to form a relationship of trust with him. You have to show him that everything will be okay and he can just relax. The best way to show your pup this is through walks. Dogs are migratory animals so the walk is very important to them. Wherever you go, you need to lead him. Loose leashed walks are very important. When you enter a doorway, he should look at you and wait for you to cue him inside or outside. I would love to show you firsthand the difference this could make for you.

Showering with your pup is just fine. Just make sure you use separate soaps and take a shower not a bath. If you want to use the same shampoo, tropiclean is a great shampoo for dogs and works well on humans too. It doesn't have a lot of the chemicals that regular shampoo has. If you use tropiclean with neem oil, you can also avoid using chemical flea and tick prevention--yet another bird with one stone. (=