Boarding a dog with separation anxiety: how to choose, prepare and decide

Often, yes. The ASPCA makes a point many owners miss: a dog with separation anxiety usually doesn’t need you specifically, it needs someone. Its management advice for anxious dogs includes leaving them with a friend, a sitter or at doggy daycare, because the distress is about being left alone. A busy kennel, with staff in and out all day, can actually be easier for that dog than an empty house.

Where boarding goes wrong is the hours nobody is around, and confinement itself. So before you book anything, work out which of these describes your dog.

If you aren’t sure, film your dog for the first 30 minutes after you leave. VCA suggests recording as a way to tell these apart, and it is also useful footage for your vet.

Most kennel websites say “we love anxious dogs.” These questions get past the marketing:

• Is someone on site overnight? At some facilities the staff go home in the evening and nobody is back until morning. For a dog that panics alone, overnight staffing matters more than any amenity.
• Where would my dog sleep? Ask to see it. A solid-walled room or suite with a door is calmer than an open run facing a row of barking dogs.
• How much time is spent alone in the run each day? Group play, a daycare yard or extra one-on-one sessions break up the day.
• Can you give medication on schedule, and do you charge for it?
• What happens if my dog won’t eat? A good answer includes a plan (hand-feeding, toppers, calling you) and a point at which they call the vet.
• Will you send updates? A photo and a note each day helps you, and shows the staff are actually watching your dog.
• Can we do a trial day or night first?

Suites, webcams and playgroups are far from universal. Our facility amenities research shows how many kennels advertise them, and what kennel amenities cost shows what you can expect to pay for them. You can compare facilities near you in the dog boarding directory.

Start a month out if you can. The goal is for boarding night to be the third or fourth visit to a place your dog already knows, not a first.

1. Four weeks out: book a vet check and ask about anti-anxiety medication (see below). Confirm vaccines are current, since most kennels need proof before a trial visit.
2. Three weeks out: tour the facility with your dog. Let staff hand out treats. Leave on a good note.
3. Two weeks out: do a half day or full day of daycare or a day stay.
4. One to two weeks out: do one trial night if the kennel offers it, then pick your dog up on time and watch how it behaves at home.
5. At home, all month: practice short, boring departures. The ASPCA’s approach is to pair very short absences with something great, like a stuffed food toy, and build up slowly.
6. The last few days: keep exercise and routine normal. Pack familiar food, a worn T-shirt or blanket and a favorite chew (if the kennel allows them).

For the full list of what to bring, see our boarding packing checklist.

Ask your vet, and ask early. Short-acting medications for situational anxiety are commonly prescribed for exactly this. A veterinary reference in Clinician’s Brief lists hospitalization and boarding among the uses of trazodone, typically given 1 to 2 hours before the stressful event. Your vet may also suggest gabapentin, or for long-term separation anxiety, daily medications such as fluoxetine or clomipramine alongside training.

Two rules matter more than which drug:

• Test it at home first. Clinician’s Brief advises a trial dose in a calm setting before the real event, to see how fast it works, how long it lasts and what side effects your dog has. Some dogs get wobbly, sleepy or, occasionally, more agitated. You want to learn that on a quiet Saturday, not at drop-off.
• Never use human medications or a friend’s prescription. Doses differ, and some anxiety drugs interact dangerously with other medications, including certain flea and tick products.

Over-the-counter calming chews and pheromone collars are low risk and some owners find them helpful. VCA notes pheromones can help reduce anxiety, but they are a supplement to a plan, not the plan.

A long, emotional goodbye tells your dog something big is happening. VCA’s advice for separation anxiety is to keep departures and arrivals low-key, and that applies at the kennel counter too. Hand over the leash, say a cheerful “see you soon,” and go.

• Give staff a one-page note: triggers, what calms your dog, feeding routine, medication times and your vet’s number.
• Exercise your dog before drop-off so it arrives a little tired.
• Book a morning drop-off if you can, so your dog has a full day of activity before its first night.
• Don’t call five times a day. One check-in or a daily photo is enough.

Expect your dog to be tired, thirsty and a bit clingy afterward. Most dogs settle within a day or two; our post on dogs acting different after boarding covers what’s normal and what isn’t.

Better options for these dogs are a sitter who stays in your home, a trusted friend or relative, or a small home-based boarder where someone is around almost all the time. And if the anxiety is severe enough that every trip is a crisis, it is worth seeing a veterinary behaviorist. Separation anxiety is very treatable with gradual training and, where needed, medication, and a treated dog boards far more easily.