 Welcome to my second collection of zombie rules! Zombie rules are instructions about writing (often learned in school or from parents) that have nothing to do with correct grammar. The are called zombie rules because they keep coming back from the dead! I have been posting a collection of zombie rules on LinkedIn, but I'm gathering them here for readers who aren't on LinkedIn or don't feel like scrolling through my feed to find them. You can find my first six zombie rules in Part 1.  Zombie rule:
I’m blaming this one on Microsoft! 😩 When you type a bullet or numbered list in Word, the default setting puts a capital letter at the beginning of each item, even if you typed a lowercase letter. It’s only natural for people to believe this must be how they should always write lists. After all, why would it autocorrect if it wasn’t wrong? (You can turn this default setting off. When Word capitalizes your first word, click the “lightning bolt” dropdown menu that appears under the capital letter and select “turn off automatic capitalization.” It will stay off for that document.) There is no overall rule for capitalization in lists. Here’s a quick guide. You should start items with a capital letter in either of these circumstances:
You should start each item with a lowercase letter if
It doesn’t matter whether the list is a bullet list or a numbered list. The same rules apply. If your list items have no punctuation and aren’t full sentences, you can choose to start them with capital letters or lowercase letters. Just be consistent throughout your document. This kind of detail doesn’t need to slow you down while you’re writing. Just write your list. When you finish your document, go through all the lists (or better yet, get an editor to do it!) and make sure they’re formatted properly.  Zombie rule: Always write foreign words in italics This rule has always had a dash of "it depends" thrown in. Most people don’t italicize "status quo" but they would italicize "nemo dat quod non habet" (you can’t give away what you don’t have), even though they’re both Latin. Let’s consider the main reasons for italicizing non-English words in English text: 1. To help the reader understand why they are seeing something unfamiliar. 2. To avoid confusion with a similar (or identical) word in English that has a different meaning. From a plain language standpoint, the easiest way to ensure your readers understand the text is to use familiar words. So, if a non-English word is familiar to your intended audience (for example, food words like croissant, ravioli, and schnitzel) then you should be able to use them without italics. There's no need to draw special attention to them. If the non-English word won’t be familiar to your audience, you can either replace it with a familiar English word or explain what the non-English word means (or provide a translation). In either case, italics aren’t necessary. In cases that fall under number 2, where there is an identical word in English with a different meaning, putting the word in italics can be helpful. But again, replacing the word with its English equivalent is usually easier on the reader. Before you accuse me of trying to “dumb down” your prose, I don’t think that multilingual texts should necessarily be avoided. If your intended readers are well-travelled, well-read, or familiar with international terminology used in a specific field (perhaps art history, cooking, or architecture), by all means use the most appropriate words to express yourself. Plain language isn’t about banning complex or sophisticated language, it’s about targeting your language to the readers you're hoping to reach.  Zombie rule: All Headings Must Be in Title Case Why Are Headings Important? Headings allow you to break up your text and make it easier for readers to find the information they’re looking for. Headings also make it easier for them to skip the parts they aren’t interested in, which saves them time. Headings are also helpful for writers, because they make it easier to categorize your content and put together a well organized document. Don’t We Need To Capitalize Every Word? Actually, most rules for title case don’t suggest capitalizing every word. (Did you hear that Microsoft Word?!) Conjunctions (and, or, but, if), articles (a, the) and short prepositions (in, on, over, for, etc.) are generally not capitalized in title case. This confuses a lot of writers, who end up making every small word lower case because who knows whether it’s one of the special words or not! We Need To Do This for All Headings, Right? Not necessarily. Using title case for headings is an option, but title case is harder to read than sentence case. Have You Ever Tried To Read A Whole Sentence Where Every Word Is Capitalized—Or A Whole Paragraph? It Gets Pretty Annoying. It’s Like The Author Is Saying, All My Words Are So Important They All Deserve Capital Letters! If the headings in your document are long, descriptive headings (which can be helpful for readers), writing them like sentences will make them easier to read. But how will readers know they’re reading a heading? Headings should stand out from the text by using a larger font size, a bold font, or a different font or colour. (Often they use a combination of these.) And every level of heading should look different than the others. This approach makes it easy for readers to understand how the document is organized.  Zombie Rule: Paragraphs must contain more than one sentence Like most zombie rules, this one has well-meaning origins in English classrooms. 👩🏫 Students need to understand that paragraphs aren’t just like sentences. They combine several sentences that are linked by a single topic. It’s a lesson we all need to learn when we start writing longer pieces, like essays. But that doesn’t mean you can’t ever have a one-sentence paragraph. Or even a one-word paragraph. Right? And as social media changes the way people read and write, paragraphs are becoming shorter. Readers have a low tolerance (especially online) for huge blocks of text. On the other hand, It’s a bad idea to make every paragraph one sentence long. It’s tedious and hard to follow because ideas are not connected together in a logical flow. But if you want to make a statement really stand out, let it stand alone!  Zombie Rule: Always capitalize Job Titles and Department Names 👨⚖️
As a Plain Language Consultant and former Communications Specialist who has worked in Business Development, Marketing & Communications, and Media Relations, I have encountered a whole lot of random rules about capitalization in various organizations. Capitalizing someone’s job title is usually a way to make them feel like they have an Important Role. But let’s face it, a job is a job—it’s not your identity (I hope) and shouldn’t be treated like your name. Exception: Sometimes jobs titles are indeed treated as part of someone’s name. Their title comes directly before their name when this happens: President Michelle Waitzman says… As for departments, they are simply ways to categorize functions in an organization. They don’t each carry their own brand or trademark, so why give them capitalized names? The finance department takes care of finances, the marketing department does marketing, and so on. If you can’t tell whether someone is talking about the department or the work (e.g., the marketing department versus marketing as an activity), it’s probably a sign that the sentence is not clearly written. Do I expect capitalized job titles and departments to disappear any time soon? No. They make people feel important, and nobody likes to have their importance diminished with puny lowercase letters!
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 Zombie rules are instructions about writing (often learned in school or from parents) that have nothing to do with correct grammar. The are called zombie rules because they keep coming back from the dead! I have been posting a collection of zombie rules on LinkedIn, but I'm gathering them here for readers who aren't on LinkedIn or don't feel like scrolling through my feed to find them. You can find more zombie rules in Part 2.  Zombie rule: Never end a sentence with a preposition. 🙄 This “rule” is one up with which advocates of plain language will not put! It is simply a preference on which certain sticklers have insisted for generations. It adds complexity that makes it more difficult to understand about what the sentence is. It makes me wonder for whom this so-called rule was intended. I believe it is something over which we must get!  Zombie rule: Never start a sentence with a conjunction. 😕 Conjunctions are the joining words in a sentence, like "and," "but," "if," "or," and so on. And many of us were taught in primary school that it’s wrong to start a sentence with them. But mature writers can use them appropriately at the beginning of a sentence. If the sentence makes sense with a conjunction at the beginning, go ahead and use one!  Zombie rule: Never split an infinitive ⛏ An infinitive is the “to” form of a verb, such as to say, to go, to walk, and so on. This so-called rule was created to precisely mimic Latin grammar in English. It’s difficult to honestly believe that people think it’s incorrect to put an adverb after “to.” So allow me to simply state that splitting an infinitive is perfectly acceptable in English. But if you’re writing in Latin, feel free to strictly enforce this rule.  Zombie rule: WRITE IMPORTANT INFORMATION IN ALL CAPS 📢 If you’ve ever agreed to terms and conditions online YOU PROBABLY SAW ENTIRE PARAGRAPHS OF TEXT WRITTEN IN ALL CAPS. Some paper contracts use them too. I say “saw” not “read” because I can almost guarantee you didn’t read them. TEXT WRITTEN IN ALL CAPS IS HARDER FOR OUR BRAINS TO PROCESS. Why? Because we don’t read letter by letter. We recognize the shapes of familiar words at a glance, which allows us to read faster. For example: dog vs. doe We recognize the shapes easily because “d” has an ascender (it goes above the height of the “o”) and “g” has a descender (it goes below the bottom of the “o”) but “e” does not have either. However: DOG vs. DOE These are much harder to tell apart at a glance because all the letters are the same height and width. Multiply this by hundreds of letters, and your brain just refuses to even try. Important text that you actually want people to read should not be in all caps. It’s one of the least helpful zombie rules out there!  Zombie rule: Never use passive voice 😐 It's common writing advice to avoid passive voice (and use active voice), but banning it altogether is definitely a zombie rule! Otherwise: A jogger was attacked in Central Park this morning. becomes Somebody attacked a jogger in Central Park this morning. Is it clearer? No. Another example: Pike’s performance was inspired by the iconic femmes fatales of film noir. becomes The iconic femmes fatales of film noir inspired Pike’s performance. Is the focus on the right person? No. Passive voice is helpful when the subject performing the action is unknown or not the focus of the sentence.  Zombie rule: Always spell out numbers that begin a sentence.
I’ll probably get some pushback on this one, because I’m challenging the Chicago Manual of Style. 😱 But style is not grammar, and there’s no grammatical difference between numbers spelled out as words and numbers written in digits. Digits are easier to read, especially for large numbers. Consider this example: 1929 was a bad year to be born in Nebraska. If we want to follow the rule, we have to write the year out in words: Nineteen twenty-nine was a bad year to be born in Nebraska. Pretty awkward. Readers aren’t used to seeing years written out like that, so it takes longer to process. Instead, many writers try to rewrite the sentence so the year isn’t at the beginning: The year 1929 was a bad one to be born in Nebraska. or Being born in Nebraska in 1929 was bad. Neither of these versions has the same impact as the original. Any rule that makes your writing *less* clear to readers is a zombie rule as far as I’m concerned. Feel free to prove me wrong, but I haven’t heard a convincing argument for this rule yet. Charities and non-profits are experiencing a volunteer crisis.
I don’t have a fix for the lack of volunteers. But I do have suggestions for making charities and non-profit organizations more efficient, so they can still deliver excellent programs and services with fewer people. I’ve been involved with charities and non-profits at every level, from contractor to project-specific volunteer to the board of directors. I have learned what drains their resources and frustrates their volunteers and leadership, leading to high turnover. Here are 3 ways to help your charity or non-profit run more efficiently and stay on mission. 1. Rewrite your bylaws in plain language
2. Create clear policies and procedures
3. Provide detailed, plain language manuals and guidelines
Bonus suggestionCreating or rewriting these documents can be a big task if they are not in good shape already. You may be able to find grant funding to pay a writer or consultant to help improve your governance documents.
Not sure how your documents stack up or how to improve them? I’d be happy to review them for clarity and usability. I can also take on the rewrites in collaboration with your board. Get in touch through my contact form. (This post was originally published on LinkedIn.)  I just delivered a two-part online workshop about plain language to a remote team of over 30 people. Holding workshops online is challenging. People are used to webinars, where all they have to do is listen. But workshops are meant to be interactive. How do you engage a large group (too large to just let anyone interject at any time) who are staring at a screen for three hours?
Here are some of the tips I've incorporated into my online workshops: 1. Use the tools Zoom has a lot of tools that make interaction possible online. Making use of several of them throughout a long workshop keeps people involved and gives them a chance to have input without the workshop leader losing control of the session. Chat: I encourage participants to use the chat box throughout the workshop if they have a comment about something or an example to share. This gives them an outlet for team chit-chat. I also tell them to ask questions in the chat as soon as they think of them, because sometimes you forget your question by the time the next Q&A comes up. A great idea I got from online event consultant Robbie Samuels is to ask people to type QUESTION before their question, so that you can scroll back and easily find the questions later if there's a lot of chat happening. I engage participants in the chat space by asking questions and getting them to answer in the chat box. This is much faster than having people raise their hands, unmute, and share their answers. I also find that only a few people in any group are comfortable unmuting and speaking during a workshop. The chat box is much less intimidating, so more people participate. Breakout rooms: Once or twice per session, I like to put participants into breakout rooms to discuss a problem I've given them or work through an exercise. I keep the rooms small (4-5 participants each) so that everyone has a chance to talk. I also keep these breakouts short – around 5 minutes each – just long enough to generate ideas. When everyone returns to the main room, I will get one or two participants to unmute and share what they came up with in their breakout group. Polls: Asking questions in a poll is a great way to understand more about your participants. I use polls at the beginning of the workshop to get a sense of participants' level of understanding of the workshop's topic. Then I use them throughout to gather opinions, experiences, and reactions. 2. Make it real Learning theoretical concepts about communication is all well and good, but many people feel like it's a waste of their time. If someone is giving up half their workday to attend a workshop, they want to know that what they're learning applies directly to their work. That's why I prefer to work with examples that come from the participants' organization. When they see how their own content and communications can be improved with relatively small changes, it opens their eyes (and their minds) to new ways of approaching their writing. Be nice: When you're using real work from the organization to create examples, it's important not to pick their work apart. After all, the person who wrote that example is likely online with you. Be sensitive to people's feeling about their work, and if you're asking others what could be improved, remind them to be kind in their critiques as well. 3. Give them a break If an online workshop is longer than an hour, it's important to let participants take a break. Trying to keep your attention focused on a screen for longer is difficult, and people start to tune out. A five- or ten-minute break is enough to use the washroom, grab a beverage, let the dog out, or whatever they are waiting to do. It also gives participants a chance to check for urgent messages and quickly fire off a reply. They usually return from a break more engaged and ready to keep learning. 4. Be flexible Every organization is different. They have different priorities and needs. They have different cultures. They have different attitudes toward professional development. Offering the same workshop to everyone is very efficient, but it ignores all these differences. I might cover the same general topics from one workshop to the next, but I always try to have a meeting with the organizers as soon as they book me. I want to learn about the people who will be there. What challenges are they facing? What materials are they creating? What are their backgrounds? The more I know going in, the better I can target the workshop to meet their needs and focus on their interests. When was the last time you invested in training for your team? Setting aside the time to gather them in person or online to boost their communication skills can
Contact me today to discuss workshops that will help your team communicate clearly, effectively, and more easily.  How often do you walk out of a meeting (or close your Zoom window) and say to yourself, "That could have been an email!"? We've all said it. Some of us say it a lot! But is it true?
The problem is, to make the meeting unnecessary, someone has to write a highly effective email. An email that will:
It turns out, very few people are writing these highly effective emails. So when they try to send out an email instead of having a meeting, they end up needing a meeting to explain the email! If you really want to cut back on meetings, you can't just whip off a quick email to your team. You need to plan what you're going to say, how you'll say it, and who will receive it. Don't hit Send right away. Take your time. Do something else for a few minutes to clear your head. Read it over with fresh eyes to see whether it makes sense and includes all the information that should be there. Double-check who should be in the To list, and make sure you haven't accidentally left people off or clicked on the wrong person's name. Email is still a big part of business communication. If your team isn't using it effectively, they're wasting each other's time. If your team could use some help writing highly effective emails, book a one-hour online seminar and I'll save you all some time and hopefully cut down on those meetings!  I’m a longtime multitasker. I’ve been self-employed for a decade, and most of the time I work with multiple clients on a variety of overlapping projects. But I’ve noticed a trend in my working habits: I’m task-switching more and more quickly. I’ve decided to change that. As I launch into a new year, I’m making “single-tasking” my goal.
Why is single-tasking a challenge? Single-tasking is focusing on one task at a time. A simple concept, but surprisingly difficult to achieve in our multi-tab, multi-device workspaces. As I work on a project, I may be tempted to:
And I’m not alone. Apparently the average knowledge worker checks their email almost 300 times per day! That’s every couple of minutes. It’s amazing they get anything else done at all. What’s wrong with multitasking? Most of us like to think we can quickly do these things and then get back to the task at hand, but research shows that it can take over 20 minutes for a worker to refocus on a tsk after being interrupted by a phone call. Research also shows that even experienced multitaskers do a better job on tasks if they do them one at a time, losing 20% of their overall productivity with every additional task they pile on. How can we get better at single-tasking? There are a lot of strategies for improving focus and removing distractions. Here are some of the most popular:
Do you have other tips for single-tasking? Leave me a comment, because I can use all the help I can get!  I recently presented a webinar on writing and editing spoken word. I highlighted ways to make sure speeches, presentations, webinars, videos, and other spoken content come across clearly and are easy for listeners to absorb and understand.
The topic reminded me that a lot of people think only about printed text when they consider plain language. But plain language goes beyond contracts, user guides, and websites. It should be a consideration in every type of communication, whether textual, visual, audio, or a combination. Listen closely Spoken word communication is used more now than it has been for decades. The proliferation of video content (including training materials and tutorials), online presentations, podcasts, and other audio-based content makes spoken word an important way for people to get information. Incorporating plain language principles into this content will help meet listeners’ needs and add value. There is a lot to consider, from length to structure to word choice and more. And often (unlike with print) people hear spoken content only once. If they don’t understand it the first time, or they get lost half-way through, they won’t benefit from it at all. Picture this In multilingual and low-literacy environments, non-verbal visuals often play an important role in comprehension. They help people understand text by illustrating its meaning or showing things that are difficult to describe clearly. Sometimes text isn’t needed at all. Think about warning signs, for example—often a graphic illustrates the danger in a way that is faster and easier to understand than words. But the graphic must make sense and be instantly recognizable. Illustrations can support public health messages (hand washing guidance), provide instructions (IKEA’s assembly guides), or tell people where they are and where they’re going (maps). Infographics are another great example of how non-verbal visuals can be used to make complex information easier to understand. Can I “plain language” that? There are a lot of misconceptions about how to know whether a communication is in plain language. Reading levels and white space are not the measures of plain language. In the words of the International Plain Language Federation, “Communication is in plain language if its wording, structure, and design are so clear that the intended readers can easily find what they need, understand what they find, and use that information.” This means you can easily judge whether spoken, video, or illustrated content is in plain language (although instead of a “reader” there may be a “listener” or “viewer”). If you’re reviewing your organization’s content for plain language, don’t limit yourself to documents. Anything that delivers information to an audience can be assessed (and perhaps improved) through a plain language lens. If you are looking for plain language assistance, I can help with audits of your current materials, writing and editing new materials, and training your team to use plain language better. Contact me to start the process.  Does your business or organization have forms that employees or clients need to fill in? I’d be surprised if it doesn’t. Everything from job applications to new accounts to requests for customer support use forms these days. How much time does your staff spend following up on incomplete—or incorrectly filled in—forms? How much business do you lose because prospective clients, suppliers, or employees lose patience filling in your forms?
I recently consulted with an organization that provides grants to charities and community organizations. They wanted a plain language review of their application form and the guidelines for applying for their grant. I was really pleased that this was where they chose to start their formal plain language journey. Forms are rarely given the attention they deserve, and the results can cost organizations and companies a surprising amount of both time and money. For example, a number of years ago Alberta Agriculture used plain language to revise their forms and found that “with 1,034,530 forms processed a year, and savings in staff time of at least 10 minutes per form ... the annual saving to the government is an astounding $3,472,014.” Plain language forms also increase fairness and access to justice. Many people attempt to settle disputes in small claims court without hiring an expensive lawyer. Court forms in traditional legal text can be nearly impossible to understand for someone with no legal background, but plain language forms allow everyday people to have their day in court. California rewrote its court forms in 2003 using plain language principles. A follow-up study using one form, a subpoena, showed that 90% of readers understood exactly what the plain language form was telling them to do, while only 60% of readers understood the traditional legal form. Even if your organization wants to improve its forms, few have any idea where to start. Here are some questions to ask yourself (and your team) when you review forms for plain language: What information are you gathering? The form should ask for all the information you need, and nothing more. People are becoming more concerned about data privacy, so before you ask for details like a social insurance number or date of birth, consider whether you really need them. Do the sections flow logically? Your form should begin with basic contact information and build from there. Look at the questions and think about the logical order they should be presented in. If it’s a long form, think about grouping questions on a similar topic into sections. Can the questions be misinterpreted? Forms are often littered with ambiguity because the organization is trying to keep the text brief. User testing is the best way to find out whether your questions are unclear. Does everyone fill it in the same way, or do some people not understand what you asked? If your forms have been in use for a while, look back at old submissions and see which questions got filled in incorrectly most often. These ones need clarification. Have you provided instructions? Very short forms are usually self-explanatory, but complex forms often need instructions to help people fill them out correctly. There are various ways to present instructions, and the best way depends on the complexity of both your form and your instructions. Brief instructions can appear right above the question they apply to. Instructions that may help the form-filler prepare the documents they need, or understand which information you want them to include where, can be listed at the beginning of the document. If you need to provide a lot of explanation about how to correctly fill in the form (like a tax return, for example), you may need a separate document that acts as a guide. If you create a guide, use a numbering system that helps readers understand which instruction applies to which part of the form. Do they know what you’re talking about? Jargon exists in most industries, and it can be a time saver when people in the know are talking among themselves. However, using unfamiliar terms in your forms will confuse and intimidate people. Avoid using in-house terms that are not common outside your organization. Look at your wording from the reader’s point of view. They may not know what your departments or programs are called, for example. By using everyday words or adding explanations, you give them a better chance of providing the answer you need. These are just a few of the ways your forms can be assessed and improved. Other considerations include how forms are filled in (on paper, online, in a document), how they are submitted (by mail, by email, online), and how you acknowledge and respond to them (auto-replies, confirmation emails, timelines for when they will hear back from you). Whenever possible, test your revised forms with representative users (preferably from outside your organization). It can be difficult to predict what people might find hard to understand. When you get your forms right, you’ll get far fewer requests for assistance, follow-up calls for updates, incorrect submissions, misunderstandings, and other time wasters. You’ll also create the impression of a professional, competent, well-organized business or organization. Need help with your forms? Send me a message and I’ll be happy to chat about them.  Although this isn't directly connected to my business, I felt that I couldn't stand by silently as shelters fill up with dogs who were bought or adopted during the pandemic. As people return to workplaces and schools, many are leaving their dogs home alone all day, and the dogs are not "behaving" as expected. If this sounds like you or somebody you know, please read or forward this post on dealing with separation anxiety before another dog ends up homeless and heartbroken. Grab a coffee, it's a long read.
Separation anxiety: What is it and what can you do to help? Does your dog bark for hours while you’re out (according to your frustrated neighbours) or try to escape from the yard? When left indoors alone, does your dog chew up your furniture or your shoes, or go to the bathroom on the rug? When you’re getting ready to leave for the day, does your dog get anxious and whiny? If any of these situations are common in your home, your dog may be suffering from separation anxiety. Separation anxiety can be a real problem for dog owners. Let’s face it, we can’t be home all the time, and most of us can’t take our dogs along when we go out. If your dog can’t stand to be alone, it can be traumatic for everyone involved. Over many generations, we have selectively bred dogs that love to be around people, so it should not surprise us that these same dogs hate to be left alone. The causes of separation anxiety are not always clear. It is more common in dogs that have been moved from one home to another, been in a shelter, or been abandoned. Obviously, some of these dogs have good reason to be nervous about getting left behind. For other dogs, though, there may be no obvious trigger. There are a number of approaches to dealing with separation anxiety, and not all dogs will respond to all approaches. There may be some trial and error before you find out what works in your situation. What not to do Many well-meaning dog owners try to make things easier on their dog, but end up making a bad situation worse. Here are some tactics to avoid. Sneaking out. If your dog gets anxious watching you prepare to leave, it can be tempting to sneak out of the house to avoid the drama. This leaves your dog thinking that you have simply disappeared, without a trace and without warning. If your dog was anxious about watching you leave, they will be absolutely panicked if you’ve vanished into thin air. Making a scene. At the other end of the spectrum, making a big show out of saying goodbye to your dog can also ramp up their anxiety. If you’re making a big fuss, they are likely to think something important is happening. You don’t want your exit to be that important. The same goes for coming home—don’t encourage your dog’s overexcitement to see you when you arrive. Coming and going shouldn’t be a big event. "Quick fix" solutions I outline several ways to address the problem for long-term results below, but here are some “quick fixes” that might work for your dog in the meantime. Doggie daycare. If your dog is friendly with other dogs, consider letting them spend the day at a doggie daycare where they will be busy and surrounded by other dogs and people all day. Dog walker. If daycare is not a good option for your dog, consider hiring a dog walker to give your dog some company and exercise during the day. For dogs that don’t do well on group walks, some walkers offer “let-outs” where they drop by your house and spend a bit of time with your dog in the yard. Distracting treats. Boredom can be a major contributor to separation anxiety. Once there’s nobody home, your dog simply doesn’t know what to do. This can lead to destructive behaviour. Giving your dog something to occupy them for a while can provide a useful distraction. Treat-dispensing toys are good for this purpose. Filling a Kong or other toy with peanut butter, cream cheese or other goodies can keep your dog busy for the first ten minutes or so of alone time. Other high-value treats like a pigskin roll or bully stick can also be used. Whatever you decide to use, give it to your dog only when you are leaving the house. Your dog will start to associate something positive (a special treat) with your absence, instead of focusing on their negative feelings. Long-term solutions If your lifestyle has changed now that you're not working from home, your dog's lifestyle also needs to change. This will take some time and effort from you and your family. Dogs like routine because it makes them feel safe, so try to establish your dog's new routine as soon as possible and be consistent. Gradual acclimatization. If your dog gets very upset when you leave, start by just leaving the room for a few seconds and staying behind a closed door. Gradually increase the time to a few minutes. Your dog needs to know that it’s okay not to have you in their sights at all times. Once your dog is comfortable with this, try going out the front door for a few seconds, then coming back in. This shows your dog that even though you leave, you always come back. Gradually increase the time you are gone until your dog gets used to the idea that you will always come home. This approach works best if the dog is never left alone until they're ready. If everyone in your family is already leaving the house daily, this method may not be feasible. Exercise. The groundwork for a physically and mentally healthy dog has to happen while you’re home. This includes getting plenty of exercise. Giving your dog a good walk in the morning, or even a run, will use up a lot of energy that might otherwise be spent destroying the house or trying to escape from the yard. Playing interactive games with your dog while you’re at home will also help their mental state. Lying on the couch with you might appear to keep them happy, but dogs need stimulation after being alone all day. Try playing fetch or tug-of-war, hiding treats, practising tricks, or playing hide and seek. Crate training. Some dogs feel more secure if they have a “safe place” to stay during your absence. Crate training allows your dog to feel at home in a confined area, and also prevents them from destroying anything around the house while you’re gone. Not all dogs do well in a crate. If your dog isn’t adjusting to it and may hurt themself trying to escape the crate, another strategy might be necessary. Some dogs adjust better to being left in a room with the door closed to stop them from destroying things around the house. But again, if this is making their anxiety worse you should consider other solutions, like daycare. If things are not progressing and you are worried about your dog’s safety, or they're being very destructive, seek professional help from a dog behaviour specialist who uses positive reinforcement techniques. Remember, a dog is a long-term commitment. They will repay your love and attention tenfold if you let them. Sending your dog to a shelter will break their heart, and in some cases it can be a death sentence. And if you happen to be looking for a dog right now, please adopt one that is in need of a new home. These dogs are not "bad dogs," they are just homeless and need your help. Additional resources: http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/separation-anxiety-dogs#1 https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/11_7/features/Canine-Separation-Anxiety_16044-1.html http://yourdogsfriend.org/help/separation-anxiety/  We’ve all experienced the email “oops moment”—that sinking feeling when you hit “send” and seconds later realize you forgot the attachment, you accidentally hit “reply all,” or you said something you’ll probably regret. Here’s a checklist to help you avoid oops moments and make your emails professional, clear, and effective.
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AuthorMichelle Waitzman, plain language specialist, shares her tips and perspectives on clear, powerful communication. Archives
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