# Is this separation anxiety?



## rubicon (Dec 9, 2019)

We have a bit of a weird problem.

background is, my husband works from home and always has. Our dog used to be much more bonded to him for this reason, but ever since I started working from home in March, I don’t notice a preference anymore.

when we leave the house sometimes we have a webcam on and we can tell him to calm down. But lately we have been skipping it, because he settles down after a few minutes and takes a nap. But our neighbors have been saying he’s been barking crazily if we don’t talk to him through a webcam at least in the beginning.

and he’s terrified when my husband leaves the house. Not me. I guess he’s used to me leaving. But if I’m still in the house, he’s still terrified. And he was an anxious wreck when my husband went in an extended business trip. Usually he just whines when my husband is gone in an errand. But today he barked. Our neighbor said he howled once too.

I’m scratching my head here. This seems to be focused on my husband. He doesn’t destroy things, but barking is a problem and he just seems so despondent when my husband leaves. He’ll look longingly at the door or out the window even if I manage to get him to be quiet. Which he does quite willingly.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

It could possibly be a form of separation anxiety, not all cases are severe. It is a big enough problem that it's stressing him, and should be addressed. He's just been conditioned to your husband being there. He needs to slowly be conditioned to him leaving for short periods of time, and building on that time.

I'm the one that spends a lot of time with the dogs. My husband tells me, it's not uncommon for the dogs to lay watching the entryway if I'm not home, and he is. The difference is they are laying calmly, and not showing signs of stress. Being that I'm retired, so I've always tried to make a point of leaving them. I want them to think it's naturally a part of their day.

I think some dogs are more prone to suffer from anxiety than others. Just as some people don't handle stress very well.

Have you spoken to your vet?


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## Barilia (Dec 10, 2020)

Hm interesting. Anxiety can be weird sometimes. I used a mobile app for the same reason (Faceter if anyone is interested) to set up surveillance while Im away. I used to think that my dog was miserable while alone but when I saw the footage she was actually quite calm. But when I come home she gets excited of course. So I dont know it might just be different for everyone.


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