Your Canis Major

03/13/2026

Secure attachment is often misunderstood in dog training spaces.

A dog who looks to you for safety, reassurance, or comfort is not automatically “too dependent.” And warmly responding to these needs won’t reinforce their fear, stress, or anxiety. In fact, attachment science tells us that feeling safe in relationships often supports resilience, exploration, confidence, and stress tolerance.

Dogs are social animals. They seek proximity to trusted people when life feels uncertain, uncomfortable, or overwhelming. And the availability of support for those big emotions can really influence how your dog reacts to stress overall.

When we talk about secure attachment, constant closeness isn’t the goal. It means that your dog knows that your support is consistent, available, responsive, reliable, and predictable. They trust that you can provide them with emotional security in the face of stress. That trust actually gives dogs more capacity to cope, not less.

And importantly, secure attachment and independence are not opposites. Very often, one helps make the other possible.

How do you see attachment influence your dog’s stress tolerance?

01/09/2026

Pain is complex. Dogs are subtle. And imaging has limits, even though we’d like to take it at face value. Questioning these common myths can help us notice signs of pain earlier, and advocate more confidently for our dogs’ comfort and wellbeing

If this made you pause or rethink something, that’s a good thing. Awareness is the first step to getting your dog the support they might need. What stood out to you?

12/17/2025

Management isn’t synonymous with sitters or daycare. Management just means “arranging the environment so that your dog doesn’t keep rehearsing the behaviour.”

Total suspension of all absences can feel incredibly restrictive, especially for guardians who live alone. Often, managing quick absences like taking out the trash, or grabbing an ingredient you forgot at the grocery store, can be a bigger pain point than managing a dinner out, or a day at the office.

Quick, creative environmental changes might help you sneak out to do those tiny absences while you protect your progress, and your dog’s wellbeing, too.

The rule of thumb? If your dog shows any separation-related behaviors, that approach isn’t right for them. It’s only management if the environmental arrangement is preventing the problem behavior from occurring.

What creative solution have you found for managing absences on your separation anxiety journey?

12/15/2025

The number one way to p**s off a dog guardian? Saying that their dog is “just a dog”. These four words are incredibly condescending, and minimize an incredible bond between a human and their dog.

From an attachment science perspective, dogs aren’t “just” anything. They’re social mammals who form real attachment bonds with their caregivers, using the same biological systems that human infants do. In fact, the dog-guardian bond is characterized by the same four features of attachment that define the mother-infant bond: secure base, safe haven, proximity seeking, and - ding ding ding - separation distress!

When a dog struggles with separation anxiety, it isn’t dramatic. It’s an attachment system doing exactly what it evolved to do: signal distress to a caregiver when safety feels threatened.

It isn’t “just a dog”, and taking their distress seriously is important for both their wellbeing and your relationship ❤️

12/01/2025

We love teaching dogs self-regulation skills OUTSIDE of alone time. It is so important that our dogs have coping skills they can access when they’re stressed. And separation anxiety or not, as social animals separation is inherently stressful.

When we practice self-regulation outside of alone time, we 1) help reduce daily, baseline stress levels and 2) give our dogs lots of practice performing behaviors that help them feel better.

We teach all of these skills in the background throughout our six month separation anxiety course. Click the link in our bio for more info ✨

11/14/2025

Everyone gets stuck in separation anxiety training at some point. There a loads of reasons why progress might be sticky, even if you’re doing everything right.

Swipe through for five common reasons we see slow/inconsistent progress with client dogs.

Have you experienced any of these challenges with your separation anxiety dog? What helped you break through inconsistency or plateaus? ✨

11/12/2025

You make so many choices on behalf of your dog. It’s part of the way things work when you’re responsible for tiny creatures who probably can’t be trusted with a lot of bigger decisions. Left to her own devices, my dog Lu would make some pretty interesting choices that would be neither safe or healthy… pestering cats, eating p**p, countersurfing blocks of butter… But when it is safe to make a choice, and the options provided are all of benefit (or don’t matter!), I always try to let Lu choose.

Why? Overall, providing Lu with choices limits frustration, increases her confidence, and teaches her that her behavior matters. Here are three ways I incorporate choice into Lu’s life daily.

What are your favorite, easy ways to give your dog choice?

10/18/2025

You’ve probably done a lot of thinking about what your dog needs to succeed in separation anxiety training.

But what about you? There will be days when you’re frustrated. When you’re embarassed. When you feel like giving up.

What qualities or skills have helped you through this journey with your own dog? Let tothers who are struggling know in the comments! 💭⬇️

10/05/2025

Registration is open for the January cohort of our 6-month online course, The Separation Constellation! TSC is a hybrid course of live weekly Q&As, recorded lectures, workbook activities, and a supportive community of separation anxiety guardians.

Learn more and sign up:
https://yourcanismajor.com/theseparationconstellation

We also have openings for private consultations and intensive training:
https://yourcanismajor.com/private-training

Can't leave your dog home alone? There is hope! We help you teach your dog to feel safe and secure when you leave. Schedule a separation anxiety behavior consultation with a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer today. We can see you online from anywhere in the world.

10/01/2025

The right pace also means pushing enough!

09/26/2025

Resolving separation anxiety is about more than suspending absences and going at your dog’s pace. We believe a holistic approach that involves environmental changes, self care for both you and your dog, mindset shifts, body language education, and setting realistic expectations are all key pieces of a successful training plan.