[WrigleyMike]

Lately we have been noticing that Paw feels sad and he cries when either my husband or I leave the house. Today my husband and youngest son left the house, well Paw was sitting waiting at the door for about 10-15 mins waiting for my husband to come back in - when he didn't come back in he started to cry/whine a little bit then he laid on the floor for another couple of minutes. Watch and see how sad he looked... he didn't even want to come watch tv with me LOL.

[xanaxonlinexanax]

lol poor guy

[grinaJanoDant]

I think that's just a sucky dog.
Izzy will wait by the back door and watch until we come home then cry and be a big idiot.

[movlabs]

Separation anxiety.

[ZZChristopher]

Separation anxiety.

you really think thats what he is going through? He has been fine before when my husband has left the house, but this just started recently I'd say about a week or two ago.

What makes a dog go from ok on being alone to start having separation anxiety? hmmm you got me wondering about it now.

[BakerBonce]

It's kind of the definition of separation anxiety. I'd try to get it under control sooner rather than later; separation anxiety can become very serious.

[RsQhyZyR]

you really think thats what he is going through? He has been fine before when my husband has left the house, but this just started recently I'd say about a week or two ago.

What makes a dog go from ok on being alone to start having separation anxiety? hmmm you got me wondering about it now.

Alot of things could be happening to create this. First if you are consoling him when he is like this your giving attention for an unwanted behavior and there is a whole list of reasons why this happens.

[GetsTan]

ok, it's cute, but you're feeding into it by fawning all over him when he acts like this. You're the humans - you can come and go as you please without any apology or worrying about the dog. You need to act like nothing at all has happened when someone leaves. Let him whine or whatever - just ignore him when he acts like that. When he starts acting normally, then you can play with him and have fun with him or give him a treat or whatever.

[MartZubok]

ok, it's cute, but you're feeding into it by fawning all over him when he acts like this. You're the humans - you can come and go as you please without any apology or worrying about the dog. You need to act like nothing at all has happened when someone leaves. Let him whine or whatever - just ignore him when he acts like that. When he starts acting normally, then you can play with him and have fun with him or give him a treat or whatever.

When he started this, we usually do ignore it. But this time I wanted to get it on film to show my husband how sad Paw looked.

It just didn't occur to me that this could be separation anxiety, because before he was usually fine when anyone left the house. when he first started doing this we thought well maybe he just wanted to go outside and is waiting for that person who went out to come back in and get him but we still ignored it and went about our business.

Thanks everyone for watching and letting me know what I could possibly be witnessing.

[ppfpooghn]

How much exercise is he getting? Is he getting plenty of mental stimulation as well?

I would practice coming and going without making a fuss more frequently. I tell my dog the same thing every time I leave (I have for 5 years), regardless of whether I'm going to be gone all day or for just a few minutes.

When I used to kennel him, I would shut the crate door and say, "I've gotta go to work." and give him a treat as soon as he would sit or lay down in the kennel.

Now he's not kenneled, and I still say it to him as I'm walking out the door. He goes to his bed and lays down or hops on the couch. It's part of our leave taking and he knows I'm coming back. May sound silly but it works.

[TEFSADDERFISA]

The other thing to remember is not to ascribe human emotions to dogs. That "sad" puppy dog face is something dogs have perfected through generations upon generations of their relationships with humans, in order to get what they want. It's an evolutionary advantage to get us to do what they want. They're crafty little bastards