Understanding and Treating Dog Separation Anxiety

What is Separation Anxiety?

Separation anxiety is equivalent to a canine panic attack. It occurs when a dog becomes hyper-attached to their owner and experiences severe distress when separated.

It is important to distinguish true separation anxiety from boredom or lack of training. A bored puppy might chew a shoe while you are gone. A dog with separation anxiety might chew through drywall trying to escape, injure themselves, or vocalize non-stop for hours.

Common Symptoms

• Pacing, panting, or drooling profusely as you prepare to leave
• Destructive behavior focused on exit points (doors, windows)
• Inappropriate elimination (accidents in a house-trained dog) only when alone
• Non-stop howling or barking
• Refusal to eat high-value treats while alone
• Frantic, exaggerated greetings upon your return

For more on this topic, see our guide on Understanding Dog Play Styles: Rough Play, Chase Play, and Wrestling.

The Core Treatment: Desensitization

Treating separation anxiety is a slow process of changing the dog’s emotional response to your absence. It involves ensuring the dog never experiences the panic.

For more on this topic, see our guide on Understanding Dog Aggression: Types, Causes, and What to Do.

1. Break the Departure Cues Dogs learn the sequence of events that mean you are leaving (putting on shoes, grabbing keys). Do these things randomly throughout the day without actually leaving, so the cues lose their anxiety-inducing power.

2. The Safe Threshold Find the exact moment your dog starts to get anxious. Is it when you touch the doorknob? When you step outside? That is your threshold. You must train below that threshold.

3. Gradual Absences

• Step outside, close the door, and return immediately before the dog gets anxious.
• Gradually increase the time: 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds.
• This process can take weeks or months. Progress is measured in seconds at first.

Management While Training

The golden rule of treating separation anxiety is that the dog must not be left alone to panic during the treatment process. Every panic attack reinforces the fear.

• Use doggy daycare
• Hire a pet sitter
• Enlist friends or family to stay with the dog
• Work from home or adjust schedules

What Doesn’t Work

• Getting another dog: Separation anxiety is usually focused on human absence, not just isolation.
• Punishment: Punishing a dog for anxiety-driven destruction upon your return only increases their overall anxiety.
• Leaving them in a crate: A panicked dog can severely injure themselves trying to escape a crate.

Severe separation anxiety often requires a combination of behavioral modification and anti-anxiety medication prescribed by a veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist.