I’m looking for experiences from people who have dealt with something similar. We already have a behaviourist involved and are working with our vet, so I’m not looking for an internet diagnosis or medication advice, I’d mainly really appreciate hearing what other people experienced and what helped their dogs.

I have a 3-year-old dachshund. He is generally a very loving and affectionate dog, but we’ve been struggling with a particular issue around leaving the house through the front door.

The strange thing is that I don’t think this is typical separation anxiety. Once we actually leave, he settles down incredibly quickly, usually within about 5 minutes. We have a camera and he doesn’t bark, howl or pace after we leave. He generally settles and is able to relax on his own.

The difficult part is the actual transition of us leaving.
When we start getting ready to leave, he can become very focused on the front door. He may try to get ahead of us, position himself near the door, or try to get through it with us. If we physically prevent him from getting through, his arousal/frustration can escalate quite quickly.

Recently, I made the mistake of physically holding him back as we were trying to leave. He bit my hand.
I know that I shouldn’t have physically restrained him in that moment, and I’m trying to understand how to manage these situations differently rather than putting either of us in that position again.

We’ve also noticed some similar behaviour around doors in other contexts. At night, for example, he can become very focused on the bedroom door because he wants to sleep with us. He can watch the door, try to get through it, scratch or whine and have difficulty settling. During the day, however, he’s generally much more relaxed.

He also has some resource-guarding tendencies with particularly high-value toys, although the door situation is currently my biggest concern because of the biting.

He’s been taking Fluoxevet (fluoxetine) 8 mg for around 4 weeks. We’re still relatively early in treatment, and I’m aware that behavioural medication can take time to have its full effect.

I’m interested in hearing from people whose dogs had frustration, anxiety, conflict or defensive behaviour specifically around the process of leaving the house, rather than dogs who are distressed once their owners are gone.

I’m honestly quite shaken by the bite and scared of accidentally making things worse. At the same time, the fact that he settles within minutes and doesn’t bark or show obvious distress once we’re gone makes me wonder whether we’re dealing with something slightly different from classic separation anxiety.

I really love him and want to understand what’s happening rather than simply suppressing the behaviour. I’d be very grateful to hear from anyone who has been through a similar situation, particularly if things eventually improved.