PupWatch guide

Separation anxiety in dogs: what a camera can and cannot do

By Tim Grootes, Bumblly · Last updated November 14, 2026

A neighbor says your dog barks for an hour after you leave, but at home your dog seems fine. Or you come back to a scratched door. A camera can show what really happens while you are out. It cannot fix it. Here is where it helps, based on advice from veterinary and animal welfare organizations.

We make PupWatch, a dog camera app. We are not vets or behaviorists. The advice here comes from the organizations we link to. For your own dog, talk to your vet.

Why look

Why seeing your dog alone matters

The RSPCA lists barking, howling, destructive chewing and toileting as common signs of separation-related behavior, and trembling, drooling and not eating while you are out as signs that are easy to miss. It says half of affected dogs show no obvious signs, and suggests checking now and then by installing a camera while you are out (RSPCA).

Veterinary behaviorist Kelly Ballantyne calls video of a dog home alone the most effective and accurate way to tell whether it has separation anxiety. She advises watching at least the first 30 to 60 minutes after you leave (AVSAB). Dogs Trust suggests setting up the camera where your dog spends most of its time (Dogs Trust).

Can

What a camera can do

• Show when it starts: right after the door closes, or after an hour.
• Show what it looks like: pacing, panting, whining at the door, or a dog that simply sleeps.
• Show the quiet signs nobody would tell you about, such as an untouched food toy.
• Help you pace training. Dogs Trust advises starting with a few minutes and building up slowly, only while your dog is relaxed (Dogs Trust). A live picture shows whether your dog is relaxed before you add time.
• Give your vet or behaviorist something concrete to look at.

Cannot

What a camera cannot do

• It cannot diagnose. Health problems can cause or worsen separation-related behavior, so the RSPCA advises seeing your vet (RSPCA). Dogs Trust also says to see a vet first, then a qualified professional (Dogs Trust).
• It does not treat. For a dog in real distress, the AVSAB article advises help from a veterinary behaviorist or a vet with a special interest in behavior, and avoiding leaving the dog home alone where you can, because repeated panic can make it worse (AVSAB).
• Your voice does not fix it. Some dogs may settle when they hear a familiar voice; others may get more restless when they hear you but cannot find you. Watch how your dog reacts, and stop if it seems more upset.
• It does not change what you find at home. All three organizations advise never to punish your dog afterwards.

With PupWatch

Using PupWatch for this

• Point the camera phone at the place your dog goes when you leave, often the front door or its bed, with the cable out of reach.
• Practice absences close to home are free. For the first, very short absences you often stay near: in the garden, the hallway or the car in the driveway. If your phone stays on your home Wi-Fi, PupWatch costs nothing.
• Watching from work or the store goes over another network, which is part of PupWatch Pro. So is two-way talk.
• Write down what you see, with times: when your dog lay down, when the barking started. That is useful for your vet.

PupWatch does not record. If your vet asks for a video, you can try your phone's own screen recording while PupWatch is open (iPhone, Android). Apple notes that some apps do not allow their content to be recorded, so check that the picture and the sound are in the recording before you rely on it.