Separation anxiety is one of the most common behavioural welfare problems in dogs, causing genuine distress during owner absence and requiring a combination of behaviour modification and sometimes medication for resolution.
Dogs with separation anxiety experience genuine panic during owner absence — elevated heart rate, panting, pacing, and attempts to escape confinement. Destructive behaviour is a manifestation of distress, not disobedience. The welfare impact is significant: affected dogs may spend hours in a state of acute anxiety on a daily basis, a sustained suffering that accumulates across a dog's life. Many owners do not know the severity of their dog's distress because they are absent during episodes. Treatment combining behaviour modification with medication achieves resolution in most cases, but requires patience and consistency. Dogs left untreated may experience anxiety-related distress for years.