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Separation anxiety

Can board and train fix separation anxiety?

A stay looks like the obvious answer for a dog that cannot be left. It mostly is not, and the best evidence on what does work points straight back to your own front door.

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Dog leaning on the play yard fence

Last reviewed October 10, 2026 · by the Dogtown team · reviewed by Gabriella Pope, Director of Training & Canine Behaviorist

Rarely alone

A stay rarely fixes separation anxiety by itself, because the dog is almost never left alone there

During a board and train your dog spends its days with handlers, short training blocks, enrichment and, when ready, a playgroup, and its nights in an overnight suite with 24/7 monitoring. That is good care and a poor rehearsal for being left. The panic you see at home is tied to your door closing and your car pulling away. Calm days at Dogtown say little about that moment, which is why some anxious dogs look perfectly settled during a stay and still panic the first time they are left after pick-up.

A stay is not useless for these dogs. The Foundation list includes crate and household manners, place and stay, and impulse control, and a dog that can settle on a mat while people move around, or rest in a crate it already tolerates, has useful raw material for the home plan. A stay can also cover a trip you cannot cancel. Neither of those is the treatment, and we would rather say so before you book than after.

The evidence

The evidence points to graded absences practiced at home, by the people the dog waits for

A controlled study by Butler, Sargisson and Elliffe, published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science in 2011, followed eight dogs with separation-related behavior. Their owners ran systematic desensitization at home: absences kept short enough that the dog stayed relaxed, lengthened gradually, alongside counter-conditioning. Both the frequency and the severity of the problem behavior fell significantly compared with each dog's own baseline, and the six dogs followed up three months after treatment showed almost complete elimination of the problem.

Two details are worth knowing. The authors concluded that systematic desensitization was the critical element, since counter-conditioning and the other advice did not appear to predict success. And how consistently owners applied the protocol did not relate to how fast dogs improved or to the final outcome, which suggests that imperfect households can still get there. Eight dogs is a small sample, so read it as a promising signal rather than a promise.

  • Absences short enough that the dog stays relaxed
  • Lengthened only after calm repetitions
  • Run at home, by the people the dog waits for
  • Never left alone beyond its limit while the plan runs

The home plan

The home plan is a ladder of absences, and a worked example shows how it climbs

Start by filming three ordinary departures, beginning the recording before you pick up your keys. Suppose the footage shows your dog pacing about 90 seconds after the door closes and howling by minute four. The first rung of the ladder sits well below 90 seconds, perhaps 20 or 30, repeated several times a session until your dog barely lifts its head. Departure cues such as keys, shoes and coat get the same treatment: picked up and put down again without leaving, until they stop predicting anything.

From there the absences grow in small steps, with short easy ones mixed in so the length is never predictable, and a step back whenever the footage shows pacing, whining or a dog parked at the door. Some dogs climb quickly; others stall at one rung for days. Private sessions with Gabriella Pope, from $94, review the footage and set the next rungs, and your vet joins the plan where medication might help, a decision only a veterinarian can make.

  1. 01

    Film three ordinary departures and note when distress starts

  2. 02

    Set the first absence well below that point

  3. 03

    Repeat it until your dog barely notices you going

  4. 04

    Pick up keys and shoes without leaving, until they mean nothing

  5. 05

    Add time in small steps, mixing in short easy absences

  6. 06

    Step back a rung whenever the footage shows distress

Covering the hours

Your dog needs company on the long days, so panic is never rehearsed while the plan runs

The ladder only works if your dog is never left longer than its current rung, which for most households means covering the workday. A full day of daycare at Dogtown is $42 and a half day $33, in playgroups of 7 to 10 matched at the free evaluation, held on weekdays between 6:30 and 9:30 AM. An Academy day, $89 full or $69 half, adds a training session. Pick-up and drop-off by Pup Van costs $10 each way in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea.

For a dog that copes better at home, a solo at-home walk by Dogtown staff of 20, 30 or 60 minutes breaks up the absence; ask whether we cover your address. Plan around the hard nights too. Gloucester's fireworks on July 3 make a poor evening to leave an anxious dog alone, and the AVMA's fireworks advice is worth reading before then. When you must travel, an overnight stay keeps the dog out of an empty house, and the ladder resumes the day after pick-up.

  • Daycare, a full or half day in a matched playgroup
  • Dogtown Academy, with a training session included
  • An at-home walk, if we cover your address
  • A trusted neighbor or friend for the short gaps

At Dogtown

Cover the hours while the plan runs

Private training runs the plan; daycare, Academy days and walks keep your dog from being left too long.

Australian shepherd sitting attentively during training Dog TrainingFrom $94 per session · Explore Husky standing on the turf play yard at Dogtown, looking at the camera Dog DaycareFrom $33 · Explore Dogtown trainer playing with a small doodle on the outdoor turf Dogtown AcademyNewFrom $69 · Explore Dogtown walker and dog on a coastal trail at sunrise in Gloucester Dog WalkingNewFrom $25 · Explore

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Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.

If my dog is calm all week at Dogtown, is the anxiety gone?
Not necessarily. Your dog was rarely alone during the stay, so its calm says little about being left at home. Test it the way the plan does: film a short, ordinary departure after pick-up and watch when, or whether, distress starts. That footage, not the stay's updates, tells you where the ladder begins.
How long does a home plan take?
Usually weeks to months, and nobody can honestly promise a date. In the Butler study, the dogs followed up three months after treatment had almost no remaining problem behavior, but that was eight dogs. Expect plateaus and the odd setback, and judge progress by the footage over several weeks rather than by one good day.
Can I keep working while we run the plan?
Yes, with cover. The rule is that your dog is never left beyond its current rung, so the hours you are away need company: daycare, a Dogtown Academy day, an at-home walk if we cover your address, or a trusted neighbor. The training itself happens in short sessions while you are home.
Will a Foundation week make the home plan easier?
It can help with supporting skills: settling on a mat, crate comfort for a dog that already tolerates a crate, and a little independence. It does not teach the dog to be alone. If your dog panics in a crate, tell us before anything else, because adding crate time would make things worse.

More questions? Read the full FAQ

Sources

Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.

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