How do I deal with severe separation anxiety in a newly adopted dog?
New rescue dogs often panic when left alone during standard work hours, leading to dangerous crate escapes, self-injury, and destructive behavior. This constant crisis leaves owners questioning if their work schedule makes them compatible with the dog while triggering intense feelings of regret and burnout.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1stopping crate use and switching to a hard-sided plastic kennel
- 2prescribing and administering medication for longer absences
- 3considering rehoming the dog to someone who works from home or is retired
- 4giving the dog more time to adjust based on the 3-3-3 rule
- 5abandoning the crate entirely and dog-proofing a room or allowing free roam of the house
- 6leaving the TV or radio on
- 7using a playpen instead of a crate
- 8hiring a trainer or behaviorist
- 9using a doggie camera to monitor behavior
- 10Letting the puppy sleep in the bed
- 11Sleeping on the floor next to the crate
- 12Sitting next to the crate until the puppy falls asleep
- 13The wife leaves the house during the day to avoid the continuous barking.
- 14working in view but in another room while he is napping
- 15starting to go for short walks during the day so he gets used to me leaving
- 16trying to stop grieving ahead of time and focus on the present
- 17avoiding travel to stay close to the pet
- 18setting up a playpen
- 19using a crate
- 20leaving the puppy in a puppy-proofed room
- 21allowing free roam
- 22giving frozen kongs, snuffle mats, and toys
- 23leaving the TV on
- 24using 'the door is a bore' training technique
- 25covering the crate
- 26hiring a dog sitter
- 27covering the crate with a heavy blanket and leaving a fan on for white noise
- 28looking into a professional trainer
- 29asking a local vet for advice
- 30Leaving the puppy in a crate while remaining inside the house or in the garden
- 31Starting slow by leaving for just a few seconds and gradually increasing the time
- 32Making coming and going completely boring and low-key without making a big deal out of it
- 33Leaving the pen door open while going into another room
- 34Letting him whine it out
- 35Leaving a frozen Kong to distract them
- 36Starting with very short absences like 5 seconds and gradually building up duration
- 37Using a playpen or puppy-proofed room instead of strict confinement
- 38Relying on family members to watch the puppy for a couple of hours
- 39leaving for literally 30 seconds at a time and worked up from there
- 40always left a frozen kong so she'd associate us leaving with good things
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’m at work, thinking of him, bar, thinking of him, I don’t travel, cause I think of him.”source ↗
“Well she does. But now I can't even leave the house without her panicking, even if someone else is still there.”source ↗
“I'm so worried this will be permanent and she'll never be able to be left alone. I don't want her to spend the rest of her life panicking every time I need to leave the house.”source ↗
“Bonus points if you have any products/tips that actually helped your puppy calm down during separation lol. (This is my big struggle rn)”source ↗
“Our 10 month old spoodle has separation anxiety and it’s starting to affect my relationship with my husband - please help!”source ↗
“It’s gotten to the point where I feel anxious leaving the house because of his anxiety.”source ↗
“I’m completely lost and exhausted. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.”source ↗
“she'll break out of her crate, claw and hit the door, whine, bark, pee ect.”source ↗
“at my wits end with this dog. she's a sweet girl but if this issue persists this way we risk getting evicted.”source ↗
“The issue is when he is awake, if the pen door is closed he’ll start whining.”source ↗
“Sometimes he settles, but other times he quickly ramps up to an ear splitting scream and I’m not sure what to do at that point.”source ↗
“I’m conflicted about letting him whine it out since he reaches his limit so quickly with it closed.”source ↗
“If I’m out of his sight, he is screaming barking (not crying).”source ↗
“He also isn’t sleeping through the night at all.”source ↗
“I just have the puppy blues hard and am seeking any advice.”source ↗
“He lost his mind the whole time I was gone. He also won’t nap unless someone is in view.”source ↗
“I need to stop grieving ahead of time, and enjoy the current. Still I find myself randomly thinking about it, and the breath immediately gets knocked out of me. I just can't accept that he won't be here with me forever.”source ↗
“im both worried about our dog, because i dont want her to be unhappy but also our housing situation if we can't fix the problem.”source ↗
“The second I look like I might leave the house she starts whining and crying. If I actually leave she starts howling, pacing, panting, yawning clawing at the crate etc, basically all the signs of stress you can think of.”source ↗
“I just cannot get out of the house at all even for 5 minutes.”source ↗
“Actually leaving him is a nightmare as he follows us all the time to the hall and as soon we leave he starts barking and whining non stop.”source ↗
“He had lots of saliva with fur on the floor trying to get out of the kennel, the barking and the anxiety.”source ↗
“I general he behaves so well but I feel really stuck when it comes to training him to be alone and meeting people without going crazy.”source ↗
“The main problem is when I leave for work. I work roughly 8–4 Monday through Friday, and we’ve been struggling badly with confinement/crate training.”source ↗
“She escaped from a wire crate, and during another attempt her paw got caught, which resulted in an emergency vet visit.”source ↗
“While I was at work, she somehow managed to manipulate/open the door latches and got out. Once she was loose, she became destructive in my laundry room.”source ↗
“I’m just starting to wonder whether keeping her because I’m attached to her is the right thing if my work schedule doesn’t match what she needs.”source ↗
“With her he barks all day inside and she cannot handle him barking at all.”source ↗
“It overwhelms her if he makes any sound at all it seems and she gets freaked out and overloaded.”source ↗
“According to her, nothing will make him shut up.”source ↗
“she's asking me to rehome the dog”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Why does my dog forget house training after the vet?
- 7How to handle extreme toddler separation anxiety and tantrums
- 4Why can't I bond with my adopted dog?
- 4How to handle a dog with intense guarding instincts
- 2How to move abroad or travel without leaving your pets behind
- 6How to handle an extremely intense, high-energy puppy?