Bichon Frise Separation Anxiety After WFH

That's a really common but painful situation — your dog spent months with you constantly around, built that into their whole routine, and then suddenly you were gone again. For a Bichon especially, that kind of attachment runs deep. How is it showing up day to day — is it destructive behaviour, constant barking, or more like shutdown and not eating?

That hour of barking tells me she's not settling at all — she's in full distress rather than grumbling briefly then getting on with it. The food thing confirms it too; she's too stressed to have an appetite. How long ago did you go back to the office, and is it every day or a mix?

Ten hours is a long stretch for a dog who spent a year or two glued to you. Has anything helped at all — leaving the radio on, a dog walker coming in, anything like that?

Good — the midday break is the right instinct and it's clearly taking the edge off the afternoons. The morning window is the hardest because that's when the separation anxiety peaks. What I'd recommend is the Adaptil Calm Home Diffuser. It releases a synthetic version of the pheromone mother dogs produce with puppies — it has no scent to us, but it's clinically shown to reduce anxiety-related behaviours like barking, pacing and appetite loss. You plug it in near where she settles and run it continuously. It won't fix everything overnight, but after two to four weeks most owners see a real reduction in that initial distress spike when they leave. Pair it with a consistent, low-key departure routine — same short sequence every time, no long goodbyes — and you give her brain something predictable to anchor to rather than panic.

Yes, completely safe for continuous use. One refill lasts about four weeks and covers a room up to 70 square metres. Most people keep it running in the main living area. It's not a sedative — it doesn't make her drowsy, it just takes the edge off the stress response. If after six weeks you're still seeing the same level of distress, that's the point to have a conversation with your vet about whether short-term medication alongside the behavioural work would help bridge the gap.