Like human, dogs too suffer from separation anxiety. Dogs don’t like it when you leave them alone. Experts say that this is mostly panic reaction. The strange behavioral patterns demonstrated by some dogs when left alone at home for long periods, point towards separation anxiety. 

If you think you have a dog with separation anxiety, look for the following distress signals and behavioral patterns when left alone: dangerous behavior like chewing and scratching door frames, cushions etc, extreme salivation, howling or whining and other related reactions, some dogs display sadness when they realize their owner is going away for some time, some dogs respond anxiously when their owners return. If your dog displays some or all of the aforementioned patterns then you can be sure that you have a dog with separation anxiety. 

Normally dogs won’t display such patterns however the dogs that get a lot of love and care from their owner in the early stages are much more prone to display such symptoms when left alone. Distress and anxiety might also result in dogs that were separated early from their litter, treated badly as a pup, endured trauma or lost someone they loved, like their previous owners etc. 

Dogs that are not allowed by their owners to associate, play and fight with other dogs are more prone to develop distress symptoms on being left alone. Dogs can’t live without companions. They feel lonely and left out. 

Confining your dog to your house is always a bad idea. It is imperative that you take your dog out for regular walks, let him loose in parks and let him play with other dogs. A lonely dog is a dog with separation anxiety. 

You will need to understand that the signs of distress exhibited by dogs on being separated or left alone are occasionally just like that of anger but what actually your dog is hinting is that it panics and feels anxious when left alone. It is helpful to tone down the smothering, let your dog be himself. Punishing the dog for its behavior doesn’t really help, after all, your dog was anxious because he felt that you left him.