Back to Work? Training Tips for Dogs with Separation Anxiety in 2025

When you leave the house, your energy goes with you. The question is—what did you leave behind for your dog to rely on?

As we step deeper into 2025, the shift back to in-person work, school drop-offs, and social routines has reintroduced a major challenge for dog owners—separation anxiety. Whether your dog was adopted during the remote-work boom or has simply grown used to your constant presence, the result is the same: barking, whining, pacing, destructive behavior, and full-blown panic the moment you walk out the door.

But here’s the truth bomb :Separation anxiety isn’t fixed by staying home more. It’s fixed by teaching your dog how to be confident when you’re not there. Let’s break down exactly how to do that.

Why Dogs Struggle When You Leave

When a dog follows you everywhere, it may feel sweet—until they can’t function when you're gone. That’s not bonding—it’s dependency.

Many dogs labeled ‘clingy’ are actually just untrained to be alone. They’ve never been taught how to find peace in solitude. And unfortunately, our culture has reinforced the idea that constant attention = love. But in the canine world, love without leadership creates anxiety, not security.

Step 1: Teach Calm Starts With the Kennel

The kennel isn’t a punishment—it’s a tool for confidence. When used properly, it becomes your dog’s bedroom. A safe place where calm is expected and rewarded.

Start here:

• Feed your dog in the kennel.

• Use calming voice and minimal emotion when putting them in or taking them out.

• Wait until your dog is calm before giving the “break” command to exit the kennel.

"If your dog has separation anxiety, kennel them for 45-60 minutes daily and reward for calm behavior inside the kennel.” (Hayden Fullingim) 

Step 2: The “Calm Departure” Drill

When you leave the house:

• Don’t say goodbye.

• Don’t touch, talk, or make eye contact.

• Don’t feel guilty. (Seriously.)

Your dog mirrors your emotional state. So when you leave with drama, they panic. But when you leave like it’s no big deal—they learn it’s no big deal. It’s best to keep your dog’s energy low when you get home… Use the same technique when you get them out of the kennel or take them through a threshold.

Step 3: Layer in Place and Threshold Drills

Place and Threshold drills aren’t just about obedience—they’re about mental stability. Place teaches the dog to stay calm in one location.Thresholds teach patience at doorways (the ultimate trigger for anxious dogs).

How to build them:

• Practice Place 20–30 minutes daily. Use food or e-collar to reinforce stillness.

• Practice doors. Don’t let your dog bolt out. Open, close, and delay your exit until they stay calm.

Use the Place command during loud noises or moments of high energy… If they break Place, guide them back. Don’t allow broken commands to become normal.

Step 4: Gradual Time Away (Structured Desensitization)

This is one of the most overlooked tactics—and one of the most powerful.

Start by leaving the house for 30 seconds. Then 1 minute. Then 3. Then 5. Work up to 60 minutes and beyond.

Each time:

• Put your dog in the kennel or on Place.

• Reward only after calm behavior.

• Keep returns low-energy and non-dramatic.

If the dog has separation anxiety, spend full 45–60 minutes working calm in the kennel... Skip this step only if the dog is truly settled.

Step 5: Work Their Brain—Before You Go

Separation anxiety spikes when your dog has too much stored energy. You can empty that tank with 15–30 minutes of mental structure:

• Structured walk with e-collar and leash pressure

• Settle drill (observe dog’s sniffing patterns and interrupt repeatedly until they disengage)

• Food-puzzle or Place duration while you prep to leave

Use a calming touch or leash pressure to refocus the dog’s mind… Calm isn’t natural—it must be shaped.

Step 6: Rebuild the Bond Without Creating Dependency

A dog with separation anxiety often lacks leadership at home. The solution isn’t to remove love—it’s to pair love with structure.

• Don’t reward whining or pushiness.

• Avoid petting or feeding your dog when they are in an anxious state.

• Practice affection after Place, obedience drills, or calm crate behavior.

Reframe leadership as a form of care. Training isn’t punishment—it’s emotional guidance.

Step 7: Understand the Science—And Why It Works

Neuroscience confirms dogs don’t just act out emotionally. Their stress response—fueled by the amygdala—is real. But it’s also trainable. As Dr. Gregory Berns explains, “Dogs process the absence of their humans similarly to how humans process grief.” But that doesn’t mean your dog is broken. It means they need a framework to feel safe again.

And that framework is built through:

• Predictability

• Boundaries

• Calm energy

• Repetition

Final Thoughts: The Cure Is Not Coddling—It’s Coaching

If your dog whines when you pick up your keys, don’t avoid leaving. That would be like a teacher canceling the test every time a student complains. The better way? Lead them through it. Rehearse. Correct. Reward. And never forget—what your dog becomes in your absence is shaped by what you’ve taught them in your presence.

References

1. Berns, Gregory. How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain. New Harvest, 2013.

2. Yin, Sophia. Low Stress Handling, Restraint and Behavior Modification of Dogs & Cats, CattleDog Publishing, 2009.