Day Four - 18:45
First signs of separation anxiety in the last 12 hours. Nothing major, just when he is put in his 'half' of the house behind the baby gate (after his last meal, if we need to go upstairs and leave dogs unsupervised etc) he sits there and whines and grumbles for a while. Rather controversially perhaps, with this type of dog who isn't truly anxious, just would rather be with the rest of the group, I don't automatically ignore the behaviour, but just give a stern 'Enough!' in a low, calm tone of voice without actually getting up and going to the dog (my house is small enough to do this!). This is just to let the dog know there's no point in whining for company - I'm not actually in a very good mood and he might as well go to bed!
Works really well for a dog that is just 'objecting' and not truly anxious about being left alone.
'Sentry' behaviours are now surfacing as well. I don't like the term 'guarding' behaviours because it implies the dog will defend territory. I feel most dogs simply want to raise the alarm, hence the term 'Sentry'; blowing the whistle (barking) for someone else to come and deal with the situation!
Because he's not left unattended outside, I've been doing the 'Enough' command after the first bark and immediately coming out and getting him in (within 3 seconds). Again, very calmly but firmly so he knows I'm not playing or happy with the behaviour. This makes him confident that there is someone backing him up so he doesn't have to become overly anxious about people outside, and also that excessive barking does not invoke a pleasant reaction from me.
Subsequently, this afternoon when there were children outside, he barked once and then immediately came inside. This, I rewarded...
