If your dog gets visibly distressed when you leave, handing them to a sitter can feel like the hardest part of going anywhere. The good news, according to vets and behaviourists: most dogs with separation anxiety do fine with a sitter, precisely because it's not about you specifically — it's about not being alone.
The short answer
Prepare your sitter for what to expect, keep your own departure low-key, and make sure they know the difference between manageable anxiety and something to escalate. A well-briefed sitter is often more reassuring for an anxious dog than an empty house would be.
What to tell your sitter in advance
- What the anxiety actually looks like for your dog — pacing, whining, destructive behaviour, drooling, not eating
- How long it usually takes to settle
- What helps: a particular toy, a specific spot, background noise, a piece of your clothing
- What doesn't help, so they don't waste time or make it worse
- Whether your dog is on any anxiety medication, and the dosing schedule
Keep departures and arrivals low-key
This applies to you and to your sitter. Vets and trainers consistently recommend keeping comings and goings unremarkable — no big goodbyes, no excited greetings — since a dog picks up on the emotional weight you put on leaving, and a low-key departure and arrival genuinely helps reduce the anxiety response over time.
What's manageable versus what needs a call
Generally manageable, with a bit of settling time:
- Whining or pacing for the first while after you leave
- Not eating immediately, but eating later
- Wanting to be near the sitter rather than alone
Worth a call to you or the vet:
- Not eating or drinking at all after an extended period
- Injuring themselves trying to escape a crate or room
- Symptoms that don't improve at all over the course of the stay
- Any sign of the anxiety escalating rather than settling
The professional consensus is clear on one thing in particular: anxious behaviour is a distress response, not disobedience, so a sitter should never scold or punish it — that tends to make things worse, not better.
Setting your sitter up to actually help
The most reassuring thing for most anxious dogs isn't a special technique — it's a person in the house, sticking to routine, and not treating the anxiety as a crisis every time it shows up. Sitters who know what to expect handle it with far more confidence than sitters working it out in real time.
Quirks & All keeps this kind of behavioural detail on your pet's profile alongside the practical stuff, so whoever's staying with your dog knows what's normal for them before the first anxious moment happens, not after.
Sources referenced for accuracy: veterinary and canine behaviourist guidance (including ASPCA and veterinary-reviewed sources) on managing separation anxiety and appropriate sitter response. This isn't medical advice — for moderate to severe anxiety, a vet or veterinary behaviourist should be involved in the plan, and it's worth having your vet check this piece before it goes live.