Pet ownership has dramatically increased over the last several years due to COVID, with 66% of households owning a pet. During COVID, people had more time at home due to quarantine, but also, many people worked from home which allowed them to have more time to train and care for a pet. Many of these pets acquired during COVID, developed separation anxiety behaviors when their owner(s) went back to work.

Signs of separation anxiety include increased barking, howling, and whining, destructive behaviors and having “accidents” in the house. If your dog has these signs, make an appointment with your veterinarian to obtain a diagnosis and create a plan for treatment. Changes in the home or peoples’ schedules can cause separation anxiety. Some dogs naturally have trouble being alone from an early age despite never going through any major events. Dogs from shelters and dogs with single adult owners tend to have separation anxiety.

Treating separation anxiety can be tough because the behavior primarily occurs when your dog is away from you. Often, anxiety begins before you leave the house. There are dogs who can tell the difference between workdays and days off. Treatment often involves a combination of medications and behavior modification. 

We first must treat your dog’s emotional state before we can help them learn to cope better alone. Treatment often involves both long-term and short-term medication in the beginning. 

In the US, the two medications that are approved to treat separation anxiety in dogs are Reconcile (fluoxetine) and Clomicalm (clomipramine). Though effective and with few side effects, they can take up to 2 months to fully work and are usually combined with shorter-acting drugs such as trazodone, gabapentin, clonidine, or alprazolam to achieve rapid results. Medication should always be combined with behavior modification.

Try not to leave your pet home alone until the medications have time work. If you do have to leave your dog alone, try not to come and go frequently. If you have several places to go, do all your errands then return.

Food dispensing and puzzle toys such as a snuffle mats, slide puzzles, and treat tumblers, can help reduce your dog’s overall stress level and encourage independence.

A safe-haven will help your dog feel comfortable when you are not at home.  Encourage your dog to retreat here throughout the day, when you are not leaving, for special treats and rewards. If your dog is not comfortable being in a crate, do not use it as the safe-haven.

Teaching your dog to feel safe alone is the mainstay of the separation anxiety treatment plan. 

Yelling, spraying water, physical corrections, like spanking or holding the dog down, bark collars, shock collars, vibrating collars, and even saying “no” could all be considered punishment and goes against what we are trying to accomplish.  Please don’t ignore your dog’s separation anxiety.