Any dog owner can attest to the personal shame that arises when you know you’re about to leave your house. You might notice your dog starting to react the moment you move through certain parts of your routine, like putting on your shoes, closing your laptop, grabbing your keys or throwing on a jacket. They may whine, bark or pace by the door as you leave.
It’s easy to feel a pang of guilt or wonder if they’re experiencing a kind of FOMO, especially when those cues usually mean you’re about to head out.
“Dogs are brilliant at spotting patterns in human behavior. They don’t just notice what’s happening — they notice what usually happens next,” explained Caroline Wilkinson, canine behaviorist at Forthglade and founder of digital pet coaching service Barket Place, who noted that they stack up cues like keys being picked up, shoes going on or a laptop closing as they try to make sense of a moment that signals change.
Dr. Matthew Murdoch, veterinarian and director of Ferndale Kennels, said that dogs are highly social animals, so being excluded can trigger a stress response similar to the way humans experience social rejection.
“If essentially they feel fear and anxiety triggered by something’s removal, they’ll exhibit all the symptoms of FAS [fear, anxiety, stress], which can be subtle body language changes like lip licking, or more dramatic or obvious behavior like trembling, barking, running in circles in a frenzy and even potentially destructive behaviors.”
