Key takeaways

  • Separation anxiety can occur in dogs who feel fear, anxiety, or frustration when their owner leaves them alone. This may manifest in behaviors like destruction, vocalizing, and toileting inside.
  • Before leaving a dog alone, it’s important to meet all of their needs, set them up in a safe part of the house, and aim to minimize disturbances while you’re away.
  • Gradually building up time away from your dog and desensitizing them to leaving cues can help manage separation anxiety. Some people may benefit from working with a qualified behaviorist.

When your dog is a puppy, some anxiety at being left alone is a natural reaction. However, if signs of stress or fear become a consistent, severe problem when you leave your dog alone, they may have separation anxiety.

This article lists eight tips to help you manage your dog’s separation anxiety and answers some common questions about separation anxiety in dogs.

One of the most important steps to complete when leaving your dog alone is to meet all of their basic needs first. This might involve:

  • making sure they’ve eaten at their usual times and have access to water
  • taking them out to go to the toilet shortly before you leave so they have an empty bladder
  • ensure your dog has had a suitable amount of age-appropriate exercise to burn off energy
  • giving your dog mental stimulation with a training or sniffing session

Meeting these needs before you leave them alone may help reduce the risk of common separation anxiety behaviors, including accidents in the house and destruction due to boredom.

If you need to be away when your dog might usually eat or need to go to the toilet, it may be a good idea to arrange for a trusted friend, family member, or dog sitter to drop by and help.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) recommends gradually increasing time away from your dog instead of immediately starting with long stretches of time.

At first, this could be as small as leaving your dog alone in another room for a couple of seconds. Over time, you can build this up to leaving them inside the house for a few seconds, a few minutes, and gradually letting that time increase.

As the time gets longer than a few seconds, it may also be helpful to vary the length of time you’re out of your dog’s sight. That way, they won’t be expecting you to be away for longer and longer periods every time you leave.

This can feel like a slow process and requires a lot of patience, but the payoff is worth it when your dog feels confident that you’ll return, whether you’re gone for 60 seconds or 60 minutes.

Some dogs may start to show signs of separation anxiety when you get ready to leave because they know that picking up your keys and putting your shoes on means they’re about to be alone for a long time.

To help desensitize your dog to these cues, get ready to leave the house, but then stay in. For example, put your coat on, grab your keys, then go and make dinner or watch a show on television.

Doing this over time will show your dog that you don’t always disappear when you do those things, and may help to relieve some of their stress around that particular routine.

Some dogs may feel frustrated or stressed if something disturbs them when you’re not around for reassurance. Minimizing these disturbances may help reduce some signs of separation anxiety.

This may vary depending on the dog, but examples include:

  • closing the curtains so your dog can’t see people walking past your house
  • playing calming music to help drown out the sounds of people or traffic outside
  • providing access to their bed or crate so they have a familiar, safe place to settle

Be cautious when using calming scents or products

Some resources recommend using calming scents, such as diffusers, to help your dog relax when alone.

However, it is vital to make sure you’re using a dog-safe scent. Some essential oils that are safe and calming for humans are toxic to dogs.

Always check the safety of a scent before using a calming product or essential oil around your pets.

Some dogs may find it hard to relax or settle themselves, particularly if they expect to interact with you constantly when you’re together.

To address this, it may be helpful to teach your dog how to settle. This can be as easy as teaching them to go to their bed or crate, gradually increasing the time they’re on there, and rewarding calm behavior.

Once your dog knows this cue, try using it when you leave the house to indicate that it’s a time for your dog to rest.

Signs of separation anxiety in dogs can result from frustration or boredom. If this is the case, it may be helpful to leave your dog with a long-lasting treat or toy, such as:

  • a frozen lick mat
  • a puzzle feeder
  • toys your dog hasn’t had access to in a while
  • a frozen Kong with ingredients like:
    • your dog’s usual food
    • banana
    • plain yogurt
    • dog-safe peanut butter
    • blueberries
    • chicken pieces or chicken broth

Choose a safe toy or treat

It’s important to tailor this to your dog. If your dog tends to destroy toys quickly, don’t leave them with something that could pose a health hazard — like a toy with hard plastic that could do some damage if your dog swallows it.

Similarly, don’t choose treats that could pose a choking hazard if your dog eats too much when you’re away. People may also want to stay away from very hard treats like antlers, which could damage your dog’s teeth or cause internal blockages.

Your veterinarian can advise you on suitable long-term treats for your dog.

It’s important to remember that separation anxiety is usually a stress response, your dog isn’t being disobedient or trying to upset you. Punishing your dog for their behavior while you’re away may actually worsen their anxiety, according to the ASPCA.

A 2020 study comparing the effects of different dog training methods found that using mainly aversive (negative reinforcement) methods led to more stress-related behaviors during training and higher levels of cortisol post-training.

Dogs who experienced a mix of reward and aversive training methods also had these stress behaviors and higher cortisol levels. These signs were less common in dogs who experienced mainly reward-based training.

If a dog is consistently displaying separation-related anxiety, it’s a good idea to speak with your veterinarian. They can check your dog to make sure the behaviors aren’t due to a health condition, such as a urinary issue causing accidents inside.

In some cases, your vet may suggest medication to help manage your dog’s anxiety. However, it’s vital to never give your dog medication without first speaking with your vet.

If a veterinarian prescribes medication for your dog’s anxiety, it is not a replacement for behavioral modification and training. Medication for separation anxiety in dogs is most effective when you combine it with behavioral modification.

If your dog has a clean bill of health, your veterinarian may recommend working with a certified behaviorist or dog trainer.

These professionals can help identify the potential cause of your dog’s separation anxiety and work with you to implement changes that may improve the behavior.

Dog trainers and behaviorists may use different techniques to manage behavioral problems in dogs. It’s important to research the person you want to work with beforehand so you can work with one who uses an approach you feel comfortable with.

Signs of separation anxiety can vary from dog to dog, but may include:

  • escape attempts, which can lead to injury
  • barking, crying, and howling
  • accidents indoors, even if they’re toilet trained
  • destructive behavior, including digging and chewing
  • signs of fear or stress, including trembling, pacing, and excessive salivation

According to the American Kennel Club, it’s not always possible to prevent separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is a natural response in puppies, and one of the most common behavior problems in dogs.

Patient, consistent training and desensitization from a young age can help minimize separation anxiety. If you have an older dog with separation anxiety, training and assistance from a behaviorist can help reduce fear and anxiety when your dog is alone.

Treating separation anxiety in dogs can be complicated, and the time it takes may vary from dog to dog, depending on the cause of their anxiety.

It is important to stay patient and consistent when managing separation anxiety in dogs. There may be setbacks, but your hard work will pay off.

Separation anxiety in dogs can be challenging to address and manage. However, there are various techniques you can try to help your dog feel comfortable when you’re away.

You can build up time away from your dog gradually, desensitize departure cues, leave your dog with a long-lasting treat, and minimize potential disturbances while you’re away.

If you’re finding it challenging to manage separation anxiety, it’s a great idea to work with your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist. Remember, it’s not possible to fix separation anxiety overnight, it will require patience and consistency.