Separation anxiety training for dogs
in Singapore.

The short version: teach your dog that you always come back. First make the crate a safe place, and teach the word "quiet" while you sit beside it. Then build up in this order: distance (step away and come straight back), then time (stay away 5, 10, 15, 20 seconds), then stepping out of sight. Come back before the barking starts, and never while it's going on. It's slow and repetitive, and that's how the trust is built.

Some dogs settle in the crate just fine, as long as you stay close. The moment you move away, they get anxious. They whine, they bark, they try to get out. Separation anxiety is one of the most common problems I'm called in for in Singapore.

I'm Shawn. I run DOGPAPA, in-home dog training across Singapore, and before this I was a handler with the Singapore Police K-9 Unit. When Benji came home as a puppy, I didn't wait to find out whether he'd struggle being left. I trained for it from the first night. These are the exercises I used.

Before anything else, the crate has to be somewhere good. I call it the kennel. It's where he rests, where his water is, where he has his chew bone. It's his territory.

I use one word for it: "kennel". I put him in and I calmly take his collar off. Then I don't leave. I stay put and sit right next to it.

One safety point: only ever leave your dog alone somewhere safe and enclosed, never loose in an open area.

While I'm sitting beside him, every time he makes a sound to get out (whining, barking, anything like that) I say "quiet". It snaps him out of it, and there's a moment of silence. A few seconds later I say "good quiet, good quiet". That's how he learns that quiet means keep quiet.

In the beginning I was sitting there almost the whole day. That's what makes the next steps work: once he knows the word, I can say "Benji, quiet" from across the room, even when I can't reach the kennel, and he keeps quiet.

Now I move away and come straight back. Then a bit further, and straight back again. Before he can make a sound, I'm back. At the start it's split seconds. Later I can walk to the door, open it, step out, and come back.

If he does bark, don't go back to him while he's barking. Don't talk to him, don't say anything. Wait for quiet, then go back. Coming back is what builds the trust. You're telling him: I will come back to you.

That's what he learns: me moving away from him is not the end of his life, because I always come back. Benji was coping with me moving far away within a day or two.

4. Time. Once he can cope with you going far, stay at that distance. He can still see you, but you don't go near him. Start with 5 seconds, then 10, 15, 20. Watch your dog and you'll know when to add more. The rule: when you're working on distance, keep the time short. When you're working on time, keep the distance and build the seconds slowly.

5. Out of sight. When he's fine with you at a distance for a long time, start disappearing. Step out of sight and come straight back. Do it again, and again. Then slowly stretch it: 1, 2, 3 seconds, then 5, 10, 15, 20.

• Tire them out first. Take your dog out, exercise, train, then put them back in the crate.
• Leave a chew bone to keep them busy.
• Play some light music.
• Leave a shirt you've worn. I did this with Benji in the early days.

It's a lot of work. It's repetitive, and that's the whole point: this is how you build trust. Today I can go about my day freely, and Benji stays calm and quiet without making a sound.

If your dog's main problem is something else, like barking, reactivity or the lift, see dog behaviour training in Singapore. Bringing home a new puppy? Start with your puppy's first week.