A Resolution for Separation Anxiety
A Unique National Programme designed to radically improve on just counting minutes. Proper diagnosis, quality training, and a clear resolution.
If you’re looking for a dog behaviourist who truly understands and cares for dogs and gets results I can fully recommend James of The Dog’s Way. We contacted him for support dealing with our dog’s separation anxiety and car phobia. His website’s videos were insightful and easy to follow and apply, getting us off to a positive start and enabling us to make real progress straight away. When he visited us he took the time to fully understand our situation and our rescue border collie, demonstrating patience, a keen understanding of dog behaviour, in particular, of rescue and border collie dogs, and adopted a kind but realistic approach to my dog’s issues. He demonstrated and coached us through the training plan he devised, which was clear and easy to follow. We saw real progress immediately with the behaviors we were struggling with and he left us with a clear plan of the training activities we need to complete to reinforce the gains he made with us on his visit. We have follow up calls booked with him in advance to check our progress and support our training programme. My dog is calmer, more responsive, and happier in herself. She is settled when left and will now jump into the back of the car. We are currently reinforcing these behaviours using James’ techniques to properly embed them with James’ support. What I appreciated most is how he focused on understanding my dog’s needs and setting us up for long-term success, not just quick fixes.
At the end of 2024 we bought home a beautiful 10 week old cockerpoo puppy, BettyBoo. She was full of energy and coped well with short periods on her own. Early 2025 she became seriously ill and had to be hospitalised. It soon became apparent following this forced separation that BettyBoo could not cope being left. She became increasingly clingy. We made the decision not to leave her alone and started looking for help. Time and time again Julie Naismith’s name appeared top of the list for help. I bought the book, read it and started her “ Be Right Back” programme. The programme was slow. Our progress minimal. After 5 months we achieved 10 minutes with me out of the house. Then BettyBoo suffered a set back and regressed to me not being able to leave the room without her becoming anxious. I hit rock bottom, mine and Betty’s relationship suffered and I had a very limiting life. Unless we could find someone to sit with BettyBoo we were stuck. I turned to the internet and found “The Dogs Way”. I watched a video of James and his dogs introducing the topic of Separation Anxiety. I contacted James and booked a free telephone consultation. There was no hard sell but lots of good solid advice given. That evening I signed up for the Separation Anxiety programme, 2 home visits, telephone support and unlimited access to a varied video library. James visited on 12th September, 2025. During the visit we discussed the issues we were experiencing and James gave us practical guidance in dealing with BettyBoo. James was also confident that in 12 weeks we would well on our way to resolution. After months of feeling alone and isolated I had hope that BettyBoo could achieve a few hours on her own and our lives would not feel so small. The first two weeks saw BettyBoo a lot calmer, a lot more confident. Her behaviour in and out of the house improved, I saw glimmers of the dog I knew she could be and our relationship improved. I was able to mop the floor without a cockerpoo attacking the mop! And it was simple practical, consistent changes that transformed her. James supported every step of the way. He was always calm and confident that we would achieve our goal. If things weren’t working he found other ways to address our issues. We began the process of leaving BettyBoo. She was inconsistent in her responses and times. Time for James to pay his second home visit. We worked through how to re enter the home after leaving. This was revolutionary. Leaving and returning calm and confident had BettyBoo hitting 2 and a half hours quite comfortably. My world opened up again. I reclaimed my sea swims, my ability to pop out as needed. Life returned. James supported us each step of the way. I no longer stress about leaving and our returns home are calm. BettyBoo is much happier and I have finally found joy in my dog again. So much gratitude to James for his patience, wisdom and generosity. Forever grateful.
We cannot recommend James at The Dog’s Way highly enough. He did a home visit after we discovered our dog was howling when left alone. We were distressed that she was distressed and our lives quickly became very restricted as we struggled to know what to do. Despite trying traditional theories and training concepts, we felt stuck in the se of conflicting advice and weren’t making any real progress. From the moment James arrived, he was easy company, genuinely listened, and clearly understood our concerns. He appreciated just how much our dog is part of our family and how deeply we care about her, while also recognising the significant impact that not being able to leave her was having on our own lives. What really stood out was James’ insight. He helped us understand that our lovely dog didn’t have true separation anxiety at all, but was actually very confident — and quite stubborn! This shift in understanding made all the difference. James gave us the knowledge, confidence, and ongoing support we needed to work through the issue effectively. His time, patience, and regular reviews meant we were supported every step of the way and were no longer isolated by the situation. We would highly recommend James to anyone, his knowledge, experience and attitude are fantastic. We are incredibly grateful for the difference he has made to both our dog’s life and our own... everyone in this home is a lot more relaxed and a lot more content!
James is fantastic! He has a clear approach to understanding your dog and the situation you need help with. We first contacted James for help with what we thought was separation anxiety, but after meeting James and him spending time with us and our dog Lenny, he could see it was something else and he helped us approached the issue differently. We were at our wits end with different methods of training, door is a bore, excel spreadsheets of desensitisation tasks and 'advice' we had been given. I just wish we had contacted James months ago. We had to change our approach a couple of times but James was on hand every step of the way. Within a few months our dog understood what we were expecting and we can now leave him for hours with no issues. He's relaxed and we are finally relaxed and free! We became lifetime members and feel it was worth every penny. To know we have James at the end of a phone if we have any issues, no matter how big or small is reassuring. Plus you get all of the helpful videos online. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend James and The Dogs Way to anyone looking for a great, sensitive and sensible way to work with your dog. It isn't just about training with James, it's about understanding the why, so we can work with our dogs and they can understand us as much as we do them. I love his approach.
We reached out to James to help us make our dog calmer whenever we left her and returned back to her. We were unsure of what to expect during the session, however we really enjoyed it and felt we got so much of it including getting to know our little ‘Maggie’ a little bit more. He immediately knew what sort of personality she has and quickly put strategies into place. Maggie worked so hard and quickly did what was expected of her. James explained everything he was doing and the reasons why he was doing it. We really did find the session so helpful and very useful. I would highly recommend James to anyone.
James was my fourth trainer for Toby who has quite severe separation anxiety. He spent a long time at my house, garden and surrounding area to help really understand him. Whilst Toby is not ‘cured’ yet he has made improvements and James has been so generous with his time and expertise on the phone following his home visit. He has a strong believe that the human psychological state and experiences impact on your animal and he’s helped me understand how my life needs help in order to help Toby. I’ve never met a trainer such brilliant insight and emotional intelligence. Thank you for your patience James. I’m hoping if we stick with you our lives will improve.😀 Liz and Toby x 🐕
After an intense 3 month period of stress in our house our 2.5 year old spaniel had become very upset about being left alone in his crate or in the house at all. James kindly fitted us in promptly after my call for help & within 30mins of watching our dog & listening to our story he knew how to tackle it. He left us with a clear plan after spending a good 2 hours with us. 3 weeks later we have our happy, relaxed spaniel back & more importantly, as a family, our lives beyond home as we can leave him again at home & know he’s safe & happy. Honestly James was amazing & so generous with his time & expertise. He rescued us. Thank you!!!! Lindsey
James has an amazing skill for reading and understanding dogs and why they are behaving as they are but also makes a real effort to understand the owner(s) and their wants/needs. He tailors his training to suit the individual dog and their owners so it’s completely bespoke. We’ve made progress I could never have dreamed of with our dog who wasn’t great at being left home. If your dog suffers with separation anxiety look no further!
We are so glad to have found James. His patience and knowledge allowed us to really understand the route of the issues we were facing. We were really struggling with Kiefers separation anxiety and couldn't leave him alone without alot of stress and howling the moment we left. After one home visit, he gave us the key tools and advice to get us to where we are now...where we can leave Kiefer in the house alone for a couple of hours without him getting stressed and actually being able to settle by himself. Can't thank James for really helping us and we are now working together on his reactivity training which is going really well. Sarah, Steven and Kiefer!
James has been amazing and massively helped us resolve seperation anxiety in our 8 year old Jack Russell. We were like prisoners in our own home as we were terrified to leave the house, most of the time we would come home to destruction. We have tried everything in the past such as leaving the radio on, Kong toys, leaving clothes with our scent, nothing worked. James came to our home to establish the root cause of the behavior, he explained in details what the issues were and how to fix them. We had weekly check in calls to see how we were progressing. As Ruby is 8 years old I assumed it would take considerably longer to see any improvement. Within just a few weeks we were seeing massive improvements and are now able to leave the house. I cannot thank James enough for the tips and advice he has given and would definitely reccomend to others. You need to be fully committed and put the time and effort into training but the end result is very much worth it.
James is exceptional and has helped us enormously. Before he visited us less than 3 months ago we could not leave our rescue Greyhound Friday alone in the house because he would howl, race back and forth between the door and the window, and chew the blinds. With one home visit from James and a few follow-up calls, Friday is now fine to be left alone for hours at a time. He is happier in himself, and we are ecstatic about being able to go round to see our friends or go for dinner on our own without having to worry. Before this, we had tried to find a solution for over a year. We had tried many different techniques for solving separation anxiety, including the Julie Naismith Be Right Back method, but none had worked. We felt Friday didn't have separation anxiety per se, but more like FOMO, yet we could not find anything that worked for more than five minutes. James's visit changed all that. He has such a calm manner, and took the time to understand both Friday and us. He explained so clearly what the issue was, and it suddenly made a lot of sense. He then explained the path to solving it, and we saw immediately that this was likely to work. Once James had left, Friday's improvement was rapid. While we did have some small stumbles as we sought to understand how Friday responded, these were quickly sorted through the follow-up phone calls, where James was so generous with his time and advice. The peace of mind he has given us is priceless.
Brilliant, my dog has separation anxiety and he was struggling being left even for an hour. Now he sleeps on his own instead of my bed and he is alot more confident elsewhere. Thanks James
James (and The Dogs Way) work miracles! I rehomed my 11 month old Working Cocker Spaniel 2 months ago and it soon became apparent she really struggled with separation anxiety to the point which I couldn’t leave the room for a matter of seconds without her crying and clawing at the door. At a loss for how to resolve this I gave James a call and after the initial phone consultation I had all the confidence in the world if anyone was going to help Cally it would be James. We had a home visit the following week and I was amazed at how quickly Cally took to what James was teaching us. Fast forward to not even 2 weeks since the home visit and I’ve just been able to leave Cally for an hour and a half with absolutely no whimpering, crying, scratching! It genuinely feels like we have a different dog! I couldn’t recommend James and The Dogs Way enough!
Separation Anxiety Feels Permanent.
It isn’t.
Most people who reach out to us have already tried the standard list. A Kong, a licky mat, the radio left on, a worn t-shirt by the bed. Calming sprays, plug-ins. “Doggy TV”. Medication from the vet.
And when none of it works, the conclusion they draw - reasonably enough - is that their dog is just always going to be a problem.
The dog isn’t the problem. The approach is.
Separation anxiety is one of the most resolvable conditions we work with. The vast majority of dogs we see go from unable to be left at all, to relaxed and settled for meaningful periods of time — usually within a matter of months. Not because we have a magic method, but because we start in the right place.
Gradual Desensitisation Training doesn’t work for separation issues.
Most separation anxiety programmes are built around the same idea: leave your dog alone, start with seconds, build up to minutes, repeat.
The logic sounds reasonable. The problem is, it teaches the dog nothing.
A dog that’s been alone for 30 seconds without incident hasn’t learned to relax. It’s just been alone for 30 seconds. The anxiety is still there - unaddressed, unresolved - and the clock is still running.
Owners end up with a dog that seems fine for five minutes, ten minutes, apparently making progress — right up until the first time they leave for a realistic period of time, or try to carry out a normal activity.
Then everything falls apart.
We start somewhere different. Before we ever ask your dog to be alone, we teach them to genuinely relax — independently, confidently, with you still in the room. Because a dog that can’t switch off when you’re there has no foundation whatsoever for switching off when you’re not.
Solve that first. The rest follows.
Separation Anxiety is a Distance issue, not a Time issue.
One of the Core Principles of solving Separation Anxiety is understanding how our dogs relate to our personal and intimate space, and how they manage their own.
Dogs that struggle with separation aren’t simply anxious about being alone. They’ve never learned to be comfortable in their own space — even when you’re in the room. They follow, they crowd, they can’t settle unless they’re close. The relationship with distance hasn’t been established, so the relationship with absence can’t be either.
The Three Piece system we use to take our clients from Struggling to Settled.
It takes an average of 3 months to take our clients from not being able to leave their dogs at all, to happy dogs being left comfortable and relaxed for around 2 hours or more. Whilst every dog is different, and every dog progresses at their own pace - these three building blocks mean that the majority of our clients can reach a meaningful resolution that actually gives them their lives back in a reasonable timeframe.
Teaching your dog how to make the decision to relax on their own - anytime, anywhere, regardless of who’s present. Building confidence, independence and the ability to self regulate is an essential piece of overcoming Separation Anxiety.
Independent Relaxation
When you leave, all you want your dog to do is rest. An independent sleep routine gives your dog the opportunity to practice this every night, with you still in the house. In your dog’s mind, leaving to go to bed and leaving to go out the door should mean the same thing - sleep.
Independent Sleep Routine
Helping your dog to understand when they can be close, when they can follow - and crucially when they can’t - is the final piece of the puzzle. Your personal space is precious, and it’s important to set the same boundaries with your dog that you do with people. It’s just polite.
Setting boundaries
Introduction to True vs. Learned separation Anxiety
Members Exclusive Preview Video.
There’s a Human Side to This Too.
Separation anxiety doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Dogs and owners are in it together — and in our experience, the most effective work happens when we acknowledge both sides of the relationship.
Dogs are extraordinarily good at picking up on the emotional state of the people they love. If you’re anxious about leaving, your dog knows. If you’ve been dreading the moment you walk out the door, they’ve felt that too. It’s not weakness — it’s just how the relationship works.
We’re used to working with the whole picture. Whatever you’re carrying into this process, we’re used to that too. And we treat it as part of the work.
The Separation Anxiety Programme
You're here because you can't leave the house. That's the problem we solve — completely.
Our complete programme for separation anxiety. One price, covering everything from your first assessment to resolution - with a plan built around your dog, your routine, and where you live. Wherever you are in the UK.
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Most dogs get there in around three months. Some take longer. The price never changes.
Many pet insurance policies cover behavioural work — check yours.
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It starts with a full assessment - two to three hours, in your home, working through your dog's behaviour and its cause, and teaching you the techniques hands-on.
From there, we build your plan and guide it week by week, on a 30-minute call. If you and your dog end up getting lost, or need help getting back on track, a second discretionary visit may be needed to help you on your way - all included as part of the programme. The price is fixed from day one, whatever your dog's case needs to get there.
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Same goal, same customised learning, guided through the same weekly calls — and, most importantly, the same resolution at the same fixed price, whatever your dog's case needs to get there.
Your programme starts with a remote assessment over the phone. You send us videos of your dog's behaviour, and we assess and diagnose from there.
If you'd rather have your dog assessed in person, you can visit our secure paddocks in North Yorkshire for a Behaviour Intensive — where we'll diagnose your dog's separation issues, and work through your dog's behaviour and its cause with hands-on learning and techniques.
Some of our clients also visit Yorkshire on holiday — often with the dog in tow. If that's you, we're happy to come to your holiday accommodation and work with your dog there, in the environment you're actually living in that week. It just needs planning in advance, so we can make sure the time is set aside for you.
Whichever way you choose to start, it's all included. One programme, one price — the assessment, the calls, the resolution.
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The programme includes Lifetime Membership of The Dog's Way — phone and WhatsApp support whenever you need it, our full video and digital library, and 33% off any one-to-one session, for the life of your dog.
THE JOURNAL | featured Separation Anxiety Articles
Your Questions Answered.
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The short answer - as long as it takes for your dog to be comfortable and settled when left alone for 2 hours. In practice, the typical range is from 2 months to 6 months depending on a client’s individual circumstances - the average being 3 months from start to finish.
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No. Diagnosis and planning can happen from video footage of your dog's behaviour - that footage can tell us everything we need to build the right plan. Teaching then happens through your weekly calls, and through our online training and booklets.
Some cases benefit from hands-on teaching alongside that. If yours is one of them, you're welcome to visit us at Underhill Farm any time — included, no extra cost. If you're staying in Yorkshire on holiday, we can visit you there instead, planned in advance — also included, no extra cost either way.
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If you’re asking, you already know the answer. Independent sleep (which means not with you, or in your room) is one of the three key skills your dog needs to learn to be able to rest and relax when they are on their own in the home. Which means that at some point in the programme, you will be taught how to create healthy separation over night.
This is by far the number one thing my clients push back on, and also the most important part of success. If you struggle with this idea, think about the wider implications of what that says about your own issues with attachment and separation - and how your dog might perceive your own anxieties.
In simple terms, dogs who cannot sleep independently do not typically achieve successfully being left beyond 30 minutes - so for real, meaningful change, it’s not something you can compromise on. -
Sometimes referred to as Be Right Back, door is a bore, one minute at a time, incremental separation.
No, we don’t - because it doesn’t work. Not only do these programmes fail to teach anything new that the dogs can learn, but they typically involve creating false positives in which the owners believe they are making slow but steady progress as they slowly build their dogs up from 1 minute to 15 minutes. These are not meaningful timeframes for dogs or people.
Unfortunately, beyond 15 minutes (typically 6 months into the programme) is when the dogs begin to fail and revert, because there is no actual training in place for them to utilise, and many of these systems then blame the owners for not being patient, slow, or consistent enough in their training.
These training systems are not benign - the result is often that the owners themselves are left with elevated stress, anxiety, guilt and hopelessness through no fault of their own. We want all of our clients to understand that training should be a cooperative process, not one where shame or blame are used to add pressure or deflect responsibility on the part of the trainer. we believe that the vast majority of clients commit to a process of change and work their hardest to enact it, and that our job is to support them in that process.
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Most anxiety medications are prescribed ‘to be used alongside a training programme or with the guidance of a behaviourist’. This programme is designed to address root causes of separation anxiety and other symptoms, and is generally effective without the need for medications.
There are scenarios where genetics, early spay/neuter, or other medical issues may be exacerbating anxiety in a way where medications may help ease these symptoms. However, these are often over prescribed, and not in any way a prerequisite to training.
We prefer that dogs do not start their training program on SSRIs or sedatives, so that we can get an accurate picture of stress and other related behaviour. Trazodone in particular is a strong sedative, and doesn’t allow us to accurately understand how your dog is feeling. If you are concerned about managing your dogs symptoms, please discuss with us on a call before making changes to medication.
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No we don’t. The symptoms of separation anxiety are exactly that - symptoms of a dog that is unable to self regulate.
This programme is built on calm place work without food as a basis for relaxation, which is generalised in a range of contexts. Massage is used to nurture calm and relaxed state in your dog.We also teach appropriate boundary setting with clear and gentle body language communication, a lead to guide dogs to where we want them to be, vocal instruction and disagreement, and a focus on how our own behaviour patterns influence the way our dogs respond.
A big part of the programme is focused on your own therapeutic experience, talking through how you are feeling, what creates stress or anxiety or fear for you - and techniques that can help you to process those feelings in simple, practical ways that positively influence your dog. -
The truth is that dogs know how we feel, and when life’s biggest challenges knock us sideways, our dogs know that we need them to be close. Sometimes, what we experience as separation anxiety is actually a dog responding to our own emotional cues, and trying to solve an unsolvable problem in us by attaching themselves to us.
If you have recently lost a loved one - human, dog or otherwise - your first priority should be quality grief counselling and support. When you are ready, we will be here to help - but please take as much time as you need to ensure that when you want to start solving separation issues, you are in a place where you are able to ask for some distance. They won’t listen if you aren’t ready.