Separation anxiety rehabilitation
We work destructive behavior, crate panic, scream-howling, refusal to eat — the dogs that have made you afraid to leave the house. Three program tiers depending on severity. Honest assessment on the consult.
Six symptoms that distinguish true separation anxiety from boredom barking, under-exercised destructiveness, or a young dog who just has not been trained.
Destructive behavior the moment you leave
Door frames chewed, drywall ripped, baseboards torn up, blinds destroyed. The destruction is always in the same spot — the exit you took.
Panic-vocalization for the entire absence
Barking, howling, whining, screaming — for hours. Neighbors complain. The video monitor confirms the dog never settles. This is panic, not boredom.
Crate panic, self-injury
Bloody pads from clawing at the crate door. Broken teeth from biting the bars. Bent crate panels. A dog that injures itself trying to escape is in true distress.
Refusing to eat while alone
Untouched food and water bowls. A high-value chew or stuffed Kong rejected. A dog that will not eat in your absence is a dog whose nervous system is too dysregulated to eat.
Velcro behavior even when you are home
Cannot be in a separate room. Follows from kitchen to bathroom to office to bedroom. Eye contact whenever you move. Pre-departure cues (keys, shoes, coat) trigger panic before you ever leave.
House soiling only when alone
A dog that is fully house-trained when you are home but pees and poops the moment you leave is showing a stress response, not a training gap.
Real graduate, real owner
Severity drives the program. We do not upsell the bigger package — we tell you which one your case actually needs.
Best for: Mild to moderate separation anxiety. Owner is willing and able to do the homework. Dog is not actively self-injuring.
Best for: Moderate to severe separation anxiety stacked with other issues — generalized anxiety, reactivity, leash work, household manners. Owner needs the dog out of the house to break the rehearsal loop.
Best for: Severe anxiety with self-injury, panic for the duration of absences, multi-trigger fear stacking. Or anxiety + reactivity + bite history all at once.
For board-and-train programs, we do not stop until the goals we agree on at the start are reached. Goals are written down before drop-off so we both know what success looks like.
No. Boredom barking is rhythmic, predictable, and stops the moment you provide stimulation. True separation anxiety is a panic response — the dog cannot eat, cannot settle, cannot be in a separate room from you, and the behavior is consistent for the entire absence. We will tell you on the consult which one your dog has.
For severe cases, often yes. Anti-anxiety medication is not a replacement for training — it is a floor that lets the training work. We collaborate with your vet (or recommend one) for the medication piece while we run the behavioral side. We do not prescribe; we coordinate.
Yes, with a specific approach. Board-and-train breaks the rehearsal loop at home (where every absence has been a panic event) and rebuilds the dog's baseline arousal. We work on alone-time, crate, place, and structured handover with you at the end. The transition home is a structured re-introduction, not a hard reset.
Probably the 4-week Custom Behavioral. We address layered cases — anxiety on top of reactivity, or aggression on top of anxiety — together because they are usually the same dysregulated nervous system showing up in different contexts. Honest assessment on the consult.
Realistic timeline: 4-week graduates are typically fine for normal work-day absences by 6-12 weeks post-graduation if the handler follows the protocol. We do not promise instant fixes; we promise a real path with structured re-introduction.
Tell us on the consult. We do not put a self-injuring dog in a crate without conditioning first. Some dogs work better with a play-pen, baby-gated area, or supervised free-roam during the rehab phase. The crate is a tool, not a default — we use what is right for the dog.
Tell us what you walk home to. The first 30-minute call is free.