8 Myths about Dog Separation Anxiety

Dog separation anxiety is often misunderstood, leading to confusion about how best to help our four-legged friends cope with being alone. From “they’ll grow out of it” to “it’s just bad training”, these myths can prevent owners from finding real solutions. 

Let’s bust eight common misconceptions about separation anxiety and get to the truth about helping anxious dogs.

1. Anxious Dogs are untrainable 

Many people believe that anxious dogs can’t learn new behaviours, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. While these dogs might need extra patience and a gentler approach, they can absolutely learn and improve. Think of it like teaching a nervous child – you wouldn’t expect them to learn well under pressure, but with kindness and the right support, they can flourish.

2. Home Alone Training is Harmful

Some owners worry that practising leaving their dog alone is cruel. Actually, slowly teaching your dog that being alone is okay is one of the kindest things you can do. It’s like teaching a child to ride a bike – you start with training wheels and lots of support, gradually building their confidence until they can ride solo.

With a separation anxiety dog we don’t leave them longer can they handle so no need for them to cry it out, or for you to feel like you are being cruel.

3. Dogs Outgrow Anxiety

Just like humans don’t naturally outgrow their fears, dogs don’t simply outgrow anxiety. Without help, it usually gets worse over time. The good news is that with the right support and training, your dog can learn to feel more comfortable when left alone.

4. Anxiety is due to poor training

Blaming separation anxiety on poor training is like blaming a person’s fear of heights on bad parenting. It’s not that simple. Dogs can develop separation anxiety for many reasons – including their genes, past experiences, or sudden changes in their life. Even perfectly trained dogs from loving homes can develop separation anxiety.

5. Medication is the only option for training

You’ve probably heard that medication is the only way to tackle canine separation anxiety, but that’s far from the truth. While pills can certainly help, they’re just one piece of a much larger puzzle called behaviour modification where we look at changing the animal’s emotional state. 

Don’t limit yourself to a single approach when a combination of strategies could lead to better, long-lasting results.

6. Getting another dog will solve separation anxiety

If only it were that easy! Fact is while companionship can help some dogs, it often doesn’t address the underlying anxiety about human separation, and frequently you end up with two dogs with separation problems.

7. Crating always helps with separation anxiety

While crates or confinement areas can be safe havens and beneficial for some dogs, they can make anxious dogs feel trapped and even more stressed. For a dog with separation anxiety, being confined in a crate can be like locking someone with claustrophobia in a small room – it might make things much worse.

8. Punishment will teach them to behave when alone

Sadly, punishment will worsen anxiety and damage the trust bond. Devices such as anti-bark collars just cause the dog to express how they are feeling in different ways, they don’t improve underlying emotional state and the motivation for their behaviour.

For help with your dog’s separation anxiety contact me or book a call.

Take a look at my favourite tools for dog separation anxiety, or learn more about my qualifications and experience on the about me page.