What is Dog Separation Anxiety?
In some ways, dogs are like humans.
Like us, dogs like routine and often get stressed over large changes in their schedule. This is especially true for negative changes that they do not expect, and do not understand.
Dog separation anxiety usually occurs when our own schedule shifts, thereby disrupting the amount of time we are able to spend with our dogs. When faced with such disruptions, dogs may get stressed and become destructive.
A dog with separation anxiety may chew up household items, and urinate or defecate in the house.
Note that these are displacement behaviors, that occur as a result of stress. They are NOT the result of dominance, vengeance, or maliciousness.
To fix separation anxiety issues, we want to target and reduce our dog’s stress, and not punish him with physical corrections. Pain or dominance based punishment, will often increase stress, and thereby worsen our dog’s anxiety problems.
Dealing With Dog Separation Anxiety
Sadly, we will sometimes get busy, need to travel, or work long hours to meet a deadline. After all, we must go out in the wild world, so that we may put kibble on the table.
Therefore, how do we deal with separation anxiety, and make things better for our dogs?
Dog Separation Anxiety 1 – Daycare
One of the best ways to deal with schedule changes, is to put our dog in daycare. In this way, he gets the company of humans and dogs, while we are away. He also gets to brush up on his dog-to-dog, and dog-to-human socialization skills.
Before committing to a daycare center, it is important to drop by for a tour of the facilities. Ensure that the place is clean, well supervised, and suited to our dog’s temperament. However, even a well-run daycare center may sometimes fail to detect dogs that carry common ailments, such as kennel cough, puppy warts, demodectic mange, and fleas.
Therefore, make sure that our dog is up to date on his vaccinations, before putting him in daycare or boarding.
A dog who is up to date on shots, may still catch something from playing all day long with so many different dogs. This is especially true for puppies and younger dogs, who still have developing immune systems. Unfortunately, this is a risk we must accept, if we decide to put our dog in daycare.
Dog Separation Anxiety 2 – Pet sitter
If we are uncomfortable with sending our dog to a public daycare, we can also hire a pet sitter to keep his separation anxiety issues at bay. The sitter can walk him, and keep him company at home.
Make sure our pet sitter is insured, qualified, has good references, and most importantly, gets along well with our dog.
Although they may be more expensive, I try to find sitters who are also dog trainers. This means they have more experience with dog behavioral issues, and can better deal with a misbehaving, stressed, or fearful canine.
Make sure to give the pet sitter our cellphone number, the location of our vet, as well as special instructions for our dog, including allergies and important house rules.
Dog Separation Anxiety 3 – Try to keep to a schedule
Another way to alleviate separation anxiety issues, is to try and keep to a fixed schedule.
During holidays, go out and visit some friends, so that our dog has his usual alone time. If we have to be away unexpectedly, have a familiar friend come over to fill in for us.
If the change in routine is temporary, we can also have our dog stay over at a friend’s house. First, try bringing our dog over for several short visits. In this way, we are around to make introductions, and help him with the transition to a new environment.
If all goes well, do short stay-overs, then slowly lengthen the time.
Dog Separation Anxiety 4 – Exercise our dog
I take my dog out for a long walk before leaving. This will give him an opportunity to fully relieve himself outside, and also put him in a more restful state of mind.
I take my dog out for another walk, after I get home. Exercise helps to relieve stress, and gives our dog important mental and physical stimulation. Neighborhood walks also help to socialize our dog to a variety of people, objects, other dogs, and other animals.
If we had to stay cooped up in the house all day, we would get cabin fever as well.
Dog Separation Anxiety 5 – Desensitize our dog
Get our dog accustomed to us leaving the house.
First, I start with the ritual of getting my handbag and keys, as well as wearing my shoes. I walk to the door, then sit back down. I repeat this many times throughout the day, so that my dog gets comfortable with my “leaving the house” ritual.
Once this occurs, I walk to the door, leave, and come back to the room. I repeat this until he is relaxed again, then slowly lengthen the time that I am away.
When I achieve an away-time of about 15 minutes, I get in my car, circle the block, and come back.
Make leaving and coming home as low-key as possible.
When I return home, I ignore my dog until he is calm and resting. In this way, he does not spend all day anticipating my return. I also leave him with many interactive, chew-safe food toys, so that he has something interesting to do when home alone.
Dog Separation Anxiety 6 – Dog Medication
There are a variety of medications available, to help treat dog separation anxiety symptoms. However, to be effective, these medications must be used together with a behavior modification program, which includes a rigorous exercise and desensitization routine.
The medication alone will not solve our dog’s anxiety issues. However, it can help mute the symptoms, so that our dog can benefit from the accompanying retraining process.
Dog medication should only be used under the direction of a vet, and only for the short-term.
Dog Separation Anxiety
Dealing with dog separation anxiety will take time, and a lot of patience.
In general, prevention is better than cure. Therefore, we want to start desensitization exercises as early as possible, before any anxiety problems develop.
If we have a very busy lifestyle, consider volunteering at our local shelter or SPCA instead of buying a puppy.
Only get a dog when our schedule becomes more regular, so that there is less danger of separation anxiety, and other behavioral issues.
Help!!! Right now my husband and I are living in our car with our 1 1/2 year old Pit Bull we take him walking often and he gets pleanty of exercise. He loves being in the car and going for rides except when we go to get out of the car. As soon as we pull into a parking spot he violently starts barking and jumping around the car. Its very embarassing not to mention loud. When he starts to bark I tell him NO in a stern voice but he barks louder sometimes I wonder if he would bite if I tried to pull him back. I have even tried not getting out of the car for a while after stopping and removing the keys from the ignition and he still barks. No if one of us gets out and not the other he whines like crazy esp if my husband gets out of the car.
He only barks for a cpl mins when we first get out when we come back to get into the car he is usually sitting in the drivers seat looking at the door we went in.
Another thing he does in the car is anytime he sees another animal outside wether it be another dog, cat, squirrel he will lunge at the window and bark and whine.
His behavior is not only embarassing but being our car is currently also our home it’s very nerve racking. Any suggestions please
I’m having problems with 16 month old Staff. She’s fine and doesn’t eat or chew any furniture or anything else apart from her own toys. She also doesn’t pee or poo in the house- the problem I’m having is each time my boyfriend comes over and we leave her in the lounge to go in the bedroom she is peeing on the carpet. I don’t really want to have her in the bedroom whilst we are doing it. How can deal with this or help her please.
I have a 4 year German Shepherd, he has horrible separation, aniexty ,if I leave him inside in crate he will chew out of it if I leave him in dog run outside he barks and sometimes escapes .He goes with me alot so it’s not like he’s left alone that much and I play outside with him. Yes, he is inside most of the time and he’s fine if I crate him at night. It’s just when I leave. I adopted him about a month ago he was neglected, his owner died and he was inside when owner was found. Help.it’s has cost me alot to get him where he is now ,usally he is fine as long as he is with me or can see me. If I let him out not on leash he runs off. Please Help he’s driving me nuts cuz I know when I come home he’s either chewed out of crate or dog run.
German Shepherds are extremely sensitive with regards to their family. Playing outside with a Shepherd is not enough. These dogs need about three miles of walking each day. As an mum to seven GSH they grieve and this can go on for a long time if not addressed. Why do you create him at night? If the create is in your bedroom, where it should be, you tell bedtime. Throw in a cookie and after a while your dog will most likely go to his “home.” I would start with your vet and have him put on a mild anti anxiety pill. Music, walking, playing, talking to him on walks will start the bond. People who have never had a GSH need to be trained. Your dog will be a loyal companion with unconditional love. It sound as if he still feels neglected. Speak with your vet first, then read a good book on the personality of German Shepherds. As for his create, put him in it for five mins drive around the block and let hime out and praise him. Never make a big deal about leaving, his last dad died with him there. I always say:”Let’s go to our house before I leave, but I worked up to the day that the gate stayed open while I went to work. Good luck and please don’t give up on him, he needs you. If you don’t have the time call the German Shepherd Rescue Society. They will find a home for him where people who have a lot of time and have had Shepherd’s in the past can work with him. Good luck.
Hi! I have an 8 month old Shiba. He’s wonderful and I love him to bits but I think he has separation anxiety. Unfortuantely, I don’t have a job that let’s me stay home and I’m gone for long hours during the day. I also can’t leave him out in the house because he likes to chew. He has lots of toys to play with and his own room. I tried to do the ignoring technique but he pees because of how long I’m gone. I feel bad for this but there’s nothing I can really do about it and I live in a very small town, meaning no daycare… Does anyone have any suggestions? I love my dog very much and I don’t want to get rid of him but I just want the best for him and his health.
Try either a dog potty patch or wee wee pads takes time but will work this breed you can’t confine. My is 7 awesome dog.
My shiba just turned a year in August. If leaving him out is not option because of chewing try giving him a pig ear treat to help with the chewing. My shiba had that same problem but now doesn’t chew when she has a pig ear or a plastic bone to chew on. Also, I am able to leave my shiba out running around for up to 10 hours during the day. If you have a yard maybe have a dog door and train him to use it when he needs to go out.
I have a 5 year old pug i can’t even go shopping i have no friends to leave her at it’s that bad I’m thinking of re homing her
I have a five year old pit bull mix, but only recently has he started whining a lot more, and the past few days barking when I put him in the crate. He used to be fine being crated while I was at work and at night, but now he gets loud, seconds after I shut his crate door. I am still standing not even two feet away, and he is whining and barking. This is happening especially at night, he will bark every hour wanting to be out. If I do open the crate, he rushes out and is quiet. I cannot leave him out of the crate because he will get into things, destroying them, and chasing my cats around the apartment. I just had to take him to the vet for getting into something, while in his crate, that tore a hole in his esophagus. I can’t afford for him to be barking all night and probably during the day when I am at work. My neighbors are starting to complain. I have no idea what to do about this.
I took my puppy from a dog foster home about a year ago. I love him to bits; he has a great personality, and I feel that he loves our family so much. BUT, whenever I leave him at home he pees in the house: on the carpet, on the bed, on flowers..
My husband and I were thinking about taking him to ‘doggy school’, but then again, it’s extremely expensive, and the nearest ‘doggy school’ is far away from us. Maybe you have some advice? THANK YOU!!!!
Don’t punish mistakes, reward successes immediately and if needed crate train and then be consistent to let him/her out after drinking and eating. They will learn he behavior and be happy making you happy. Worked for me at least and no mistakes in the house!
Long walks before you go out and rewards when you get back.
I have a nearly two year old blank lab/bull mastiff mix dog… He is neutered and has no health issues.
Buck is very attached to me and sleeps in room with me at night on a dog bed on the floor with our other dog. Both dogs get along well, our older dog is older and had hip stiffness, so they don’t play together, but no issues between them.
Buck will get on my bed and sleep there while I’m at work. If I keep the door to my room open during the day, Buck will sleep on a couch in front part of house. However if I shut my door and leave only him or both dogs outside my room, Buck poops in the entry way or on a throw rug in living room.
We didn’t know which dog it was, as our other dog is 16 and the thought he was having issues with bowel control. So it was determined that it was Buck pooping. Even if he was taken out just before leaving him out of my room and he pees and poops outside, we find poop in front part of house.
Tried small increments, but only solution is not to leave him out of my room. Most of the time that is OK, but sometimes I am working and need it quiet, so I close my door with him outside in main part of house.
Suggestions welcomed.
I wish that I could have suggestions for you all but I am suffering with a very strange thing in my household, surrounding our three year old rescued toy poodle.
Briefly this is our story:
I live and work in a fifty plus Independent senior living community. When I first started working here, I was living elsewhere and I befriended the former owner of this poodle who was about 9 months of age. The lady had a standard poodle who was about 4 years old and an older cat.
When I would bring packages or mail to the former owner, the toy poodle would slip out of the apartment and run down the hall so I would have to catch her. It became a game.
In October of 2013, the owner of the animals passed away in the apartment and they were alone with her corpse for at least two days.
When the adult children of this sweet lady came over they made it plain they did not want the dogs or the cat and that anyone could have them.
I am allowed only one pet so I chose Angel. The toy poodle. People warned me about taking in a heartbroken pet. The dogs had rarely been walked due to their owners illness. It was always dark in her apartment and puppy pads covered almost every square inch of every room.
Angel whimpered and whined all the time after I got her and I assumed that she was simply missing her owner and the other pets.
But as time went by, she developed this attachment to me that was uncanny.
We moved to this apartment building into the very apartment where she used to live. Everything is new…all new paint and appliances and I can visit with her during the day but nothing is ever enough. No amount of attention or closeness is ever enough. I cannot leave the room in the evening to take a shower or anything that she will not begin to whimper, then I come to the living room and find a pile of poop.
I am afraid to have people over because Angel must have ALL the attention and will not obey anything I say if the other person says, “Aww…its okay” even if they are tired of her constant jumping on them and I am so nervous to leave a room that she is in and stay even five minutes or go out into the hallway and talk to someone because she immediately poops somewhere near I was just standing or walking. Like at the door I am standing outside of. I feel like a prisoner, which is leading to some unexpected resentment on my part. I love Angel, but I do not know what to do at this point. Praise…special toys…special time just with her…is never enough! Please help with any suggestions! Thanks!
My problem is a bit different as Iv had my dog for three years and every night no matter where I’m staying he comes to bed with me and o shut us both in the room for the night to stop him escaping or chewing anything (he doesn’t baby way but just incase)
Any way a year ago I moved back in with my mum as things change and all was well but my mum doesn’t work so she looks after him in the day when I’m not there but recently at night when we come to go to bed where he used to run and curl up Befor me he now spends hours at the door whimpering and panting and he so often poos on the floor which he didn’t do not even if he’s desperate. I’m scaired he doesn’t love me any more as he’s never bothered if I’m around …. What can I do as I’m planning on buying a house next year and obviously he will be coming with me and my other dog. I’m worries he will always fret over my mum 🙁
Hi! Three days ago I adopted a ten month old lab mix. She is the sweetest thing, and I don’t know much about her, just that she is very quiet and scared of a lot of things. She was neglected at her previous home (she was found with her collar embedded in her neck). I know it’s only been three days, but I’ve begun to notice that when I am in the bathroom or in a room she can’t come into for a few minutes, she will pace around and eventually pee on the carpet. This has happened three times. I know we are still getting to know each other (they couldn’t even really tell me if she was housebroken at the shelter), but I’m wondering if this is a sort of separation anxiety. I have never heard her bark. She honestly just wants to be near you and loved. She hates getting in the crate, but I got her in there while I was at work a few hours today and she did not make a mess or anything when I got back. Thoughts? We are still figuring out the routine, but we go out every morning before breakfast. I tried to take her for a short walk (she was spayed right before i got her. That might have something to do with it. I literally picked her up right after they woke her up) today, but she got so afraid of the cars turning the corner that she laid down in a neighbor’s lawn so we came home. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!
Get a thunder shirt at Petco or Amazon. My dog is afraid of thunder where she would shake not any more after short time she now barks at thunder.
Hello,
I have a 22 week old Siberian Husky, she is a very well behaved dog when i am around, however, when she does not literally see me, she whines and barks. if i am in the kitchen and she’s in my room with the door closed, she barks and cries,She has a lot of separation anxiety. i have talked to the vet about medication, but she does not want to give her some because she is so young, and i completely agree. She suggested a trainer! But training could be very expensive. i will try everything i can before i consider a trainer. i have the calming spray i use on her kennel, i also leave a stuffed kong toy when i leave the house, which lasts no more than 3 hours the most. Most of the time is just 1-2 hours. When i first got her, i used the kennel on her and she use to bark, howl, bite the rails, pee, for hours when i was standing right next to her! It got better and now she can sleep at night in there without crying, only if she knows I’m in the bed next to her. This only worked for “sleeping time”. During the day when i left her in the kennel each day for 1 hour, when i had class, i would come home and she would be covered in feces, pee, and her own drool. on top of that, she would bark like if it was the end of the world literally! I started using a routine everyday to see if she would stop. i would get up, walk her to go to the bathroom (pee and poop) and after i would skate her around my neighborhood for 20 min.i sprayed the kennel with the anxiety spray, as well. i made sure she really got tired. i then would give her food and water and put her back in the kennel and i would leave. The peeing and pooped stopped 90% of the time, but the excessive drooling did not, or the barking! i had roommates at the time and they would complain all the time. They complained so much that they called animal control from so much barking. i then decided to leave her roaming around alone in the house, to avoid the complains. As i did this, she destroyed blinds, bit the door handles and the door frame, really bad that i had to replace when i left that house. To this day, i just moved into a bigger house. the roommate i have now can take care of her when i am not home, but when we both are not home, i can’t afford to leave her loose. I have to incorporate the kennel again. its been over a month since she’s been in the kennel alone, and i would like some advice on how to really make her not so anxious. i have the spray i used, and I’ve put music before but it doesn’t work with her. Also, when i put treats in there and come back, they are still there. Also, i use to punish her when she made messes in the kennel, which now i know is bad! so i won’t do that anymore. i want to come home and not find a dog dog with a huge mess, what is the best advice? please help. Thank you!
I have a very similar situation. My 2 yr old dog we just adopted will use the crate fine at night but if I have he in it for even 30 minutes while I go out during the day, I come home to a chewed crate, excessive drooling, and even cut nose from trying to escape. She has just started walking in the crate to eat as she didn’t want any parts of it 3 weeks ago and can’t find anything to motivate her to want to get in…even food. I have 4 weeks until I’m back to work and am fearful of having her hurt herself while crated or having a house destroyed in the 7 hours I will be gone. Any suggestions please. Thank you!!!!!!
I helped my dog with his separation anxiety by doing desensitization and counter-conditioning exercises. I start small, with very very short periods of alone time (seconds) and very slowly build up from there. The more calm and successful alone experiences my dog has, the more confidence he builds, and the more relaxed he becomes in his own company. Similarly, panic and anxiety attacks, or negative events, will undermine his confidence, significantly set back retraining, and worsen his anxiety symptoms.
Therefore, I manage things with my Shiba very carefully and always set him up for success. If I need to leave for longer periods than he is able to handle (at the current moment), I get someone that he trusts to be with him.
This ASPCA article has more on separation anxiety and how to do desensitization exercises-
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/separation-anxiety
However, each dog and situation are different. A dog may suffer from different degrees of anxiety depending on temperament, past experiences, environment, and more. In addition, desensitization training can be counter-intuitive, especially in the beginning. It was useful for me to consult with a good professional trainer, at least at the start, to make sure that I am managing Sephy properly and conducting the desensitization exercises in an effective manner.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/