Separation Anxiety Apps for Dogs Compared (2026)

We compared six dedicated separation anxiety apps for dogs on four criteria: method, price, platforms and specialist input. Most of them claim the same published method, graduated desensitization, which is the protocol we walk through step by step in our training guide. In practice only one covers the whole protocol on the phone you already own: Lopaw. The rest are locked to iPhone, stuck in a browser, cover only part of the training or cost three times as much.

Key Takeaways

• Lopaw is the only dedicated app that runs natively on both iPhone and Android and covers the full protocol: timed absences plus pre-departure door exercises, with a plan recalculated from every session.
• Be Right Back, SOLO SERENITY and PawCalm run only in a browser. Separation Buddy and Calm My Dog are iPhone-only.
• Three months of Lopaw costs $49.99. Be Right Back costs $127 to $147. The cheaper iPhone apps name no specialist behind their method, and Calm My Dog has not been updated since November 2025.
• PawCalm is free but in beta and covers departure cues only.
• The method has controlled-trial evidence. No separation anxiety app has been studied on its own yet.
• DOGTV, Furbo and Petcube are not training programs. A camera, though, is useful with any app that has you run timed absences.

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How we compared the apps

Every app was checked against the same four criteria, using what each company publishes: its App Store or Google Play listing, its official site and its price page.

1. Method. Is it a separation anxiety trainer built on graduated desensitization, a general training app with a separation module, calming content, or a camera?
2. Price. The US list price, plus what three months costs, because this training usually runs for months (a realistic timeline for separation anxiety training). Be Right Back itself sells its program as three months.
3. Platforms. iPhone only, Android, or a web app in the browser.
4. Specialist. Who designed it, which qualifications they list on their own site, and whether you can reach a qualified person when a session goes wrong.

We left out star ratings, which vary by country store and rest on a handful of reviews for some apps. We also left out company results such as "percentage of dogs reaching an hour", which nobody has checked independently.

Separation anxiety apps at a glance

Lopaw is the only row with both a full protocol and native apps on iPhone and Android. General training apps and non-training tools follow the table.

• Lopaw$49.99
• Calm My Dog · monthly plan$17.97
• Separation Buddy · monthly plan~$27
• Be Right Back · paid in full$127
• Be Right Back · paid monthly$147

The dedicated separation anxiety apps, one by one

Five of the six run graduated desensitization one timed absence at a time. PawCalm, as its site describes it, covers departure cues only.

Lopaw

Lopaw builds a daily plan of graduated desensitization sessions from your dog's progress: the absence duration, the number of steps and the rules to follow, always within your dog's comfort zone. It "stops at the first stress sign instead of pushing further", so you never jump past your dog's threshold. Core training is timed absences, with pre-departure door exercises for days when your dog is stressed before you even step out. Weekly and monthly charts show how tolerance grows. The AI coach knows your dog's session history, so its answers are about your dog, not dogs in general.

It needs a phone, any camera and 15 to 30 minutes a day. It is free to download on the App Store and Google Play, then $19.99 a month or $49.99 for three months.

Best for: anyone who wants the complete protocol in a native app, on whichever phone they own, for a third of the price of a specialist program.

Separation Buddy

Georges Petrequin built it for his whippet, Maple, because "knowing what to do and actually doing it are totally different things" (About). You start with warm-ups such as door touches and picking up keys, and a timer extends or scales back sessions based on your ratings. Its site says it is "based on veterinary behaviorist protocols" without naming them (Separation Buddy).

Where it falls short: no specialist is named behind the method, and it is Apple-only, so Android owners cannot use it at all (App Store).

Calm My Dog

Calm My Dog is the cheapest paid option among the dedicated apps, and the only one of them with a lifetime license ($99.99). You measure a baseline, then the app generates timing blocks from your previous sessions. Its own developer says the app "does not replace a professional trainer" and is "intended for use after you've learned the gradual desensitization method" (App Store).

Where it falls short: by its developer's own description it is a timer for people who already know the method, not a program that teaches it. It has not been updated since November 2025, runs only on iPhone and names no specialist.

Be Right Back

Be Right Back comes from separation anxiety specialist Julie Naismith. She says she has spent 15 years on this one problem, has written four books and has trained over 500 certified separation anxiety trainers through her own certification program (FAQ, About). Inside a three-month program, the web app comes with certified trainer support, video reviews, a private community and a family membership. It costs $49 a month or $127 up front, with a seven-day "no-questions-asked refund" (Be Right Back).

The company says its AI coach is trained on "1.6 million real training steps from 9,000 dogs". It also says "more than half of families who follow the program reach one hour or more", counting only families who trained at least three times a week for six months.

Where it falls short: it is the most expensive option by far, with three months costing up to three times as much as Lopaw. It has no native app: it runs only in the browser, so no App Store or Google Play install (app terms, updated 12 March 2026).

SOLO SERENITY

A membership built by Anji Barton, who lists CPDT-KA, CTDI and CSAP-BC certifications (SOLO SERENITY). Her web app generates daily plans that tell you "exactly how long to step out, down to the second", alongside a course, webinars and live Q&A sessions.

Where it falls short: it is a web membership, not a phone app, and the price is hard to pin down: the same page mentions "$27 per month" and also "$47/mo" rising to "$97/mo". The checkout quotes Canadian dollars, so check it before you pay.

PawCalm

PawCalm is free, in beta and web-based, with "No App Store" and no download (PawCalm). As its site describes it, PawCalm covers departure cues. You pick up keys, put on shoes or touch the door without leaving, then log the reaction and chat with an AI coach.

Where it falls short: it covers only the pre-departure part of training, with no timed absences, which are the core of the protocol. It is still in beta, runs only in the browser and names no specialist.

General training apps with a separation anxiety section

In these general programs, mostly for puppies, separation anxiety is one lesson, course or chat topic.

• Zigzag: a puppy program with "being alone" lessons. Listed plans include $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year, on iOS and Android. Its site says it is "endorsed by leading training & behaviourist organisations" (App Store, v7.2.6, September 2026).
• Pupford: a Separation Anxiety Course sold in the app for $19.99. On its website the course page sells Pupford Academy+ Lifetime, listed at $99.99 (regular $199.99). iOS and Android.
• Dogo: a "Home Alone" program among 12, on iOS and Android.
• Puppr: lists separation anxiety among the topics its live-chat trainers help with, on iOS and Android.
• EveryDoggy: "special programs" including separation anxiety, plus chat with "qualified behavior coaches". Listed plans include $14.99 a month or $39.99 a year, on iOS and Android.

They suit a puppy, prevention, or one subscription for everything. For an adult dog that panics when you leave, you need a session log and a measured threshold. Zigzag is the only app here with a peer-reviewed study that we could find (see the evidence section).

Not training tools: DOGTV, Furbo and Petcube

DOGTV is content for your dog to watch. Furbo and Petcube are camera apps.

DOGTV costs $9.99 a month or $74.99 a year (App Store). Its science page says its "exclusive patented video content" is "designed to ease separation anxiety". The studies listed there cover kenneled dogs, video stimuli, neophobia in puppies and color perception. We found no named study of separation anxiety among them.

Furbo and Petcube are cameras with subscriptions. Furbo Nanny Standard is $9.99 a month ($6.99 a month in the first year of a yearly plan) and Premium $12.49. Petcube Care Optimal is $9.99 a month ($4.99 billed yearly) and Premium $16.99 ($11.99 yearly). The Furbo app "requires a Furbo camera".

None of these trains your dog. What a camera does is show how your dog copes during a timed absence, and our guide to choosing a camera for separation anxiety training explains why an old phone is usually enough.

Do separation anxiety apps work? What the evidence says

The method has been studied. The apps have not. A PubMed search for separation anxiety or separation-related problems, dogs, and app, smartphone or mobile application returned two records, and neither was a study of an app for dogs with separation anxiety.

Evidence for the method. A controlled trial at the University of Bristol tested "a generic programme of behavioural modification for the clinical treatment" of separation-related behavior. After 12 weeks, "56 per cent of the owners of the treated dogs reported significant improvements" and a further 25% reported slight improvement. Most untreated dogs stayed the same, and video recordings generally supported the owners' reports (Blackwell, Casey & Bradshaw, 2006, abstract).

A smaller controlled study of eight dogs tested systematic desensitization with counter-conditioning, run by their owners. It found significant reductions in both frequency and severity of separation-related behavior, and almost complete elimination in the six dogs followed up three months later (Butler, Sargisson & Elliffe, 2011, abstract). Progress was not related to how consistently owners applied the method, "even when owners apply systematic desensitization haphazardly". A 2014 review concludes that systematic desensitization "is a robust method that can be successfully applied by dog owners" (Sargisson, 2014).

The weak point is getting started. In a study of 52 dogs treated for separation anxiety, owners readily did simple things such as providing a chew toy. They "were not willing to uncouple the cues of departure from real departures or desensitize the dog to impending departure" (Takeuchi, Houpt & Scarlett, 2000, abstract). Sargisson's review also notes that owners are "more noncompliant with instructions that involve a large time commitment". Butler found that imperfect practice still worked. So an app's most plausible job is getting owners to start and keep going, with a timer, a log and a plan for today. Whether any app actually achieves that has not been tested.

Evidence for the apps. The only peer-reviewed study we found of an app and behavior problems is a University of Lincoln survey of 367 puppy owners, 173 of whom used Zigzag and no other training. Nineteen of 21 odds ratios pointed toward less severe problems with more app completion. Being alone and separation problems during the day, though, were not among the behaviors with reasonable evidence of an association. The authors write that "causal effects cannot be claimed". Cross-sectional, puppy-only and funded by Zigzag, the study also had a Zigzag co-founder among its authors (Rowland et al., 2025).

If your dog injures itself, refuses food for a day or more, or escapes, you need a professional. See what a trainer or veterinary behaviorist costs.

How to choose

Choose by what you are missing: knowledge of the method, the discipline to keep a log, or a qualified person to ask.

1. Does it start from your dog's own threshold and tell you to stop or step back at signs of stress? Both are the core of graduated desensitization.
2. Does it run on your phone? Several are Apple-only, and others run only in a browser.
3. What do three months cost?
4. Who designed it, and can you reach a qualified person if you get stuck?
5. What about the absences your dog cannot handle yet? No app solves those. You need cover for them while you train.

FAQ

Do separation anxiety apps work? The method has evidence: controlled studies of a behavior program and owner-run desensitization showed clear improvement (Blackwell 2006, Butler 2011). The apps themselves have not been studied in a controlled trial yet.

What is the best app for dog separation anxiety? For most owners, Lopaw: it is the only dedicated app that runs the full protocol, timed absences plus departure cues, in a native app on both iPhone and Android, at $49.99 for three months. Be Right Back and SOLO SERENITY add live specialist access at a higher price and only in a browser. Calm My Dog and Separation Buddy are iPhone-only timers, and PawCalm covers departure cues only.

How much does a separation anxiety app cost? For three months at US list prices: $49.99 for Lopaw, $127 to $147 for Be Right Back, about $18 for Calm My Dog and $27 to $30 for Separation Buddy (both iPhone-only), and $0 for PawCalm (in beta, departure cues only).

Can an app replace a separation anxiety trainer? Not for severe cases. Be Right Back includes certified trainer support, and Calm My Dog says it "does not replace a professional trainer". For self-injury, refusing food or escaping, see what professional help costs.

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US list prices, October 2026. If a figure no longer matches the linked page, tell us at support@lopaw.app and we will update it.