My dog cries, jumps the gate when alone. Is it separation anxiety?

From your description, if Miel is showing this crying behavior when you aren't around, it can be sign of separation anxiety. She is anxious when you leave and is afraid you may not be coming back. This can be a common problem in dogs. I recommend crating her when you are gone. The crate will provide her a small space where she can feel safe in it when you are gone. You will have to slowly train her to get used to a crate. Start putting her in it when you are home and sitting nearby so she doesn't think you are abandoning her, and slowly increase the time she is in it. She can have toys in the crate, and puzzle toys with treats in it that she has to figure out how to get the treats out. You can put a tablespoon of peanut butter in a Kong toy and freeze it in the freezer overnight, then give it to her in the crate. That will keep her occupied for a while. Finally, you can get a pheromone diffuser called DAP that helps dogs with anxiety and pair that will a DAP pheromone collar that releases pheromones when in contact with his skin. If these methods do not help her, then I recommend having her seen by a vet to discuss the use of anti-anxiety medications. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Poor Molly! Scratching the door to the point of causing damage while you're away is a very common sign of separation anxiety - this may also be why she cries at night and even has potty accidents, since anxiety is a common cause of these issues as well. Since it sounds like her problem is fairly severe, I would recommend talking with your vet about the issue - many dogs with anxiety like this benefit from daily medication such as Prozac to help reduce their stress. You can also try a DAP pheromone collar along with a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure to see if this helps. I would also recommend leaving Molly with some type of long-lasting treat every time you leave the house and also at bedtime - something like a Kong toy stuffed with peanut butter works well for many dogs. This will give her something to keep her busy and encourage her to settle and relax.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I agree with you. This is possibly separation anxiety which is actually way more common than people think. While there are behavioral medications that may help, I still prefer more behavioral modifications such as increasing the frequency of those times that you are separated to get her more used to it but more importantly, start rewarding her for when she behaves well when left alone. You can do this with praise and of course treats. If this does not work, there are medications that can be used for this purpose which your veterinarian may be able to prescribe if deemed useful at that time. Good luck and have a good night!

It is possible Trish could be feeling a bit anxious, or just wants to be with her new people after all this change! If she is OK to be allowed out in the house when you are home, I would just leave the crate open for her to enter and leave at her leisure and not leave her crated unless you cannot attend to her. If she's still working on housetraining, gating off the house so that she has access only to easy to clean areas such as the kitchen, or keeping her tethered to you with a leash can help prevent accidents while she learns. Here are a few articles on separation anxiety that may also be helpful for you! https://www.petcoach.co/article/separation-anxiety/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/top-5-ways-to-reduce-separation-anxiety-in-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/6-common-signs-of-separation-anxiety-in-dogs/

Poor Diesel! This sounds like fairly severe separation anxiety, especially if he's too distressed to eat food or treats while you're gone. I would strongly recommend talking with your veterinarian about the problem, as most dogs with this degree of anxiety will need prescription medication (at least for a while) in order to make any headway. If your veterinarian isn't comfortable dealing with behavior cases, you can ask for referral to a veterinary behaviorist who can discuss a training plan to work on this issue as well as medication options to help your puppy. In the meantime, you can try a DAP pheromone diffuser as well as a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure to help a bit with his anxiety. It's not likely that these measures will be enough to resolve the problem on their own, but they may help to make him a little more comfortable until you are able to see your vet for a more comprehensive plan.

This does sound like Rexxy has some separation anxiety. Some things that you can do to help him are to make sure he gets plenty of exercise, especially before you have to leave for an extended period of time; put him in a crate/kennel before you leave to prevent him from being destructive while you are away; and you may want to consider talking to your vet about medication for anxiety. This may help his transition and make him be more calm in your absence. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!

Sounds like some separation anxiety is starting. You should try and keep her distracted while your mother prepares to leave. Dogs will pick up cues like putting on shoes or picking up keys and start to feel anxious. Sometimes just doing these things and then not leaving will help, as the dog will start to disassociate that with her absence. Also practice getting your mom to leave for very short periods of time and keeping the dog busy in the house with a food dispensing toy, play time etc. Or just chilling quietly and rewarding her like crazy when she isn't looking to the door, acting anxious, whining etc. Have your mom come back. Any time she leaves or returns she needs to not make a big deal about it for the dog. That means no more "Ohh Fluffy, I'm so sorry I''m leaving" or "Hiiiiii Fluffy, I'm home, oh, aren't you just the best dog ever?!". It needs to be really neutral so they dogs behavior isn't being reinforced. Any attention (good or bad) is attention to the dog and you can actually be rewarding them for doing things you don't want reinforced by accident. Keep working on building up the length of time that she is gone and the dog is comfortable. You are absolutely correct that the sooner you get started on this the better off you will be! I also recommend upping your dogs exercise. A tired dog, is a good dog. Dogs with extra pent up energy are more likely to find ways to keep themselves busy and this usually means by doing something we won't approve of. Most "bad behavior" is stemmed from pent up energy and frustrations, and is just a way of expelling that. Make sure walks are just not a leisurely stroll. They need to include running, jumping, sniffing around, try some commands-anything to get their mind and body working together, and tired. If you aren't able to work through this yourself you will need professional help and guidance to work through this issue and give you the tools to be effective in helping her through this. This is imperative that be it addressed now. Over time, the behavior re-enforces itself and it gets worse and harder to treat.