Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Signs and a Realistic Plan

Destruction and howling when alone are not spite or boredom in every case. Genuine separation anxiety is a panic response, and it needs a different approach.

Telling them apart

Set up a phone camera. Boredom looks like a dog that settles, wakes, chews something and sleeps again. Anxiety starts within minutes of you leaving: pacing, drooling, trying to escape at exit points, and vocalising that does not stop.

Graded departures

Work below the threshold at which panic begins. Pick up your keys and sit back down. Repeat until it is boring. Then step outside and return immediately. Build to one minute, then five. Progress is measured in weeks and it is not linear.

Reduce the drama

No emotional goodbyes or greetings. Leave a food puzzle that takes 20 minutes, so the first — hardest — stretch is occupied.

When to get help

If the dog injures itself, breaks teeth on a crate, or cannot be left for even a minute, involve a vet. Anxiety at that level responds much better to behaviour work combined with medication than to behaviour work alone.