Separation anxiety affects an estimated 14-17% of dogs and causes significant suffering both when owners are absent and through anxiety anticipating departure, but is highly treatable.
Separation anxiety in dogs represents a genuine welfare emergency that recurs daily in the lives of affected animals. A dog in the throes of panic during their owner's absence experiences acute distress that is no less real for being invisible to the absent owner. Many owners discover the problem only when a neighbour complains about barking or when they return to find destruction, by which point the dog may have been suffering alone for months. Early training that builds confident aloneness from puppyhood prevents the development of anxiety; intensive behaviour therapy can address established cases.