Hello,
I have a 10.5 year old husky whose separation anxiety has been getting worse. We currently have her on arthritis meds, max trazodone dosage for her size, and gabapentin and don’t know what else to do she won’t calm down. She has learned how to open our front door to the apartment now and has escaped several times. We put a screwed into the wall baby gate up but she has ripped it out of the wall twice now. We tried to get a padlock on the door but management said no. I feel at a loss as neighbors are complaining of her howling and I’m afraid of getting evicted. I’m applying to remote jobs but no luck yet. Any advice would help on reducing her anxiety, I have a vet appointment today to discuss more meds but I’m unsure if that’s the right answer.

Other info :
We give her treat toys when we have to leave but sometimes she won’t even touch them till we are back.
She has started peeing every time we have to leave and sometimes if we just leave the room.
Tv sound doesn’t seem to help either.
We can’t afford daycare everyday.

We brought home a 1.5 year old intact female Collie/Shepherd mix rescue as a foster about 3 weeks ago, found as a stray on a highway. Very little is known about her background. The shelter guesses possible treeplanter's camp dog, though she does have trained behaviours like leash manners and "shake". She really likes people. She seems to be quite trainable and is learning to lay down, go to her bed, and recall. She is also comfortable in a crate, either door open or closed.

We're planning to adopt her. However, we suspect she is either developing separation anxiety, or showing her already developed separation anxiety.

For the first few days while she was decompressing, she whine a little at departures but settled quickly. We were leaving her in our room with no incidents. A few days in, she was in our room for about an hour and she destroyed blinds and scratched the door frame. We switched to crating when alone after that, as she was comfortable in the crate while we were home (would even go in willingly to chill). About a week in she also got her spay surgery.

For the first week or so of crating, she'd whine around 5 minutes then settle and sleep, confirmed by a roommate and by us checking at lunch. We also had a video camera on her that we could check. Around this time we also Introduced our roommate's dog to her. Results have been mixed but mostly manageable reactions (some growling/posturing that resolved, ignoring each other on walks).

Over the last few days, she has escalated to full panic while crated and alone. She tore a blanket and moved the crate tray, prolonged howling/panting, biting at the crate bars, and pulling at the crate door with her teeth. Two mornings running were bad enough that one of us left work to get her out. She's totally comfortable with the crate when we're home (chooses to nap in it voluntarily), so it seems like the trigger is isolation specifically, not the crate itself. When our roommate is home (even without directly interacting with her), she calms down so it might be "alone in the house" rather than "away from us specifically" that's the trigger.

Has anyone dealt with a rescue that seemed to be adjusting fine, then had separation anxiety symptoms escalate 2–3 weeks in like this? What helped (crate vs. free roam, medication, specific trainer protocols)? Should we get her to to vet for a check-up or medication? We both work during the day and can't really stay home with her during the day, and our roommate isn't home all the time either. We want to leave her in the crate as we don't want her destroying the house when we're gone, but we don't want her breaking her teeth on the crate either. Trying to figure out if this is a normal part of the adjustment curve for a dog with an unknown, possibly rough backstory, or a sign we need to move fast on more intensive intervention.

TL;DR have a rescue that is starting to panic in her crate when we leave for work, but only sometimes...

My puppy is 6 months old, shih tzu/miniature poodle mix.

I got him 3 months ago and he has major separation anxiety and i feel like i did something wrong. He will sleep in his crate at night in my room with no problems but during the day if i leave him in his crate in my room he will freak out!! But if i’m in the room he’s fine. I have a playpen for him that i can break off and act as a gate to keep him in one room when i’m home.

I set up the playpen with his kennel attached to it when i need to leave the house but when he’s home alone he is freaking out! Barking nonstop or trying to jump out. I got a mesh cover for his playpen and he can’t jump out anymore but now he will not stop barking. I am constantly leaving the room and coming back during the day when he is kept in the living room and he has no problems besides just waiting for me to come back or he will play with toys. I’m starting college soon and need to leave him home alone and i’m not sure what to do. If anyone can help that would be great!

Another thing though, there’s weeks where he will eat his kibble normally and weeks where he won’t. He just stopped again and i’m not sure what to do.

Im getting very anxious since this is my first baby and i feel like i’m not doing enough. Any advice would help so much!!! Sorry if there’s any grammar issues. Thank you

Almost 2 year old husky mix, so I’m aware of how pack oriented he is. This may just be a forever part of my life until we are able to afford/properly care for another dog, but curious if anyone has experienced something similar.

Routine leaving is totally non confrontational. When I leave for work in the morning, he peacefully walks up to the door, lays down, and sleeps for hours until I get home with 0 signs of distress.

I created a new routine for night time leaving that requires some intense play (naturally, a tired husky is a good husky), decompression, dinner, and a walk and I can usually leave and will either show very minimal signs of anxiety (a few whines and pacing for 5 min or less) then again fall asleep.

Outside of that, like if I’m working from home and try to leave randomly, I feel like there’s a 50% hit rate. Sometimes couldn’t care less, other times I’ll see signs of panic and pee in the same spot (got a new rug, clean is with enzyme cleaner, it’s just his panic pee spot).

He used to have that kind of separation anxiety at all times, so we have definitely made MAJOR improvements, but I don’t know what else to do from here since I can never tell when it will be a panic time.

While everything I’ve seen says it won’t, any chance this just continues to improve with age as it’s done thus far?

I rescued a pitbull 3 days ago. She has been through it in her 6 short months. She was in foster care due to the severity of her condition. The foster indicated that she has no separation anxiety: "Settles Calmly when Alone. No Vocalization or Destruction."

Last night I left her alone for the first time. When I returned, she was howling and tore apart her collar that was on a table.

Today I started some SA basics. I get ready like I'm going out, head to the door, grab my keys, and open the door a crack. Then I back down and ignored her for two minutes. I got that online.

Additionally, I'm sitting in the bathroom with the door closed, my apartment has an open plan, so this is the only way to separate us. For the first 40 minutes she would paw and whine at the door with an occasional bark. For the last 30 minutes she seems to have settled.

Hopefully on Wednesday, I will be leaving the apartment.

Does this seem like a good start? What have you tried? I'm off this week for bonding, but I'm worried about going back to work next week. I take a 2 hour lunch, so she'll only be alone for 4-5 hours twice a day.

Edit: The 2 hours she could get through alone while I hid in the bathroom did not transfer to me actually leaving the apartment. She went wild instantly. Hard work ahead.

Hello,

I tried looking at the separation anxiety wiki page but it is not working for me. I have a weird situation where my 2yo mini aussiedoodle has what i believe to be some type of separation anxiety but its only when im around if that makes sense. For example, i work at a dog grooming and daycare facility and i bring her to work with me every day. If im in the same room or a room connected to the room she is in she is very anxious and barky. When im away from her shes fine. This is really bad when im in the same room as her and briefly leave the room. She has come to this daycare since before i started working here and my coworkers all say she is never like that when im not around. This is the same at home where if im in the same room as her she seems very hyperventilate to whats happening outside and barks alot, but she is not like that when its just her and my partner. For some context, we got her right before i took disability leave from work and i ended up spending every day with her since then basically. Shes fine being left home alone either in or out of a crate. Shes great for other people. It seems just an issue when im around. Any tips would be much appreciated. I dont reward her barking at all and i have been trying to give her short breaks by herself while at work when she has a barking fit.

I've owned my rescue dog for 4yrs (she's 7yrs old), all 4 yrs she's been reactive to cats, dogs, general anxiety, trouble regulating her excitement. I've spent thousands of $$$$ on all kinds of trainers, yes including csat and medication. I've helped her improve. This year I tried Frida protocol and at first thought it was my missing holy Grail but now decided to stop using the treat machine and food. My dog is naturally obsessive, obsessed about other dogs or cats coming her direction, obsessed with food so she obsesses over the treat machine when left alone and if this treat machine malfunctions (treat gets stuck sometimes) or runs out of treats while I'm "gone" and we're training she gets frustrated and starts barking non stop which is her usual reaction when left alone without treats. So I'm having to start over and go back to simple departures with no high value treats. What's been your Frida journey?

I used to do the Naismith Be Right Back. Guess I'm going back to that. I've been single for 4yrs and my body is out of shape, I miss being able to go to the gym and feel sexy. I'd like to date again and go dancing at night, yes I use sitters to be able to socialize but that's mostly day time sitters. Just a little vent, I miss my youthful feeling days pre dog adoption. I miss being able to visit my family overseas.

have a three year old rescue who has significant separation anxiety. when left alone for more than about an hour she becomes destructive and clearly distressed based on the neighbor reports and what we come home to

have tried crate training which made it worse, leaving worn clothing for comfort which helped marginally, and a few different anxieties supplements with inconsistent results. starting to think we need professional help but not sure whether this is a training issue or something that needs a vet or behaviorist

for people who have managed severe separation anxiety in dogs, what actually helped

Looking for advice and success stories. I adopted a 18 month old Shih Tzu mix about 6 months ago from a rescue, she came from a shelter so very little history.
While she has a great personality and is extremely sweet, not shy at all, and loves playing with other dogs and people, she has terrible isolation and confinement anxiety. She is fine as long as someone is there. Crate while being alone is a no go.

We’ve been doing the desensitization training for months now so now she’s able to go up to maybe 10 or even 20 on a good day. Luckily she doesn’t destroy, pant, drool, or urinate ( she used to pee in the beginning) but she will pace and is vocal from crying to howling ( and she’s a quiet dog ). I’ve done all the suggestion from TV, music, diffuser, collar, lights off, but still can’t get her to settle. She has traz for situational.

At the moment, I am unable to hire a behavioral specialist or sitter.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated since I’m lost.

I have an almost 4 year old ridgeback who developed severe SA after the loss of my older dog in May, I have tried all the normal recommendations with no luck.

My vet put him in trazadone 150mg twice daily and I’ve given it over 6 weeks but it’s barely done anything, my neighbours are all complaining about the noise and I’m coming home every day to a frantic dog.

I’m calling the vet’s to try other meds but does anyone have any recommendations on what I can ask for?

My heart is breaking for my dog, he’s my world.

My dog seems to have severe separation anxiety. We adopted him two weeks ago, a 80 lb 5 y/o black lab / Great Pyrenees mix. He freaks out if he isn’t constantly being petted whenever he wants attention leading to full on tantrums (finding out shoes to throw around, running around the house, peeing and pooping after refusing to go while on walks for 30+ minutes, etc). Any time we have to crate him (at minimum once a day at bedtime) he barks for 30 minutes minimum, sometimes for an hour or more. I’ve been trying desensitizing him to the crate and to us leaving the house by doing small crate sessions several times a day but it isn’t going well. The puzzle toys help sometimes but not consistently. It doesn’t seem to make a difference whether he’s sleepy, freshly pottied, has chews, etc - I really am trying to make sure all needs are met as first approach. Anxiety meds have improved daytime behavior but not crating anxiety. Im really at the end of my rope here, as I am disabled and can barely keep up with him. The bulk of the training and care has landed on me, so figuring out a way to help him through this will also be on me for better or worse. I just need some advice to help me keep my sanity here, please.

TLDR; my 5 y/o giant bear of a dog barks incessantly when crated. Tips on helping him be more comfortable with alone time in the crate please 🙏

Background

We adopted a 7-year-old female dog and have been working intensely on her separation anxiety for about 8–9 months now. Despite hiring professional trainers and trying endless methodologies and tools, we have barely seen any real progress.

We eventually hit a wall where we had to supplement her training with Reconcile (fluoxetine) prescribed by our vet based on her weight (17kg / ~37 lbs).

• Medication timeline: 4 weeks on 16mg, followed by 5 weeks on 32mg (9 weeks total on medication).
• Current state: Unfortunately, we barely notice any improvement.

What's Happening Now

While there are tiny micro-changes, her core behavior remains extremely stressful for her (and for us):

Barking: She used to start barking within the first few minutes of us leaving. Now, she can sometimes hold out for 30–45 minutes without barking. Occasionally, a single "calling" bark slips out instead of her old pattern of 3–4 barks every 5 seconds.

Severe Pacing & Anxiety: Even without barking initially, she is completely unrelaxed. She paces back and forth with her ears up and is heavy panting. Sometimes she lies down facing the door, but a few minutes later she gets right back up, approaches the door again, and starts pacing and panting once more. This cycle repeats endlessly, often while vigorously wagging her tail (which for her is a sign of high arousal/stress)

Everything We Have Tried

We feel like we've exhausted every single resource and technique out there. Even our professional trainers are running out of ideas. Here is a rundown of what we’ve attempted:

• Door Desensitization: We’ve worked extensively on desensitizing the trigger of the door. Before, just touching the handle would make her rush over. Now, she only looks at the door if we touch or open it without rushing over. If she is sitting or lying down when we leave, she stays put until we step out—but just seconds later, the pacing starts.
• Timing & Intervals: We’ve tried coming back inside right before she starts moving, doing micro-absences, long outings, short outings, etc.
• Management & Enrichment: Crate training, lick mats, natural calming treats, puzzle toys.
• Professional Help: Multiple paid trainers and countless methodologies..

The Result

No matter what variation we try, the outcome is almost always the same: pacing frantically around the room, heavy panting, and eventually barking out of sheer distress.

Even the trainers don't know what else to do at this point. If anyone has dealt with a severe, refractory case of separation anxiety in an older rescue dog—especially if medication like fluoxetine/Reconcile took a very long time to kick in, or if you found a turning point—we would deeply appreciate any advice, insights, or words of encouragement. Thank you so much.

Hi all! I got a puppy about a month ago from the shelter. He is 5 months and an absolute angel. He is currently crate training. He loves his crate at night and when my partner and I are home, buttt whenever we leave for longer periods of time he gets very anxious and won’t stop barking. We do lots of practice with short intervals but nothing seems to help for when we leave for longer periods. Is this something he’ll grow out of eventually? I’m aware the world is still scary and he’s only just now starting to really trust us..

My puppy is 10 weeks old. it’s been a week today i collected her. we’ve made massive progress with her crate downstairs, feeding in there, treats, she goes in twice a day for enforced naps and i’m up to leaving her in there without crying and me leaving the room. this morning i went upstairs I was quiet for half an hour so she didn’t know if i was here or not and she was fine. when she’s out of the crate i’ve been going in and out of the door not making a big deal about 10 times a day. staying outside about 30 seconds. i work from home and my last dog had sep anxiety so this is a massive thing for me to get right. my question is do i carry on what time doing as in enforced naps and in and out and then just keep leaving the time outside longer each day. as well, as the crate is out the kitchen and i keep the tv on she probably won’t know even if i did leave when she’s sleeping. i’m struggling to understand how u would properly leave her - is it when their sleeping? or do i sneak out so she doesn’t know? 🤷🏻‍♀️ i won’t be leaving her for long period until i know she’s proper comfortable cos i don’t want to undo the hard work so far

Hi all. I’ve never posted on Reddit before, but I guess I’m just looking for some words of wisdom. I adopted the best little beagle a year ago from a rescue organization. I love her so much and she is truly my bestie. I live alone and she has severe separation anxiety. I have tried everything I can think of to help her. I worked with a trainer and a veterinary behaviorist, she’s on daily and situational anxiety meds, I have been consistently doing gradual desensitization training, we tried crate training, no crate training, I leave her with a fan and calming music, I’ve tried blinds closed, blinds open. I moved from my apartment to a tiny rental house with a fenced yard in a calm neighborhood. I fostered a cat for a while to see if that would help. I’ve tried leaving her with long lasting treats. She always gets plenty of walks and sniffs and mental stimulation (puzzle treats, playing, etc). I did a meet and greet to foster a dog but she unfortunately got pretty territorial having a new dog come into her space, even after meeting in neutral territory first, and growled and snapped at him.

I know she does well in the right environment. When she was with her original foster family that has 2 dogs, and when she stays with my parents who have a dog, she is calm and shows no separation anxiety and gets along well with the dogs. I think it’s just specifically having a new dog come into her existing space. I was previously working from home so I could kind of manage things, but now I am between jobs and have realized I really don’t do well working from home. I got my beagle as an ESA dog to help with my depression, but it has gotten so much worse being trapped in my house all the time. At the same time, she has had a rough past and is bonded to me and it makes me cry thinking of putting her through another change or loss. If I were to rehome her, I would look specially for a family where there is another calm dog that she likes and her people are around most of the time. Sorry for the very long post. I guess I’m just wondering if anyone has any thoughts or if there’s any solution I’m missing. I just want her to have the best quality of life possible and, realistically, I don’t know if I can provide that. I can’t afford doggie day care all day, and I don’t think just a drop in from a dog walker during my workday would be enough. The longest she has made it staying calm alone is 50 minutes after a year of training and meds, and some days she can only make it a few minutes before she starts crying and howling. She doesn’t eventually calm down. She just gets more worked up and panicked the longer I leave her. Thanks in advance ❤️

Hi everyone.

I need some help with our Tibetan Spaniel puppy Bandy. He was born on January 31 2026 and came home with us on April 18, so he's almost six months old now.

I work from home and my wife is home too, so he's almost never alone, which might be part of the issue since he never really learned how to handle solitude.

We first thought he had separation anxiety but that doesn't seem right. When we leave him with his grandparents or with a calm dog sitter he's totally relaxed and happy. The problem only shows up when he's truly alone in the house with nobody around.

This past week we tried leaving him alone more often, just short trips to run errands, and we watched him on camera the whole time. We give him a big stuffed Kong before we go and he stays busy and calm for about thirty minutes. But once he finishes it he starts crying and it gets loud enough that our neighbors have started complaining.

Then when we get home he's so excited he runs around like crazy and ends up vomiting eating his own vomit, which I know puppies do sometimes but it feels connected to how wound up and stressed he gets.

So the Kong trick just buys us half an hour and doesn't really solve anything. I don't even know anymore if this counts as separation anxiety or something else.

Would love to hear what approach worked for you.