Also, this solution must be recognised as having a degree of restriction, particularly on a hot day where it is impossible to leave a dog in a car for even a few minutes.
In any profession, there are always going to be problems that are not easy to solve. As we progress and learn more, these issues become less of a difficulty. Sadly, in the past, when faced with the almost unsolvable, it became a matter of trial and error. I recall fifty years ago, when I was a veterinary nurse, the vets disliked skin and allergy problems. With the understanding of these complex complaints in their infancy and with limited treatments available, again trial and error was the order of the day.
In my early days as a dog trainer, it was separation anxiety that I encountered. We had little understanding, and having exhausted the obvious solutions, which didn’t always work, it was left to our imagination. This was stretched to the limit by Betty Belle.
Not only was this a chronic case of separation anxiety, one of the worst that I had ever seen, but it was the first time I came across a pet dog with a double-barrelled name.
The Scottish flag hung prominently in the hallway, the white diagonal cross on a blue background was instantly recognisable particularly as it is one of the oldest flags in the world, also known as the Saltire, it’s history can be traced back to the 9th century and is often referred to the Cross of St Andrew the patron saint of Scotland.
Mr Farquharson was a very big man, 6 feet 6 inches tall with a thick mane of red hair and an equally impressive red beard. At first glance, it was easy to imagine him, complete with kilt alongside Mel Gibson in Braveheart, wielding his sword, fighting the English. Fortunately his many years living in England had removed the more extreme burr to his conversation and we were able to chat without an interpreter!! This was a man not to be taken lightly, a man who was used to making decisions and obviously expected others to be of the same ilk.
It was quite simple. Betty Belle suffered from separation anxiety.
Betty Belle was a Scottish Terrier, a rescue dog so named because the family struggled to agree on a name. Some wanted Bella, some Betty, so Mr Farquharson, with the wisdom of Solomon, decreed that the new addition to the family would be known as Betty Belle and must be addressed accordingly.
Well, I tried everything in my repertoire. The standard leaving Betty Belle in the house for two minutes, returning quickly, leaving the television or radio on, leaving her in another room, toys, treats, you name it, I tried it. After 3 months, I had absolutely no success. In those days, cage training was hardly known, so I never even attempted it. Mr Farquharson eventually decided that I wasn’t getting anywhere, and I was politely told that my services were no longer required, as he had decided to consult one of the new modern behaviourists. I now know that the behaviourist tried the cage routine with no success, so the situation continued unabated.
Annoyed with myself at my failure to solve the problem, I gave the matter considerable thought. My whole ethos was that there was always a solution; it was just that I hadn’t found it. Weeks went by, and the germ of an idea began to emerge. The difficulty was that I couldn’t work out how to make it work in a practical environment. It was just a theory without any real substance.
My reasoning was that instead of trying to overcome the separation distress by forcing the dog to learn in the environment that was causing the distress, how about changing the venue? Why? Because the house was now the source of the distress. My failure to solve the problem had only made the issue even worse. Was the issue made worse because I tried to solve it in the very place that the dog associated with her distress? So what about a place that she was already comfortable in? How about the car? The obvious advantage was that it was possible to leave the car with the dog being able to observe its owner leaving, but not out of sight, which reduced the stress.
As a regular contributor on the David White Show on Sunday mornings on BBC Radio Cornwall, I accepted phone calls from listeners. One of these revealed another chronic case of separation anxiety. I chatted with David live on air about the subject and mentioned that I had an idea regarding solving this issue with a different approach.
The following day, Mr Farquharson was on the phone. Betty Belle was no better, and he had heard me on the radio, asking if I would consider trying this “something different” with Betty Belle.
I had to explain.
“Mr Farquharson, this idea has no professional foundation whatsoever; it’s just an idea. I know from a previous conversation that Betty Belle is very happy in the car travelling as she does on the back seat with the children. It involves leaving the dog in the car where it happily sits, leaving her in the car for 2-3 minutes, so you are in plain sight, slowly extending the time and distance. I am working on the principle that if Betty Belle starts the process in an environment where she is already relaxed, this removes the initial distress and may improve the chance of success.”
So, the Farquharson family started to put the idea into practice, and sure enough, Betty Belle showed no signs of concern about being in the car. Two to three minutes rapidly expanded to 10 minutes, then 20, and so on, until several hours became the norm.
Now, depending on how you look at this, it was either a half-full issue or a half-empty one. Had I solved the problem? No, not really, but I had created a situation where Betty Belle could be left on her own for many hours without any distress. Did the solution come with restrictions? Yes, but it was a great improvement on the original problem, and it opened the door for restarting the process of getting her to accept being left in the house.
In those days, with limited knowledge, no access to the internet and no “experts” to consult, it was necessary to think outside the box.
As it happens, my current rescue dog, Ziggy, came with chronic separation anxiety, and using the same system, she happily spends hours in the car. We live in Greece, so it is not possible to use this system during the day in the summer. However, it has started a process where Ziggy has made great strides.
“I like dogs. You always know when a dog is thinking. It has four moods. Happy, sad, cross and concentrating. Dogs are faithful and do not tell lies because they cannot talk.”
Mark Haddon
With subtitle or not?