What is separation anxiety?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
Separation anxiety is a fear response in which a dog panics when left alone or apart from the person it is attached to. Signs include howling, destruction near doors, toileting indoors, drooling and escape attempts, usually worst in the first 30 minutes. It is treated with gradual, reward-based training, sometimes alongside medicine from a vet, never with punishment.
Also called separation distress, separation-related behaviour, dog anxious when left alone, SA in dogs.
Key facts
- Signs are often most severe in the first 15 to 30 minutes after a dog is left alone. Merck Veterinary Manual
- Common triggers include a change of family or owner, schedule or home, or the loss or departure of a household member. ASPCA
- Medical problems, incontinence, incomplete house-training, marking, juvenile destruction and boredom must be ruled out first. ASPCA
- Noise phobia and separation distress often occur together. Merck Veterinary Manual
- PDSA advises that dogs should not be left alone for more than 4 hours at a time. PDSA
How do you know it is separation anxiety and not boredom?
Film the dog when you leave. A bored dog plays and then settles; an anxious dog cannot settle at all.
Signs of separation anxiety include barking, whining or howling, pacing, drooling, panting, trembling, toileting indoors, chewing or digging at doors and windows, and escape attempts that can injure the dog. Many dogs show anxiety before you leave, as you pick up keys or put on shoes. Some anxious dogs are quiet and simply lie by the door, so a lack of noise complaints from neighbours does not mean the dog is coping.
A phone or pet camera recording, or a neighbour's report, tells you what really happens. A veterinary behaviourist can judge from a video. Destruction alone is not proof: puppies and under-exercised dogs chew because chewing is fun. Your vet should check first for medical causes of toileting or restlessness.
Indian households see a typical pattern after big changes: a dog adopted during a period when everyone worked from home, then left alone when offices and schools reopen; a move to a new flat; or a family member leaving for college or work abroad.
What helps a dog with separation anxiety?
Desensitisation and counterconditioning: very short absences the dog can cope with, built up slowly over weeks, paired with good things.
- Practise absences so short the dog stays calm, from seconds upwards, and back up a step if it pants, trembles or paces. ASPCA
- Pick up keys or put on shoes without leaving, so the cues for departure stop predicting being alone. ASPCA
- Give a food-filled puzzle toy only when you leave; this helps mild cases, though truly panicked dogs often will not eat. PDSA
- Keep arrivals and departures calm and low-key. ASPCA
- Give daily exercise and mental work such as sniffing games and training. ASPCA
- Avoid leaving the dog alone beyond its limit while training: a sitter, day care or a family member can fill the gaps. ASPCA
- Ask your vet about medicine for severe cases; it works best alongside behaviour training. PDSA
What makes separation anxiety worse?
Do
Don’t
- Do not scold or punish: the behaviour is panic, not disobedience, and punishment adds fear. ASPCA
- Do not shut a panicking dog in a crate: it may hurt itself trying to escape. Humane World for Animals
- Do not use aversive collars or shouting; they raise anxiety and fear-related problems. American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior
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Questions owners ask
Can separation anxiety in dogs be cured?
- Many dogs improve a great deal with patient desensitisation and counterconditioning, usually over weeks to months, and some need medicine from a vet alongside training. Progress depends on never pushing the dog past what it can cope with, so arrange cover while you train. A qualified behaviourist speeds things up.
Will getting a second dog help separation anxiety?
- Not reliably. Many dogs with separation anxiety are attached to a particular person, not just to company, so another dog may not calm them and you could end up with two stressed dogs. Treat the anxiety itself first, with your vet and a qualified reward-based behaviourist.
Is it safe to leave a dog with separation anxiety with a pet sitter?
- Often it is the kindest option, because the dog is not left alone. An overnight sitter in your home, or home boarding where someone is around most of the day, avoids long absences. Share the dog's routine and training plan, and do a meet and greet so the dog knows the sitter first.
How long can a dog be left alone?
- PDSA advises no more than about 4 hours at a time for adult dogs, less for puppies, and a dog with separation anxiety may not cope with even a few minutes at first. Plan walks, visits or a sitter around long days, and build up time alone gradually.
Keep reading
Related terms
More in behaviour
- Calming signalsCalming signals, also called appeasement or displacement behaviours, are small body-language cues such as lip or nose licking, yawning, turning the head away, blinking, sniffing the ground or lifting a paw. Dogs often show them when they feel uneasy or in conflict. Noticing them lets you give a dog space before fear escalates to growling or snapping.
- Cat scratchingCat scratching is the normal habit of dragging the claws down a surface. Cats scratch to keep their claws healthy, stretch the legs and spine, and leave scent and visible marks from glands in their paws. It should not be stopped, but it can be moved from the sofa to a well-placed, sturdy scratching post with patience and rewards.
- Destructive chewingDestructive chewing is when a dog chews things it should not, such as shoes, furniture, door frames, wires or cushions. Chewing itself is normal: puppies chew to ease teething and all dogs chew to explore. It becomes a problem through boredom, too little exercise, hunger, frustration or separation anxiety, and is fixed by redirection, not punishment.
- KneadingKneading, often called making biscuits, is when a cat rhythmically pushes its front paws into a soft surface such as a blanket, cushion or a person's lap, often purring. It starts in kittenhood, when kittens knead their mother to keep milk flowing, and many adult cats keep the habit when relaxed. It is normal and needs no treatment.
- Litter box aversionLitter box aversion is when a cat stops using its litter tray and pees or poos elsewhere in the home, because something about the tray, its place or its use has become unpleasant or frightening. Illness is a common cause, so a vet check comes first. Then fix the trays: enough of them, clean, quiet, with litter the cat likes.
- Noise phobiaNoise phobia is an intense, lasting fear of loud or sudden sounds such as fireworks, thunder or gunshots. Affected dogs tremble, pant, hide, pace, try to escape or soil indoors, and some take days to recover. It is common: about a third of dogs in one large survey were noise-sensitive. A safe den, preparation and gradual training help.
- PicaPica is eating things that are not food, such as fabric, wool, plastic, paper, rubber, stones or soil. In cats it often starts as wool or fabric sucking, especially in Oriental breeds; in dogs it can be a habit, a compulsive disorder or a sign of illness. Swallowed objects can block the gut, so a vet check comes first.
- Reactive dogA reactive dog overreacts to everyday triggers such as other dogs, strangers, bikes or autos, usually by barking, lunging, growling or pulling, most often on the lead. Fear is the most common driver, with frustration and pain also playing a part. It is managed by keeping distance from triggers and changing the dog's feelings with reward-based training, never by punishment.
- Resource guardingResource guarding is a dog protecting something it values, such as food, a chew, a toy, a bed or even a person, from people or other animals. It is normal, often fear-based behaviour, ranging from eating faster or freezing to growling and biting. It improves with management and reward-based training that teaches the dog an approaching person brings good things.
- Urine markingUrine marking is using small amounts of urine as a scent message rather than to empty the bladder. Cats usually spray backwards onto upright surfaces with the tail raised and quivering; dogs lift a leg against furniture or doorways. It is commoner in unneutered animals and stressed or crowded homes. Rule out illness first, then reduce the stress behind it.
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Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Behavior problems in dogs (opens in a new tab)
- ASPCA: Separation anxiety (opens in a new tab)
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Behavior problems of dogs (opens in a new tab)
- PDSA: Separation anxiety in dogs (opens in a new tab)
- Humane World for Animals: Crate training 101 (opens in a new tab)
- American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior: Position statement on humane dog training (2021) (opens in a new tab)