Anxiety disorders — including separation anxiety, generalised anxiety, and fear-related disorders — are among the most common and undertreated welfare problems in companion dogs.
Dog anxiety disorders represent a major welfare burden affecting millions of animals. Anxiety is not a behaviour problem but a welfare problem — an emotional state that causes suffering. Separation anxiety, the most prevalent form, involves acute distress during the owner's absence that most owners only discover through neighbour complaints or property damage rather than direct observation of their dog's experience. The welfare cost is real regardless of whether the distress is witnessed. Effective treatments exist — combining graduated desensitisation with medication where appropriate — but many anxious dogs receive no treatment because their owners either do not recognise the problem or underestimate its severity.