Separation anxiety can impact anyone in the family, including companion animals.  While training sessions with dogs often center on practical commands and skills like sit, stay, and come, sometimes it’s when you have to go that acting out becomes problematic.  Here are five easy coping tips that may help your dog adjust to your leaving.

1. Bait and Switch: When you have nowhere to go, get ready to leave.  Go through all the routines: get dressed, get your shoes on, pick up your keys, and then sit down for a while.  Whatever your habits are, if you have a dog exhibiting separation anxiety, s/he is watching and getting stressed the whole time.  Mixing up the “pre-departure” routines and cues can help your canine companion relax.  Desensitizing your dog to your departure will help minimize the overall impact and offers a long-term benefit: the more “normal” your leaving is, the easier the day becomes.  Practice this “not leaving” routine daily, multiple times a day if you can.  Once that’s easy, begin to leave for a minute and come back.  Build on those small successes!  Adding length and variety to your departures, your friend will begin to realize you will always be back, and everything is okay.
2. Radio Ga Ga: your dog may not care what’s on the news, but background voices or tunes may provide some comfort.  Set a clock radio on a timer to interrupt the boring silence.
3. Chill Out: coat a treat with peanut butter and pop it in the freezer overnight.  Give it to your pup in the morning on your way out; since the frozen peanut butter takes a while to enjoy, it can keep your pooch occupied during the first minutes of your departure, which for many are the hardest.
4. Hidden Goodies: tuck a treat or two someplace where you know your hound will go, like beside his / her bed or water dish.  Discovering it after you’ve left will be something to do.  Make sure to “hide” treats only in safe places where your pal is allowed to go (no counters, shoes, etc.)
5. De-escalate: when you get home, don’t make a big production out of your greeting.  The other side of the  “bait and switch” coin, by relaxing the emotional atmosphere around leaving and arriving, the tension will eventually begin to drop.

These simple efforts can help redirect your dog’s attention with positive reinforcements that communicate reliability and stability.  Every dog is unique, so be patient. It may take some practice.

“A dog reflects the family life. Whoever saw a frisky dog in a gloomy family, or a sad dog in a happy one? Snarling people have snarling dogs,” -Arthur Conan Doyle, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

Depending on the situation, you may need to take additional steps, but these techniques may offset some basic separation anxiety issues.  Remember that dogs have excellent nonverbal communication skills: your tone, attitude, and effort have the potential to impact behaviors, positively or negatively.