Effective treatment of canine separation anxiety typically requires both behavioral modification and pharmaceutical support, with welfare improvement the central goal.
Pharmacological treatment of separation anxiety is not sedation or behavior suppression — it is anxiety relief. A dog with severe separation anxiety is experiencing a panic disorder analogous to human anxiety conditions that are routinely treated with medication. Withholding medication because owners feel uncomfortable with the idea of giving their dog drugs prolongs unnecessary suffering. The welfare goal is a dog who can be left alone comfortably, and medication that reduces anxiety to a manageable level while behavioral training teaches independence is the fastest, most humane pathway to that goal.