My dog chews when I'm not home. Is it separation anxiety?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Separation anxiety can be difficult to address but with patience and persistence training can help. Rather than starting on anti-anxiety medications right away, I typically recommend trying products such as NaturVet Quiet Moments Calm Chews with Melatonin and an Adaptil collar, which can both be found online or at your local pet store quite easily. I would also recommend using a Thundershirt, which can be found online or at the pet store. It would also help if you began feeding Sienna breakfast and dinner in the kennel so that she becomes used to being inside the cage for positive things. I would move all of her toys to the inside of the kennel and whenever she goes inside the kennel, reward her with her favorite treat. If this does not help, I would recommend speaking with her veterinarian and discuss anti-anxiety medications as these may be beneficial in deterring this separation anxiety she suffers from. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It sounds like Camellia may have generalized anxiety, or separation anxiety. This can cause dogs to have destructive behaviors, such as chewing excessively, tearing up furniture or clothes, etc. I recommend consulting with your veterinarian about medications that can be given to help reduce anxiety at home, and make dogs much more calm at home. These can include Trazodone, Prozac, Clomicalm, etc. Many dogs tolerate these medications very well and can save them from being relinquished to shelters. I hope this is helpful! Please consider there before rehoming Camellia, as her underlying problems will not go away on their own, and changing homes can actually worsen her signs.

The most common cause of chewing or destructive behavior when a dog is home alone is separation anxiety. Sometimes it can be triggered by a frightening event like a smoke alarm going off one day when the owner isn't home, a burglary, etc. - but sometimes it seems to start for no obvious reason. If you want to know for sure if this is the problem, you can videotape Cinder one day while you're gone - it's usually quite easy to differentiate anxiety from simple boredom or other causes of destructive chewing once you watch the tape. If she is anxious, I would definitely recommend talking with your vet about this issue, since many dogs with separation anxiety need prescription anti-anxiety medication in order to improve - especially in the beginning. I would also suggest leaving her with a special long-lasting treat such as a Kong toy stuffed with peanut butter, every time you leave the house. This will help to keep her busy and encourage her to settle, and over time will help to reduce her anxiety by giving her something to look forward to when you leave. You could also try a DAP pheromone collar along with a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure to see if this helps.

This is consistent with severe separation anxiety and will need some medical help. Talk with your vet about anti-anxiety medication which can help tremendously. (There are many different kinds.) Even with that, you will probably have to do some training and counter-conditioning. Work with a trainer or behaviorist if needed. Crate training helps some dogs with separation anxiety but can actually make some dogs worse so consider that if you’d like to try. Please note that training is very likely to fail without the medication. Eventually, you may be able to wean off of the medication but some dogs need something long-term. Best wishes to you and Penny May!

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.

This sounds like classic separation anxiety. I would recommend stopping all punishment, since dogs can't make the connection between something they've done and a punishment if it doesn't come within 2-3 seconds AND because dogs with anxiety don't respond well to punishment at any time. Moby needs to see his veterinarian to talk about medications to help deal with this and keep him safe.

I am sorry to hear about Bailey! Separation anxiety or boredom could be the cause. If you have any sort of cameras at home to view her it may help you determine which it may be, also the length of time you are gone can help determine the cause. If she is destructive even if you are gone a short time this could be more anxiety related versus if it is only when you are gone long periods then boredom may be more likely. Definitely kong's are great- but to make them more enticing be sure to fill them with something tasty. Putting canned food inside them and freezing the kong to make it last longer, or a puzzle feeder toy. If anxiety is suspected there are some over the counter products that can help mild cases, including an Adaptil collar or diffuserhttps://www.adaptil.com/us/Products/ADAPTIL-Calm-On-the-go-Collar and calming supplements like Composure or Zylkene https://www.adaptil.com/us/Products/ADAPTIL-Calm-On-the-go-Collar . If the anxiety is severe then behavior modification and prescription medication may be needed. You can read more about this at https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951949