The Goodbye Tells

Anxious dogs become expert readers of your leaving routine, and the dread starts long before you reach the door. Keys jingling, shoes going on, a bag over the shoulder: each one predicts being left alone.

Once the cues no longer spook him by themselves, fold them back into your short absences. Now he learns the full lesson: keys plus shoes plus bag does not always mean you are leaving, and on the times you do leave, you always come back before he tips into panic.