About this episode

Rachel Rodgers discusses separation anxiety in rescue dogs and offers practical advice for new adopters.

If you've ever brought home a rescue dog and felt like you were failing — this episode is for you. Rachel Rodgers is a registered clinical animal behaviourist, founder of Nose to Trail, and a specialist in separation anxiety with a background spanning over 15 years in UK rescue centres including Dogs Trust and the RSPCA. In this episode, she and host Nathan Dunleavy have an honest, warm, and deeply practical conversation about why rescue dogs are more prone to SA, what the early signs really look like, and why so many cases go unrecognised or get made worse with the wrong approach. If you're navigating separation anxiety with a rescue dog, this is the episode to share. In this episode: ✅ Why rescue dogs are more vulnerable to separation anxiety and what's really going on emotionally when a dog has been rehomed ✅ The early warning signs of SA that most new adopters miss (including one that looks like a toilet training problem) ✅ How pain and underlying health issues can masquerade as separation anxiety and why a vet referral matters more than you think ✅ What the settling-in period should actually look like, and why "just leave them to cry it out" can make things significantly…

People in this episode

Host: Nathan Dunleavy

Guest: Rachel Rodgers

Topics covered

• separation anxiety
• rescue dogs
• dog adoption
• animal behavior
• caregiver support

Keywords

• separation anxiety
• rescue dogs
• dog adoption
• animal behaviorist
• health issues
• independence training
• caregiver fatigue

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Dogs Trust, RSPCA, Nose to Trail

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