Dogs show anxiety when owners leave their homes

“so yesterday i took my 10 month old (almost 11 month old) dog to the beach and he lost it! as seen in the video, there was a bit of hesitancy and fear with the rocks, after we left he was off the rails and reacting to everything he doesn’t usually react to this is the bark i’m talking about. i don’t mind if it’s one or two barks but he just goes on and on. when we’re outside he’ll do this with people, cats, dogs, children, etc. it’s very embarrassing and i don’t know how to make it stop. i’ve ne”

“Hi all! I’m writing for some help with my 2 1/2 year-old pitbull rescue. I’ve had him for about a year and a half and he is crate trained. I’ve never had any issue with him barking in his crate or whining. It’s really been a good safe place for him and he goes in there all the time just on his own. He has always been good about being in the crate for long periods of time while I’m at work, things on a routine, things not on a routine, and I do a lot to make sure that he has had a lot of exercise”

“Hello, I recently got a large dog and am training her. She is a rescue and almost deathly afraid of going through doorways. I've been able to coax her through with treats and a few times, she's even managed to walk through out of her own will when i lead her through. A few times she just absolutely refuses and pancakes to the floor, forcing me to pick her up to get her in the door because i'm needing to get her in and don't want to string her by the neck with a leash and collar.”

“We (me and and my boyfriend) have a 2 year old yorkshire terrier. We got her from his aunt who has 4 kids, so shes used to always having someone around. She has separation anxiety and refuses to use pee pads She was originally pee pad trained, we know this because when we got her, she was using them for the first few weeks we had her. I kept on top of rewarding her when she used them. I take her on 2 or 3 walks every day, long ones. And now, the only places she'll use the bathroom is on our”

“Hey guys! I currently just adopted a 3M male, beagle lab mix! I’m not having second thoughts but I’ve been anxious all day ever since I brought him home. He’s a good boy, he doesn’t bark or anything and he listens well. I’m also a first time dog owner too so that could be it as well. I was just wondering if anyone else has had anxiety with a new puppy. I’m currently crate training him, he naps/sleep in there willingly but I think as a first time dog owner I’m anxious I’m doing everything wrong o”

“Jasper: just shy of 6mo, had him for just over two months. He's a large mixed breed. On leash: when my husband and I go anywhere with Jasper, such as a walk or to the store (like Home Depot when it's less busy) to work on socializing, he does okay with just walking around with us. Sniffs some. Sometimes he seems a bit overwhelmed but generally does okay. Occasionally pulls but not too bad. But when one of us "breaks the party" (goes out of sight) he freaks out a bit, whining, c”

“We have a 3 year (fixed) old lab. She is a great dog but recently we’ve noticed she has a frantic like energy around my husband. She is obsessed with him. She screams when she hears his vehicle pull onto our street, and she cannot settle when he’s around she just follows him anxiously waiting for attention. I understand she loves him but it’s seeming a bit more anxious than sweet lately. He puts his stuff down etc before greeting her and makes sure she’s sitting calmly before saying hi and petti”

“I have a 3 month old basset hound who will not leave my lab alone. The only thing she wants to do is chase her around and bite her. We got her a play pen and she has her crate to sleep in. Anytime she is in either all she does is loudly cry and bark, she does not give up no matter how much we ignore her or try and reward when she is silent (if there ever is any silence). When she’s not in either of those she is barking at my lab, barking at the counter for a treat, barking at the door where she”

“Rescued a 22 week old German Shepherd mix about a month ago. She was in a foster home for about 6 weeks, with 5 other dogs and one cat. I am a first time dog owner, while my bf has had dogs in his family before, but this is the first of our own. Our pup is experiencing EXTREME separation anxiety. We are working on crate training, which she sleeps in at night just fine (it has a divider so it is just large enough for her to stand, turn around, and lay down, it is covered with a large blanket so i”

“I live with a roommate, who leaves at some point at 7am to 5pm for their job and their dog well howl, bark, poop and pee on the floor among not eating whilst they are gone. Its quite distracting and I was hoping to get some insight thanks submitted by /u/HotIntroduction3997 [link] [comments]”

“I have a new rescue who is about a year old. She was in foster for a month and had no issues. After coming to our house she wont come in or out of it on her own. We have to carry her in and out each time and she's about 50lbs so its not ideal. Any ideas as to why shes doing this or how to help? Once shes through the door shes totally fine. submitted by /u/Antique-Trouble-8301 [link] [comments]”

“Since we got our dog he has always slept overnight downstairs in the kitchen with everything he needs. Of course when we got him as a puppy he would cry when we first put him away but would stop after a few minutes and go to bed. He is now a year and 4 months and of course has his routine that he is used to which we still do every night and sometimes he will still do a slight cry for a minute or two however the last week or so he has begun crying a lot louder and almost yapping/barking at the sa”

“He is around 5 months old, he’s a Shih Tzu and bichon Havanese mix. We picked him up today (rehoming situation), I was kinda excited but nervous when we got him, we went and bought a few things at the pet store and then we went home. We’ve been home for a couple of hours and I’m second guessing our choice to get him. I have severe ADD/ADHD and GAD, I have kinda shut down and I’m so scared that I’ll never be able to love him. He is such a sweet little guy but the anxiety is making me so nauseous”

“We lost my 14yo dog roughly a month ago. The day I took him to the emergency vet my 5yo dog pooped in the house 3 times while I was gone. The same thing happened again when we took him to be put down a few days later. Ever since she has been pooping in the house if I am part of leaving her home alone. If I leave and my spouse is here she is fine, if eventually he leaves she is fine. If we both leave at the same time or if I am the one to leave her home alone she poops on the floor. Today she poo”

“My husband and I adopted a 9 month black lab on Friday. She is super sweet, and was really calm when we met her in the shelter. She got spayed on Thursday, came home on Friday, and Friday and Saturday were pretty easy, fun days getting her settled in. But she has started biting hard and a lot today. I have severallll scrapes and bruises from her teeth on my arms and legs. I know it’s hard for her being a puppy, in a small space and unable to run and play a ton while she is recovering from surger”

“We got a 4yr old lab mix from the pound yesterday and we’re prepared for her to be anxious dog. We are in a hardcore two week shut down and feel good about taking things slowly with her. We are having a problem we didn’t anticipate, she doesn’t want to come back inside once we take her out to potty. She was a stray before she ended up at the shelter so we think her only indoor experience is chaotic and stressful. She is a lot more relaxed outside and wants to spend hours laying in our front yard”

“Recently adopted a 7 month old female doberman mix. First time dog owner, single, living in an apartment, and I go to an office for work M-F. After being given up when I assume she was only a few months old, she has spent all her time with a foster, so fortunately she came to me fairly well behaved. That is, no accidents at home, she sleeps calmly through the night, and doesn’t chew on anything but her toys. Very rarely she’ll try chewing my hand or leg but listens when I say no. With just me, s”

“Me and my boyfriend just adopted a 3 month old blue heeler mix. Last night we wanted to crate him but he cried in the crate so we moved it next to our bed and he was completely fine throughout the night. Today, my boyfriend left him downstairs and he started crying until he went back downstairs. He was only alone for 2 minutes max. I know he’s still a puppy and this normal, but how can we slowly train him to not be scared. I would hate for it to turn into separation anxiety as he gets older. Any”

“Please tell me if I’m posting in the wrong sub. Looking for some advice from vets or anyone with experience with anxious dogs! Our dog is half Great Pyrenees and half Blue Heeler. We got her around 5 months old through an adoption agency and unfortunately didn’t get much information about why she was given up. She had been with a foster family with 3 other dogs for about 6 weeks before we got her. She is now 9 months. The first couple days/weeks were rough. When we got her, she was taking 900 mg”

“Hi all! We have been through a journey with our dog’s separation anxiety. He is a rescue and when we first got him about seven years ago, he dealt with some minor separation anxiety, but then was able to adjust and had been fine since. When we moved into a new apartment last summer, he developed some separation anxiety and would chew the door frame and cry whenever we left to the point where we ended up just putting him in daycare because we tried short departures and lots of solutions and it ju”

“Hey all, I adopted a 5-6 year old lurcher on Saturday & I'm really worried about her developing separation anxiety. So far, she follows me everywhere which is fine, but I have been instructed to only keep her on the ground floor of the house until she settles a bit more. I work from home & my office is upstairs, along with my bedroom & shower. When I leave her in the sitting room & close the door (because I dont have a baby gate for the stairs & I dont want her following”

“Hi there, I recently adopted a two year old Pomsky, we have had him for a month and in general, he is a very well behaved dog and we have little to complain about. The only issue we have is separation anxiety. His previous owners says he happily stayed home without him for hours at a time but we havent been able to do that yet. He is crate trained and he happily goes in his bed at night. The first time we tried leaving him, we put him in his crate and got a camera and he was making awful sounds”

“Hello guys, 3 days ago me and my wife adopted a rescued dog. We don't know anything about his past but he is very anxious, specially in the street. He pulls a lot, in any direction really, it's like he justs wants to run away. The only time he looks more relaxed is in a park 5 mins from home. There he starts focusing on other dogs and smelling their pees and stuff, and his panic lowers a bit. I even managed to have him walk 20 steps without pulling there. The problem is that, to stop him”

“We think our new lab, 2 years old, has some seperation anxiety issues but she also barks and howls a lot in the morning before breakfast. She starts at 7am, we get up at 8am. At the moment she has free run of the room at night and does wander and sleep in different areas. She has a crate but we haven't closed it on her at night yet. I have put her in it during the day and she will lay quietly and relax. Do you think its better to confine her to the crate at nighttime, the hope is she won&#39”

“it's in the title really :(( our 3.5mo old brittany puppy not only refuses to be alone for a second, even being separated by a baby gate from us causes interminable loud barking. we've tried desensitizing him to us leaving by never greeting/saying goodbye, just going back and forth briefly, then a bit longer, but it's not getting better at all - he just barks and doesn't stop. he can do an okay stay command in a different room, so that's the only way to do anything around the”

“We think our new lab, 2 years old, has some seperation anxiety issues but she also barks and howls a lot in the morning before breakfast. She starts at 7am, we get up at 8am. At the moment she has free run of the room at night and does wander and sleep in different areas. She has a crate but we haven't closed it on her at night yet. I have put her in it during the day and she will lay quietly and relax. Do you think its better to confine her to the crate at nighttime, the hope is she won&#39”

“Need help diagnosing this problem… I have a one year old neutered whippet. He shares the home with 2 other dogs (a neutered male and a spayed female). As a puppy, we tried crate training him. He became extremely anxious in the crate and we would come back to his bedding torn to shreds and soaking wet from drool. He is a major chewer. We will often catch him chewing on things when we are home- things like my son’s toys, baskets, shoes, etc. He will steal things off the counter to chew on them. He”

“We just adopted a 6 month old Shih Tzu from a rescue that got him after an older lady had him for a few months and realized a puppy was too much work. So we don’t really know his history, but it seems he was treated well overall. This dog CANNOT be left alone. We’ve had to leave him for a few hours, and he scream cries the entire time. We had him closed in an office with wood floors- he somehow jumped onto the desk, threw papers everywhere, and peed on the daybed. We got him a smaller crate toda”

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“I have a two year old corgi who barks and howls all day while me ans my partner are at work. He also barks and howls when we leave to see a movie, go shopping etc. We give him treats or breakfast in a puzzle before leaving. He hangs out in the living room so he has access to his food bowl and toys, but he doesnt play with them while we are gone. Wondering what we can do to help. I know corgis are working dogs so I am talking to my partner about what we can do to get more of his energy out in the”

“My dog is crate trained. He does good in our house, just chilling on his crate/playpen while we’re out or we’re working. The problem is, whenever we were staying on my boyfriend’s place, he would bark nonstop even if he has the same crate/playpen that he has at home. He sleeps with me at night and I think that might be the reason but when he was still young, we used to give him lick mats before he goes to bed and he would just fall asleep right after. What do you think we should do about this? E”

“We rescued a golden retriever (18month old at the time) December 2025. After the first week or so, noticed intense separation anxiety (couldn’t leave him alone for more than a couple of minutes) and also over-socialness/alertness when he saw other dogs. He’d also bark quite intensely at the tiniest of noises in particular night which would shake the whole house! Vet gave us some Trazadone to use, and after a month or so of intermittent use, it really sorted the night time and the separation anxi”

“Hey everyone! I am convinced I gave my dog some type of anxiety. I won’t lie, I babied him a lot, even though I fixed my behavior, I’m definitely seeing the repercussions. First and foremost, I can’t go upstairs for a second, take the trash out, or even wash dishes without him barking or whining. Secondly, when I take him out to the park, he definitely gets nervous and anxious but as soon as he sees someone or a dog, he just barks and pulls. He never used to do that, but it has been happening mo”

“Dog was SO friendly at the meet&greet, took treats, did tricks, begged for pets from me. Today I come and he nearly bites me through the crate when I go to let him out. The door is now open but he’s refusing to come out even with treats and being patient. It’s been a few hours, I’m sure he has to go potty and I don’t know what to do. A bit off topic-ish but the house is in horrible condition too, not what I saw when I went to meet them. There are random pills everywhere. Not in containers, j”

“this wouldn't be a very big problem if we didn't live in an apartment. admittedly yes she's a naturally nervous and vocal dog because she's a shepherd but when she isn't alone she's relatively quiet and relaxed. she doesn't do well without her owner (my roommate) and even worse when she's alone, ie; she'll break out of her crate, claw and hit the door, whine, bark, pee ect. she growls and barks at noises at night but it easy to calm her down and today she was”

“Our 10 month old spoodle has separation anxiety and it’s starting to affect my relationship with my husband - please help! We have tried so many different things and nothing seems to work. We have set him up in a playpen, crated, left him in a puppy-proofed room, free roam, given him frozen kongs/snuffle mats and toys, left the TV on etc. While we’ve had some success to varying degrees (up to an hour of no barking once) he always ends up barking and howling until we come home. It’s gotten to the”

“For basic background, she is 7 months old, we adopted her from a very rural area and she is now in a big city. What I think I can tell is that she was not let outside super frequently (she seems substrate trained to pee on carpet feeling floors and she smelled very strongly of pee when we got her, like a house where dogs just pee inside) and may not have been walked very much because she seems like she has no experience on a leash. When I take her outside, she basically is just frozen in fear ev”

“hello I have a 3yo black Labrador rat terrier mix. he's a total sweetheart with minimal issues but his real only flaw is his separation anxiety it is BAD we can't leave him home alone!! when we leave him outside the crate he just scratches at the door barks and cries excessively causing damage (we live in an apartment so absolutely no go) so we started leaving him in his crate but he just barks and barks and barks and we've left him alone for an hour and came back and he was still ba”

“I have a 9 week old springer spaniel puppy that I brought home last week. Long story short, he was hospitalized with parvo twice because he was sold to me sick. He had been hospitalized one night, came home for two, crashed again and then was hospitalized for two nights again. Since he has been back, he has had the worst separation anxiety. If I’m out of his sight, he is screaming barking (not crying). I have a play pen for him that he plays in while I work or am in the kitchen (in eyesight). I’”

“14 week minie Aussie. I've had him for a little over a month. We started crate training immediately, my last pup I rescued was a 7 year old German Shepherd that had so much anxiety so I wanted to start training young and got a small little fur ball this time. He's super smart, calm, well-mannered already potty trained but the separation anxiety has been such an obstacle. Before I go on any further, you should know, Ive don't everything by the book. first week was just crate open hang”

“Hello. I'm currently working with an 11 month old pup, almost a year old this month. He's a Finnish Lapphund and he's the sweetest most adorable pup I've ever had! The only problem we seem to be consistently having is that he barks for at least half an hour after I specifically, leave the house. He doesn't do this if my partner leaves, only when I leave... And it starts almost immediately too. I've tried giving him treats when I leave so he has something to concentrate on”

“Hi all, So basically the situation is what the title says. My roommate's dog have a horrible separation anxiety to the point she leaves, the dog starts screaming and howling and wining EVERY F* TIME. The issue is that usually I am still sleeping in the morning when this happens, or I am at a meeting, or just generally working, but I cannot, because there is a dog who literally SCREAMS FOR HOURS next to me. And yeah, I really think it is separation anxiety, but I also think it is a tantrum at”

“Before we took her to the vet, she was fine being left alone and never tried to follow us whenever we left the house. Not even a single scratch on the door and no barking or "crying" at all. It felt unusual, but I just thought maybe she's just not bothered by being alone. I had her groomed 4 days ago cuz her hair got too long and had tangled hair and her behavior changed COMPLETELY. When left alone, she won't stop crying and barking, and she's scratching the door consistent”

“HELP PLEASE. I’ve had her about two weeks and we can’t leave for more than a minute without her being very destructive, screaming and howling, having accidents etc. She is a year old hound mix. We have been crate training her to see if it helps, but she just barks when we leave her in the crate when we leave the house (very loudly). I’ve tried leaving for small amounts of time, but the immediate whining and barking begins. I tried to leave her outside the crate today for a couple of hours becaus”

“Hello, first time puppy mom to a 3 month old lab mix breed. I suspect husky as well, but waiting for dna test. She recently started barking almost constantly. For example, we will be petting or playing, and the second we stop she will bark. Or she’s on the living room (behind a baby gate), and I’m 2 feet away in sight making coffee, she is barking until I come to her attention (she lays down and shows her belly for pets). She goes outside every 1-2 hours (potty training) and we don’t use pee pad”

“My 5-yr-old rescue pup got over separation anxiety at home soon after I brought him home, but it often reappears when we are in new locations: visiting family or even getting left behind for bathroom trip at a restaurant. It helps if I am with other people who can distract him with food and obedience training, but that seems like a bandaid. I need suggestions for incremental separation training (ie, leave for 10 secs, 30 secs, 2 mins, etc) in unfamiliar places. Whether that's locations, scen”

“Toy x mini poodle 12.5 weeks, had him for 3 weeks. This includes being carried for a short few minute walk outside (not fully vaccinated yet), going into the car, being carried into our local pet shop. I thought at first it was because of his inner ears but now he’s scared even without the car. I don’t know if it’s because he associates it with the vets? submitted by /u/Sleepy-Otter4963 [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone Adopted a now 1yr old at 9mo, prior to this he was mistreated then found by rescue org as a stray and very underweight. He is actually pretty good with people and dogs except barking a lot from behind the fence which is nearly a non issue. But the main issue we have is that when he's not in his fenced pen (indoors, maybe 2m x 1.5m), he is just always wanting to chew or destroy things, whether its wood furniture, couch or beds. Sometimes in the pen he even chews and rips his own b”

“my pup has been getting pretty anxious lately, mostly when i leave the house. he’ll pace around, whine and sometimes just bark nonstop. i’ve tried toys and tiring him out before i leave but it doesn’t seem to make much difference. a friend suggested cbd oil for dogs but i’ve never tried it and don’t really know much about it. has anyone dealt with this before? what helped your dog chill out when being left alone? submitted by /u/Bigballerbrow [link] [comments]”

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“I am at a point that I am already regretting getting a puppy. Our 4-month-old puppy can not be alone at all without completely freaking out and barking. I miss my old life, when I could leave the house and have some actual life. How to teach the puppy to be alone? submitted by /u/BeautifulForm6809 [link] [comments]”

“I’ve had my dog for almost 3 months. He’s a Korean rescue (I’m in the US), 1.5YO, Jindo mix, and is a very sweet boy. While he is overall wonderful, he has terrible separation anxiety. As in pacing nonstop and throwing his entire body against the front door. I’ve done weekly sessions with a trainer, and I’ve tried leaving for increasing periods over time. Due to the severity of his separation anxiety, the vet started him on meds fairly early on to help him feel better (and to allow me to leave t”

“We’ve had a 21 week old female malamute for about 2 ½ months now. One of the biggest issues we’ve been having is socialization. If a dog walks past our house most of the time she’ll start barking similar to in the video. I’ll try to give her treats and praise before she starts barking to create a positive association. It works sometimes and she won’t bark at all but other times I can’t do anything to stop her. https://imgur.com/gallery/puppy-barking-PVAjWat In the video she was outside on the po”

“My wife and I adopted a rescue almost 3 weeks ago and I already feel like I’m losing my mind. He’s about a year old, 45lbs and we assume to primarily be a boxer/pit mix. He’s incredibly sweet and is super well behaved when we are home and around other people and other dogs. He’s house trained and also generally super quiet rarely barking or whining. We’ve had no issue taking him outside of the house on walks and to public places as well. However everything seems to go out the window as soon as m”

“Hi - I have a 17 week old mutt (we think lab mix) and she really is a great dog - crate trained, sleeps through the night, minimal accidents (mainly because of human error!) but my anxiety is bad. I got severe puppy blues at the start but we are on the up & up! My question: 1. If you have a barky reactive dog - what age did that start? 2. If your dog has separation anxiety - when did that start? I’ve read the posts - the teenage months are rough but is that when these behaviors start? Or wou”

“4 year old bernadoodle. He's honestly a terrific dog... Cuddly, sweet, a bit anxious and shaky but not out of control... Doesn't bark unless somebody comes to the door. When anybody comes over it's just over the top for like 1-2 min straight, this video is like medium for him. I know he's just excited but it's too much and getting worse. Just not sure where to start. We have 3 young kids too, busy house. submitted by /u/SpicyHam82 [link] [comments]”

“My partner and I adopted an 8 week old Golden boy. He’s now 10.5 weeks old. He’s already potty trained and can hold it pretty well. No accidents yet. When he’s in the mood he’s very eager to learn new commands and has great recall (albeit without many distractions and in a controlled environment). But he just HATES when either one of us are not in the room with him. My gf works from home full time. I WFH 3/5 days a week. He settles pretty well in the crate at night, but has a full on anxiety att”

“Hello! I adopted a puppy three months ago from a foster from the south. I have been struggling to train him due to extreme fear and anxiety. I’ve hired two trainers who have helped in some way, but their advice is primarily centered around positive reinforcement, which is hard for him because he will not accept treats in scary situations (men, noises, cars, small children, etc). I’ve tried high-value treats such as cheese, hot dogs, chicken, and Kirby pouches but eventually he gets tired of them”