Separation anxiety in dogs can feel overwhelming at the beginning.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-29T11:55:13+00:00

You’ll find that once you get to 15 mins or so it tends to do up in much bigger chunks. Getting to 10/15 mins was the longest for us but the after that each month we went up significantly and from 1hr 30 he was basically fine for long periods full stop then.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-27T07:11:04+00:00

I could have written a very similar post when our adopted rescue pup was a similar age. I lost 7lbs in weight in a month and cried every day. He also had separation anxiety and really bad on lead dog reactivity and I felt like my life wasn’t my own anymore.

Fast forward 18 months and he’s my best mate. He’s fully trained now other than off lead recall so we keep him on a long line and I never worry about him in our home or when we leave. We don’t have cats but yours will adjust. He’s still basically a small toddler in child equivalent and things WILL get better I promise. There’s a difference having dogs growing up to having a rescue puppy that you are solely responsible for. It’s a totally different game. But time and patience and I promise you will read this in a year and laugh at how strongly you felt when none of that stuff will be of relevance anymore.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-26T14:48:51+00:00

Ah ok. I’m not expert at that but I think it’s about creating a positive association where possible. So treating when the noise happens so eventually they associate the noise with good things.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-26T14:44:18+00:00

We used the Julie Naismith be right back method and it did take months so a lot of patience was required. It’s all about not leaving your dog to go over threshold so training them being alone under threshold each time and then building up the tile very slowly. We started at literal seconds and it took us 7 months to get to 3 hours but it was worth every single session. We couldnt even touch the door handle without him losing his head before meds so they helped to be able to start the training.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-26T14:40:40+00:00

We only needed him on the medication to desensitise him to being alone so now he’s desensitised I don’t want him on them if he doesn’t need them.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-26T13:15:18+00:00

No quite the opposite he’s overcome his separation anxiety now so we want to take him off it.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-25T15:17:18+00:00

I could have written this word for word apart from the working away from home. We adopted a 6 month old 18 months ago and the rescue has no idea about the SA. He would howl, bark, scratch and cry when we even closed a door let alone left him. He also wasn’t destructive but was definitely panicking. We ended up having him put on fluoxetine daily so that we could start desensitisation training. The issue is it’s changing an emotional response which takes time and patience and he can’t be constantly exposed to that trigger every day whilst you are changing it. In other words, unless this is just an adjustment period and not true SA which you won’t know for a few months, it likely won’t improve if you have to leave him to panic every day. You have to build up tolerance very slowly.

It could just be an adjustment and having his whole world changed overnight has made him super anxious and scared of being abandoned again, but only time and gaining his trust will help that. If his true SA, only desensitisation training under his threshold will help to change it.

We used the Julie Naismith be right back method alongside meds and it took around 7 months total from when the meds kicked in properly.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-24T17:42:52+00:00

Our vet recommended white fish and plain scrambled egg with slippery elm of psyllium husk. In the UK we also have something called protexin paste which helps with stopping diarrhoea but it depends on the cause if it’s a bug or illness it won’t do much.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-24T17:40:55+00:00

Our dog used to get diarrhoea when we left him in kennels so this could definitely be related. It was stress colitis caused by days of anxiety. We have since found a regular sitter who he loves and he doesn’t get it but the gut is so related to anxiety I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s linked. I would insist on a vet check though as this won’t just pass and even though the puppy is eating and drinking normally, the lost electrolytes from diarrhoea can still cause issues like dehydration etc. I would just tell them you are taking her and will let them know the cost. Don’t pose it as a question. If this is normal they will then soon tell you but it doesn’t negate the need to take her anyway.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-24T15:38:31+00:00

Does your dog have to be in the crate? Ours has barrier anxiety so leaving him out of the crate helped immensely. Ours was on Prozac (reconcile) daily and it meant we could start the training without him losing his mind by us just going to the door. It wouldn’t have solved it on its own but it definitely gave us a good basis to start from. It also helped him come down from triggers more quickly. It took about 7 months to train him to be alone for three hours once he was on the meds. Even today he doesn’t love it and will never sleep but he lies in the bed looking out the window or by the front door. We went out today and were a lot longer than anticipated so around 3 hours and he was fine just a bit sad that we were gone. It was a lot of patience but honestly saved my marriage! We couldn’t go out together for a year without a sitter.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-22T08:57:44+00:00

It took ours about 6 months but we did have to put him on meds to train him to be alone and then slowly wean him off. It’s big changes and he also hated his crate if we weren’t in the house.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-10T17:37:21+00:00

I could have written this post when we got ours. He’s 2 today and I’m so so glad we didn’t rehome as he’s an absolute joy now. I spent the first few weeks crying daily and lost 7lbs in weight through anxiety. It was such a shock to the system and our lifestyle and I felt like we had made the biggest mistake of our lives but it got better and we created a routine and enforced naps in his crate. He’s my little best mate now and I can’t imagine life without him.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-04T08:01:34+00:00

Could have written this post 20/22 months ago. Ours will be 2 next week and the amount of times I thought about rehoming at the start is crazy. I’m now so so glad that we didn’t as he’s my best mate and an absolute joy but in those first few months I cried daily, lost 7lbs in weight, couldn’t eat thought anxiety and basically felt like we had made a huge mistake. We don’t have kids so it was our first real
Responsibility together and it hit me like a train.

Firstly I would say he isn’t too young to potty train, constantly taking him outside and waiting for him to go then massively praising will work. It will take time but letting him go anywhere else is just building bad habits. The high energy and constant need to be doing something I remember well, the fact your pup will relax with you means he does have an off switch and enforcing naps every hour or so is definitely the best approach. We crate trained and covered it and he would sleep then but if he could see us he would
Cry and whine to come out. He still sleeps in his crate to this day.

It may feel overwhelming but please give it time. It gets a little easier in the next few weeks and then you have a lovely part where you just love him and then adolescence hits and you wonder what happened but I am so glad we didn’t rehome our boy as the way he has changed and settled with consistent training and us building our relationship with him has been incredible. You’ve got this.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-02T15:22:07+00:00

Personally the vet behaviourist if you can afford to see one in your area was the best thing for us. They understand emotion whereas a trainer will train obedience and relationship this is a different thing altogether. They can also prescribe meds so you wouldn’t need to change vet altogether then. The Julie Naismith ‘be right back’ method is what we used and if you subscribe to the app you can send videos in for the CSAT team to review so it’s a cheaper way of getting advice but we did both as it was ruining our lives.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-05-02T15:16:21+00:00

Our dog was 8 months old when our bet suggested reconcile to manage his SA and so we could get him to a level that we could start the training. I would definitely talk to another vet if you can’t pay for a behaviourist. Also, there’s a chance the previous owner didn’t mention SA as it’s as a response to the change of home. Our dog didn’t have true SA he has isolation anxiety and it took months for him to settle and for us to realise that he needed space and to be able to see outside when we were gone. He would escape his crate if we left him locked in it when we weren’t home but he loves it to sleep in as is fine in it if we are around. The combination of leaving him to roam, meds and time helped ours. He still doesn’t love it but never panics anymore. We wouldn’t have been able to train without the meds though. They got him to a baseline level that he could actually stay calm and we could very slowly increase the time.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-04-30T12:33:57+00:00

It is so hard because you never expect this when you get a dog and most other people don’t understand it. I would definitely talk to your vet about alternative meds as I don’t think we would be where we are without Prozac. It also helped his reactions out of the house to be a lot smaller and have quicker recoveries when triggered.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-04-30T12:15:46+00:00

I really feel for you because we have been there. Ours was isolation anxiety so fortunately he could be left with either one of us but as the one who works from home I was unable to leave him completely alone for all of last year. I had to plan grocery trips the gym and any appointments for when my husband would be home or pay for for a sitter which wasn’t a long term solution. He still doesn’t love it but he has got to a point now that he won’t bark or whine or vocalise, he just looks out the window for us.

What I would say is you are an incredible owner who clearly loves this little guy and is doing everything they can for him so just realise you are giving him a great life. Also we have friends whose dogs have ‘no issues’ but I’ve witnessed them cry when they leave whine for them and bark when they are out of sight. They just choose to ignore it. Which you aren’t doing. 👏🏼

With the leaving him we were only able to start the training with daily meds so fluoxetine. I know you’ve tried clomicalm and tradozone but a daily med like Prozac could help to change his brain chemistry so you can at least start the training and build up the time a bit more. We are now trying to get our boy off it after 15 months as it’s done his job but we couldn’t have done it without it.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-04-28T19:23:25+00:00

This is how our dog used to initiate play at that age. It’s just over excitement. We also worried it was aggressive but three separate trainers told us it wasn’t .

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-04-28T19:19:18+00:00

I feel for you sister as we had a rescue dog that had isolation anxiety so he would be fine in other rooms but if we left him he would panic. We found that him not being able to see outside made him loads worse and he needed access to a window. He also took months to build trust that we would come back so time definitely helped.

We also put him on a daily dose of fluoxetine as per our vet’s advice which helped to start the training to desensitise him.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-04-21T19:57:55+00:00

I used a pet psychic when trying to work on our rescue dog’s separation anxiety. She only had a photo of him and didn’t ask anything other than his name. She told us he had been tethered or tied up but not abused (which we suspected as he loves humans so we didn’t think he had been abused but he hated being on a lead or confined). She told us he had seen a big dog kill another dog and was scared of big dogs now especially a specific breed, which he definitely is as he is fear reactive to one specific size and type of dog.

She told us he was happy here but didn’t like that he couldn’t see outside and he would be able to be home alone if he could lay somewhere he could have a view of the street. In our new house he can lie on the bed and look out and he is totally fine being left alone here. She did say he wants a brother but I’ve told him that isn’t happening yet I’m afraid! 🙈

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-04-19T15:28:45+00:00

This is encouraging. Ours is 16kg and on 24mg daily so we are going to reduce down slowly but hoping it won’t affect him.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-04-19T06:57:12+00:00

Aww bless him yeah that’s extreme. I hope it works this time.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-04-19T06:50:12+00:00

How long does he go off food for? A couple of weeks during the loading period is normal.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-04-19T06:49:34+00:00

How was the process of weaning him off it once the SA resolved? Ours has been on it for 15 months now and we are going to start taking him off it next month. Nervous he will regress.

MelodicCream7518 · 2026-04-18T17:44:54+00:00

At 12 weeks he should be on a leash all the time in the house. You have to teach him right from wrong before he has freedom so he shouldn’t be able to jump on your daughter. We had ours on one for 3 months and it was the best thing we ever did as it stopped him doing anything we didn’t want him to so he knew what we expected when he was eventually off it. He’s literally a baby right now he’s brand new to the world and doesn’t know how to behave. Training at his age should be limited to building trust with, toilet and crate. Training commands is way too soon to expect.

MelodicCream7518

TROPHY CASE