Separation Anxiety

This video shows a time lapse of Michael working through some anxious behaviors when we put him into a new situation (different crate, different room) with the help of a no-bark collar.
He is by no means “perfect” and still will struggle initially at times (especially when we change his routine) to settle down and relax when left alone in his crate.
We have worked on a number of things to help him increase his comfort with and in the crate, build more calming skills in general (and with the kennel) and coping mechanisms.
These things and some of the new tools we have implemented have helped immensely to prevent him from cycling through his previous full out manic and destructive behaviors.
A big key to helping ensure he does not get to that incredibly toxic level of stress and frantic desperation has been breaking his cycle of anxiety before he works himself up to the worst possible point of anxiety.
We have helped lower his desire to cycle through this anxiousness with a lot of positive things (crate games, feeding in the crate, free shaping to the crate, rewarding him for being calm when in the crate as well as helping him learn better self control and calmer behavior in general through his training).
We have also helped to snap him out of going back through his full toxic cycle of anxiety with pressure / interruptions as well.
Both of these things have played a vital role in his progress thus far and will be key in continuing to help him maintain and improve things moving forward / back at home.
We initially introduced him to a remote collar and used it to discourage break out attempts or excessive noise / behavior in the kennel.
Paired with his obedience practice and working for food, we also practiced going into the crate when asked and a lot of laying down in the crate (both on command with us in the room and non verbally with pressure and reward via remote treat dispenser).
This helped Michael create a default to lie down when he would feel pressure (from the remote collar) which would help break his cycle of anxiety and prevent him from continuing to build up to a more heightened state.
Often we found that his cycle of anxiety (as we have seen with many dogs in the past), would start or increase with vocalizations such as loud / frantic whining and barking.
This would then lead to testing the kennel “seams” for weak spots or pawing / biting at the crate trying to find a way to break out.
After getting some foundation in place with positive training and pressure (from the remote collar), we introduced Michael to a no-bark collar.
The no-bark collar will be extremely helpful to keep him from going to that extreme place he was before, now that he knows how to respond to pressure (quieting and lying down).
This is especially important for when his family is away from home and unable to directly influence him with help from the remote collar or food reinforcement to prevent him from hurting himself or going into a full panic like he would in the past.
You can see clearly in the video how he begins to cycle through some anxious behaviors (which typically involve sole vocalization - whining or barking) that is interrupted by the no-bark collar and then he lies down and settles briefly.
It is not an instant fix by any means, but after some time working through a few attempts at getting himself worked up and being interrupted with the no-bark collar he works toward a settled and resting state and stops trying to test the kennel or be anxious.
He has come a long way from day one!