Dog barking when getting out of car or leaving house

Question
We adopted a 4 year old female 5 pound Pomeranian in November. We had her spayed shortly after.  This behavior has been there since the start, but has gotten slightly worse since she has become more attached to our family. I work from home 3x a week so I'm only gone all day 2x a week.

Whenever one of us tries to leave or the kids are running in and out of the house she will bark and spin and fuss.

And, when dropping the kids off at school and she rides with me she gets SO stirred up and barking.  I usually hold her as the kids get out of the car. She doesn't bite but she jumps on them sort of trying to keep them from leaving.

How can we improve this?  She is not kennel trained and she does great with not going in the house. Just an accident once in awhile pooping in my daughter's room.

Answer
Sounds like separation anxiety. I would stop taking the dog with the kids to school. The stress is adding to the symptoms.  You need to desensitize the dog and that will take time and patience. The normal method is to get the dog interested in something else, a toy, and then leave and return in a short period, then extending the period of absence gradually. Often dogs will hear the clues of your leaving, getting outer wear, keys, other getting ready motions. If you have a see through door, such as a patio door, you can place the dog inside, step outside and chat with the dog, then return inside as a start. But the goal is to get the dog to ignore your coming and going. The dog can't ignore it when it is in the car with the kids and they get out. The dog needs to have some other mental activity that is more interesting than your leaving. Try and get some challenge toys, dog puzzles, etc. In some dogs, just a rawhide chew is good enough. In my house the Doberman and Beagle take turns hording the chews (lots of them) in their crate and play a game of who has the most and that keep them busy for hours while I am away.

Regards,

Henry Ruhwiedel
www.dogkennel.org