My adopted dog whines and paces when left alone. What should I do?

Unfortunately, there are no quick fixes for separation anxiety. It is a very complex problem and takes many months of working with a professional in-home dog trainer (plus or minus behavior modification medications from your vet) to correct this behavior. I strongly recommend you get a professional trainer to your home to check out her behavior and then they can help you make changes to help her get over the anxiety. It will not be easy and it won't be quick. I recommend Bark Busters and they have a trainer in your area. I believe they do a free initial consult. Trying to correct this on your own is not recommended as you could give her incorrect signals and actually make her worse. ( https://www.barkbusters.com/dog-training-winston-salem-greensboro ) Depending on the severity of the anxiety, most dogs will benefit from the short-term use of pheromones until the problem can be controlled. You can start Adaptil pheromones to see if it helps. ( https://www.adaptil.com/us/Products/ADAPTIL-Calm-Home-Diffuser )

Sounds like she has anxiety. If she is not spayed, you should have that done as hormones can be a cause of anxiety. I also suggest you contact a local, professional, in-home dog trainer. They can help you with some behavior modification to lessen her anxiety symptoms. You can also try using some Adaptil. ( https://www.amazon.com/s?k=adaptil+dog+collar&crid=SQKY5YAMUQP3&sprefix=adaptil+dog%2Caps%2C165&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_11 )

You would need to consult with an in-home professional dog trainer. They can help you the best. If the anxiety is severe then you can talk to your vet about using a medication in conjunction with the re-training. You may also want to consider using some Adaptil (pheromone) products: https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/site/view/198944_HomeDelivery.pml?s=adaptil&hierarchy=&sort=score%20desc

This is a very hard behavior to correct - separation anxiety. You are going to need the help of a professional trainer (one that will come to your house) and maybe even some medications from your vet. You can try to correct the behavior yourself but often times you end up making it worse. I suggest you call Saga Humane Society for a referral to a trainer. Here is a link to an article about separation anxiety in dogs: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/separation-anxiety Hope this helps.

A lot of this will take time for her to understand you will keep coming back. You can also make sure to leave a shirt or something with your scent to help provide comfort. You can try a white noise machine or music to leave on to help. In extreme cases you can talk to your vet about anxiety medicines

I suggest you consult with a professional in-home dog trainer. Dogs with separation anxiety are difficult to deal with and you need to train him appropriately now before this gets too far. If you try to do it yourself you may make him worse. This is not a quick fix - it will take time. I like Bark Busters and it appears as though they have a trainer in your area. It is never too young to start them with a professional trainer. ( https://www.barkbusters.com/dog-training-sanfrancisco ) Please, also understand, you have acquired a herding dog and they are not meant to be kenneled or indoors all day. If you are gone for many hours per day you may want to consider taking him to day care or have a dog walker come to take him out during the day. These dogs are bred to herd and have high energy. They are not really meant to be house/lap dogs. They need lots of exercise.

Destructive behavior like this when you're not home is usually caused by separation anxiety - some dogs will chew things when they're bored, but if there is significant destruction and it only happens when you're gone, anxiety is much more likely. If you want to know for sure, I would suggest videotaping her the next time you go out - it's usually very easy to see on the video if this is anxiety vs. boredom. There are a few things you can do to try and help her. You can try crating her, but be aware that many dogs with this problem are more anxious when they are confined - she won't be able to do as much damage to your home, but she may injure herself if she panics trying to escape. I would strongly recommend leaving her with a special long-lasting treat of some kind every time you leave the house, like a Kong toy stuffed with peanut butter or something similar. You may also want to try a DAP pheromone collar along with a natural calming supplement like Composure or Zylkene to help decrease her anxiety. If you don't see improvement within the next 1-2 weeks, you should talk with your vet about the problem as she may need prescription medication to treat her anxiety, at least for a while. You could also request referral to a veterinary behaviorist for additional help if the problem is severe.