Sophia Yin Treat & Train For Seperation Anxiety?

[Guest lemon]

I came across a video of Sophia Yin discussing the Treat & Train for separation anxiety and was wondering if anyone had used a Treat & Train in dealing with separation anxiety.

 

Website: http://drsophiayin.com/treatntrain

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gSGufCGCT8

 

Thanks!

[Guest Giselle]

Well, I'm totally completely biased (Treat and Train video). BUT I have gone through her protocols, have been trained by her on how to use it, and the protocol works very efficiently - if you do it correctly. The whole point is to train calm behavior from the dog no matter the situation. The Treat and Train has been incredibly helpful for a wide variety of uses, especially those when you need to reward the dog from far away (aka Alone Training) or for when you need precision. It's also great for agility.. obedience.. ... The point is that, when you are trying to reward the dog for being calm when you're away, there's no physical way to be in 2 places at once. You can't simultaneously train him to be alone while rewarding him with food... unless you have something like the Treat and Train. That's why I think it works so darn well. And, let me tell you, once you understand the technique behind it, the results are pretty dramatic. I've had students come to me after just 1-2 weeks with the machine and tell me that their dogs are totally counter-conditioned to strange people, fear triggers, being alone, etc. When used correctly, it is a *very* useful tool.

[NeylasMom]

I would actually like to get one of these, but so far my need hasn't been *so* great to outweigh the cost. However, I do think they're useful for any type of training where you need to be away from the dog - SA, distance stays, car training (use the remote while you're in the driver's seat), etc. And I recently heard that Sophia Yin got the rights back and it's no longer a Premier Pets product (if you care about that sort of thing, Premier is a manufacturer of shock collars so I know a lot of folks who avoid their products).

 

There's another potential option. It's not quite available for sale yet, but I heard through a friend of the creator that they took a look at the functional issues with the manners minder and created a "better" product:

http://www.smartanimaltraining.com/

[Guest lemon]

Thanks for the replies, Tosh has no issue with me getting ready to leave or even leaving and will happily work on a Kong (or three) while I'm gone. The issue is that once he no longer has something to work on he lies down and will whine/roo after a little bit. I've recently started alone training from the beginning without Kongs but I think a way of positively reinforcing him while he lays quietly will help speed up the process and maybe create a more solid feeling of "I'm okay if I'm alone". The Pet Tutor also looks really interesting- I wish they had a release date. I'm going to keep working with my guy this weekend and see how he progresses but my next step will be to try one of these if we are still struggling. I thought I had read/found everything on the internet about separation anxiety so I was really surprised to come across this.