Does your dog have separation anxiety?
Trixie snoozing on the couch while home alone.
If you wonder if your dog has separation anxiety, here are some of the most common signs:
Scratching or chewing at door or crate
Peeing or pooping (for dog who is otherwise potty trained)
Barking, howling, whining, other vocalizing while you’re out
If you think your dog may have separation anxiety, you’re not alone.
When our dog Trixie was a puppy, we noticed she’d start chewing on the wall near the door, if we were about to leave her home alone. She was clearly upset. So we didn’t leave her home alone. But that didn’t feel sustainable.
A friend connected us to a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT). With video from a short time when we left Trixie alone, our CSAT assessed that yes, Trixie was panicking home alone. In addition to scratching and jumping to try to escape, she yodeled, another common and heartbreaking sign of separation anxiety.
Working with a CSAT, we helped Trixie learn to feel safe when we left her alone. This was a process that took months. There have been interruptions and setbacks over 3 moves and a baby.
Now Trixie feels safe when we leave her alone. Safe to the point that, soon after we leave, she often checks the coffee table for any snacks we forgot to put away. During a longer absence, she moves from cozy couch to cozier bed. She snoozes while we go places that don’t allow dogs, and that would be too scary for her anyway:
Surfing
Playground hang after preschool pickup
Kpop Demon Hunters in the theater 2x
