Dog separation anxiety: signs and a training plan

Dog separation anxiety shows up as barking, howling or scratching at the door only when the dog is left alone, usually within minutes of you leaving. It's fixed with training, not punishment: departures that start at 1–2 minutes, calm goodbyes and returns, and something to do while you're out.

The same signs can also come from boredom. So before you pick a plan, find out what actually happens behind the door.

Separation anxiety or boredom: how to tell

Boredom is solved with exercise and brain work. Anxiety needs training to stay alone. It's often a mix of both, so start with exercise and sniffing and practise departures at the same time.

Why maltipoos and small dogs are more at risk

Maltipoos are very attached to people and develop separation anxiety easily. It's a lap dog that wants to be wherever the family is. Zuzi always greets me at the door and jumps, and on her first night home she slept with us.

That's why you teach staying alone from the first days. In the first week, short trips out of the room without the dog are enough. After about a month, a puppy can stay alone for 15–30 minutes. Read more about the breed's personality in maltipoo temperament, and about the first weeks in bringing home a maltipoo puppy.

If your dog would be alone for 8–10 hours a day, think twice about a maltipoo.

Training plan: start with 1–2 minutes

1. Take the meaning out of departure cues. Pick up your keys, put on your shoes, then sit back down on the sofa. Do it a few times a day until your dog stops reacting.
2. Leave for 1–2 minutes. Come back before your dog starts barking.
3. Build up slowly. For example 5, then 10, then 15–30 minutes. If your dog starts barking, go back to a shorter time.
4. No fuss. Leave calmly, without goodbyes. When you come back, walk in, put your bag down and only say hello once your dog has four paws on the floor.
5. Something to do, only while you're out. A chew or a snuffle mat appears when you leave and goes away when you return.
6. A walk and a meal before a longer absence. 10 minutes of sniffing tires a dog more than half an hour of running.
7. Camera. Record the first 20–30 minutes. You'll see when the barking starts and how your dog behaves.

Jumping at the door, like Zuzi does, is usually just happiness. With an anxious dog, though, it's better to calm that burst down, or the return becomes the biggest event of the day.

What not to do

• Don't punish when you get home. Your dog won't link the punishment to something done an hour earlier. The anxiety only grows.
• Don't shut a panicking dog in a crate. A dog that isn't used to a crate may try to break out and get hurt.
• Don't rely on an anti-bark collar. It suppresses the symptom, not the cause, and can make the fear worse.
• Don't jump straight to a full day alone. Many hours alone every day is a fast track to separation anxiety.

If your dog also barks at the doorbell, footsteps in the hallway and dogs outside the window, that's a separate topic. We cover it in dog barking at everything.

When to see a behaviourist

Howling, destruction and peeing only when you're away are a signal to talk to a behaviourist. Book an appointment too if you see no progress after a few weeks of training, or if your dog gets hurt trying to escape.

Bring your camera recordings and note how many minutes your dog lasts without barking. It speeds up the assessment. For more on the breed, see our maltipoo guide.