Beyond the Separation Anxiety Program: Predictable Environmental Cues and Reclaiming Your Life with Alexandra Santos

Webinar Description

Behavior modification is the cornerstone of helping dogs overcome separation anxiety. Yet, even with a well-structured training plan, two important aspects are often overlooked: the everyday environment in which learning takes place, and the wellbeing of the dog parent throughout the journey.
In this webinar, we’ll explore how predictable environmental cues—the small, consistent patterns and interactions that dogs notice in everyday life but we often overlook—may contribute to a calmer emotional state. Let’s think of them as part of the “stage” on which the behavior modification program unfolds.
We’ll also discuss how, once a dog is coping confidently when left alone, the human parents can gradually reclaim the parts of life that they put on hold because of their dog’s separation anxiety – from meeting friends and enjoying hobbies to simply leaving home without worry or guilt.

What we’ll cover:
• How important it is – for emotional and behavior change to happen – for a dog to have low baseline anxiety.
• Human habits and patterns that dogs are extraordinarily good at detecting, yet go unnoticed by us.
• How randomly changing those patterns creates uncertainty and may increase anxiety.
• Becoming aware of daily patterns and making daily life more predictable, thereby contributing to a nervous system that is better able to learn during behavior modification.
• Identifying what dog parents want their social life to look like.
• How to reclaim it gradually so their confidence in their dog grows while avoiding relapses.

Learning objectives:

By the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:

• Explain why reducing a dog’s baseline anxiety supports emotional regulation and enhances learning during a separation anxiety behavior modification program.
• Recognize predictable environmental cues in everyday life and understand how increasing predictability can contribute to a calmer emotional state.
• Identify practical ways to create a more predictable home environment without adding unnecessary complexity to the family’s daily routine.
• Develop a gradual, strategic approach to help dog parents reclaim the parts of life they have put on hold while maintaining confidence in their dog’s progress and minimizing the risk of relapses.

Your Presenters- Alexandra Santos

Alexandra Santos is a professional canine behavior consultant and trainer, with formal education through The Animal Care College in the U.K. where she graduated with honors for the Diploma of Advanced Canine Psychology, and through The Companion Animal Sciences Institute where she graduated with distinction for the Diploma of Advanced Dog Training.

She is the author of the books “Puppy Problems”, “Puppy Training: How to housetrain your puppy effectively”, “How to leash train your dog and enjoy walking him”, “O meu cão e eu”, “Cão educado, dono feliz” (published in Portugal), and has also authored and co-authored several scientific articles for the Journal of Applied Companion Animal Behavior and the International Institute for Applied Companion Animal Behavior.

Alexandra lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal, as a guest professor at Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias and provides online coaching, internationally, for dogs and their people. She has been a presenter at several seminars in Portugal and Brazil on positive reinforcement-based training and regularly presents webinars for the Pet Professional Guild in the USA and Edogtorial in Spain.

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