My dog whines when mom leaves. How to ease his separation anxiety?

Behavioral modification things to try: downplay your signals when you leave and give her a long-lasting Kong stuffed with treats to focus on. Don't make a big fuss when you return, either--oftentimes owners are unknowingly making things worse by announcing their departures and arrivals. I've had success with anti-anxiety medication like Lorazepam that your veterinarian can prescribe (off-label) for short-term anxiety management. Anti-depressants like Prozac or Clomicalm are also useful for long-term management. Hope that helps!

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Don't worry- you are not alone in this separation anxiety issue Oren seems to be having. This is very common but can be very frustrating for everyone involved- including Oren! Anxiety can be very energy draining, so I am not surprised to hear about the exhaustion experienced when you get home. A few tips, though, can help with this. Keep the crate area very comfortable and inviting with lots of soft blankets. Spray a bit of Adaptil Spray (pheromone spray) you can purchase at your local pet supplies store around the crate area and blankets 15 mins before you leave. Take a kong toy and stuff it with low fat peanut butter or low fat plain yogurt and freeze it overnight. Take it out 10 mins before you leave and offer it to Oren to keep him entertained and busy while you are in the process of leaving and while you are away. Playing music or the radio can help as well. Claiming chewables with L-theanine in them daily can help lower anxiety levels naturally. SSRIs prescribed to Oren by his veterinarian can help with cases that do not improve even with behavioral modifications if Oren continues to have trouble with separation anxiety. I hope this helps and 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.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Poor Dodger! It sounds as though Dodger has separation anxiety. I would leave a radio or the TV on for sound and consider anti-anxiety medications. Long term medications like Prozac or clomicalm are probably best and you can combine it with a short acting medication for the short term. Using your mother in law is also a good idea or if he likes other dogs taking him to doggie day care a few times per week may help. If the below doesn't help then I would discuss medications with your Vet as Dodger is young and it's best to get ahead of this. Good luck! 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/

They're adorable! Leaving them in a smaller room with music on or a TV will help. Start leaving them for short times before you go back to work to get them used to being alone. Ignore them some of the time when you are home and don't make a big deal about your coming and going. You may consider having someone come in for a while at lunch to take them out and play with them for a few minutes. If needed there are anti anxiety medications that can be given for a short time to get them to relax when alone. Hopefully they will settle into the new routine. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your dogs.

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern! Unfortunately, separation anxiety can be quite difficult to address for most dogs. I usually recommend a multi modal approach. I recommend the following non-prescription approach prior to anything prescription: 1. NaturVet Quiet Moments calm chews plus Melatonin (can be found online quite easily. 2. Adaptil pheromone collar 3. Adaptil diffuser 4. Thundershirt In combination with this, I typically recommend providing plenty of toys such as a kong toy filled with peanut butter and some other noise making toys. I have recently recommended a product called the Pet Cube. This allows you to watch him via an app on your phone remotely and you can even control a laser pointer and interact with him while you are away. If this does not work or the behavior worsens, I typically recommend adding in anti-anxiety medications such as Trazodone, Amitriptyline, Clomipramine (clomicalm), etc. in combination with the above recommendations. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach. Generally I would recommend 30 minutes of exercise and gradually build up to 60 minutes of exercise prior to leaving her. I would also recommend trying naturvet Quiet Moments calm chews with Melatonin which can be found online quite easily or at your local pet store. 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.