From Barking to Chilling: Tips to Tackle Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Here at Doodle Dandy, we often deal with less than desirable dog behaviors, one of which is separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is a dramatic response by a dog within a short time of their person leaving. It can look like extreme destruction of property, soiling themselves and accidents even when potty trained, unintentional harming of self while trying to get to their person, and/or barking and howling that doesn’t stop.

Separation anxiety in dogs is caused by a lack of coping skills to relax when alone. That means that their humans can be both the cause and the cure for separation anxiety. You can help your dog by training them to relax. So if your dog is struggling when left alone, here are some tips from one of our training partners.

Prevention

The easiest way to deal with separation anxiety is to prevent it, and crate training is an excellent way to avoid separation anxiety. When you teach your dog that their crate is a safe space where good things happen, they can relax there and know they’re safe. It’s easiest to crate train dogs in short spurts while they’re puppies, but old dogs can learn new tricks. Check out our post on crate training HERE.

Spend Time with Your Dog Before Leaving

Before leaving your dog, spend some time exercising them mentally and physically. Run through some training activities for 10-15 minutes or or go on a brisk walk. This will set them up to be ready for a good nap. Let them have a chance to potty, and then crate them.

Don’t Make Leaving a Big Production

Don’t tell your dood about how much you’ll miss them, don’t draw out your departure, just crate and leave. And then…

Make it Great When You Return

Spend some time with your dog when you get back, again doing some quality activities like playing with toys, training with high value treats, etc.

Repeat this process for short times away, increasing the time your dog is alone. This should help them learn to calm themselves. They’ll learn that times when you’re gone are times for rest and relaxation, and when you return they get quality time with their favorite person.

Some Tips for Vocalizing

It is very normal and expected for dogs to bark, howl, and whine at the beginning of this process. Prepare for that so you can remain calm; if you are anxious they can pick up on this and become more anxious. Try to monitor the sounds from another area in the house and as soon as the dog starts to calm (usually 10-15 minutes) offer brief (but not over the top) praise.

A calm “good dog” when they switch from a howl to just panting can work, as can a treat dropped in without comment or eye contact. Then let the dog continue to work on calming themselves.

Beyond the Basics

If the tips above aren't cutting it and your dog's separation anxiety is more severe, it's time for a more structured approach. The name of the game here is threshold management. Your goal is to keep the dog under their panic threshold during every single practice rep. Every time a dog fully panics and "survives" it, that experience can actually reinforce the anxiety rather than build tolerance, so the goal isn't to push through distress, it's to avoid triggering it in the first place.

Dogs with more severe anxiety need practice feeling safe being separated from you while you're still home, before you add any real departures into the mix. Try building distance in the same room. Teach "place" and have your dog rest on a mat a few feet away while you're on the couch, and reward them for staying relaxed there. Then work up to short in-home separations, like stepping into another room for a few seconds with a gate or door between you, and returning calmly. The idea is to teach your dog that "you moving away" is boring and safe, long before it ever involves you actually leaving the house.

Once that's solid, build up with "fake departures." Walk to another room, close the door, wait 5-30 seconds, then come back and do something neutral like checking your phone. From there, move to real departures — but keep the increments small and randomized rather than steadily increasing. For example, instead of 30 seconds, then 1 minute, then 2 minutes, mix it up: 1:12, then 0:34, then 2:48, then 0:55. This prevents your dog from anticipating exactly how long you'll be gone and keeps them from watching the clock, so to speak. Keep sessions short (10-20 minutes total) and end on a success, not on a struggle. Repeated practice is key.

Know when to call in backup. If your dog shows signs of true isolation distress — panic that starts within minutes of you leaving, an inability to settle no matter how long they've been alone, intense escape attempts, or self-injury — it's time to work with a trainer who specializes in separation anxiety, ideally alongside your vet. Medication can help some dogs learn more easily, but it works best paired with training, not as a stand-alone fix. Severe separation anxiety is very treatable, but it usually needs a personalized, gradual plan.