What are some tips on how to treat separation anxiety in dogs?

Original Question: My two-year-old Lab has separation anxiety. If left alone he will damage/eat something (tissue, candles, trash, etc.) other than this he is very well behaved. - Erica

Mar 5, 2018

Hi Erica,

Thanks for your question.

Separation anxiety is a common condition and I don’t think many owners and veterinarians deal it with seriously enough. I really worry about how much anxiety like this can reduce your pet’s quality of life. Having said that, I highly recommend that you treat this more aggressively than you would otherwise like to.

There’s the really long way and really short way to deal with this problem. It is vital to work with your veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist to achieve success when treating this condition.

The long way is doing something called desensitization and counter conditioning therapy. You can look this up on websites and YouTube for examples of how to do this. Desensitization means exposing him to the anxiety-creating stimulus in small doses, such as leaving him for 30 seconds, then 60 seconds, then longer and longer each time. For instance, your dog will start to get anxious when you get your jacket on and while you grab your keys and put your shoes on. You can do all of these things and then sit on the couch and watch TV for an evening. The anxiety that these cues cause will become diminished because they don’t necessarily mean that you’ll be leaving your dog on its own anymore. Counter conditioning means giving him treats and praise while exposing him to the anxiety-creating stimulus so that he is happy in these moments rather than anxious. For example, you can feed a treat as you walk out the door and then 5 seconds later, come back in, take off your jacket and shoes, and stay home. Keep doing these things more often and for longer periods of time until their anxiety-creating effect is diminished.

Reading this, you can see how difficult this could be given the type of scenario you’re dealing with. This is why this is such a challenging way to affect a behavioral change.

The other way is giving him an anti-anxiety medication. I use a medication called Clomipramine or Fluoxetine, which helps tremendously in most cases and is very safe. If the anxiety is ever present or daily, such as separation anxiety from leaving him alone in the house, it works really well. If the anxiety is very acute and intense, such as fear when another dog approaches him, thunderstorms, or leaving him in specific circumstances, it is not as effective. I try not to recommend drugs for behavioral modification because most people have a natural unease with this plan, but in cases where the anxiety is really impacting your dog’s quality of life in a negative way, I think it is very important to consider.

Some people have requested sedatives, such as a drug called Acepromazine, for very intense periods of anxiety, such as car/air travel, thunderstorms, nail trimmings, etc.