Episode 12: 4 Tips For Dogs Who Deviate From Your Plan
Training Priorities Matrix
Not all training scenarios are created equal. Use this matrix to figure out which situations to tackle first — and which ones can wait.
Plot your different separation scenarios on this grid. Think about every situation where your dog needs to be alone: when you go to work, when your partner leaves, weekday evenings, weekends. Each scenario might land in a different spot.
Importance to you
Ease for your dog
Dog does better, low priority
This one could be easier to pick off. Tackle it when you need some motivation.
e.g. When my partner leaves
Dog does better, high priority
This could be a great place to start!
e.g. Wednesday evenings
Dog does worse, low priority
Come back to this later in training.
e.g. Sunday evening
Dog does worse, high priority
If you’re up for a challenge, tackle this scenario first.
e.g. Saturday when the kids go to sports
How to use this
- List every situation where your dog is left alone (or with a different person).
- For each one, ask: How important is this to me? (Does it affect my daily life? Can I work around it?)
- Then ask: How does my dog do in this scenario? (Are they relatively calm, or do they really struggle?)
- Plot each scenario on the grid. Start training with the top-right quadrant — scenarios that matter most to you and that your dog already handles reasonably well.
Listen to the full episode for more on this topic:
Episode 12: 4 Tips For Dogs Who Deviate From Your Plan →
Written by Julie Naismith
Dog separation anxiety specialist. 15 years of experience, 100,000+ guardians helped, author of four books, and creator of the Be Right Back program.
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