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Separation anxiety in dogs is not uncommon. It's a very difficult challenge and hard for humans to understand. Many behaviours that are symptoms of separation anxiety are often mistaken for something else, or the seriousness of the behaviour is not realized.
What Is Separation Anxiety Exactly?
Separation anxiety varies from mild to extreme. For dogs this is the distress they feel when they are left alone or a specific person leaves them. It may not matter if there is another pet in the home. For many dogs, it is sheer panic and results in escapism resulting in major damage to the home and/or themselves. This anxiety is a health and medical issue.
Some signs to look for:
Anxiety when you start to get ready to leave (pacing, panting, hiding, trembling)
Will not eat while you are gone
Destruction of items in the home ranging from things like pillows to doors
Barking, howling and crying for long durations while you are gone
Self-injury from chewing themselves or trying to claw out of the home or areas in the home
Urination and/or defecation
The Crate Can Make It Worse
This outdated information is still rampant. Confining an animal in small spaces such as a crate can create more anxiety and result in a dog doing physical harm to themselves. If the thought is that the crate will prevent your dog from damaging your home, I would advise you to seek help from your veterinarian right away as this is a sign that the behaviour is unhealthy and the anxiety needs treatment.
For some dogs who love their crate they may CHOOSE to go in there while you are gone but the key here is choice. The door should be left open.
Ignoring Your Dog Won't Help
This is another strange piece of advice that doesn't help. Ignoring your dog in many cases can make them anxious, especially if you don't normally ignore them which as a social animal we have brought into our home for companionship... I can't imagine ignoring them. Making a huge fuss, will that make it worse? There is not evidence to support this however, my advice would be to come or leave home and say hello or goodbye to them as you normally would. There is something much deeper going on that is triggering their separation anxiety and it likely has nothing to do with you.
Some Advice
If you aren't sure what's going on when you leave the home, set up a camera and take a look while you are out. Are they vocalizing? If so, does it stop after a period of time or does it continue intermittently and at the same intensity or become worse? Will they eat anything tasty if you leave it for them? If not, these are signs they may have separation anxiety.
If your dog is having an episode, return home. Then come up with a plan!
While you seek treatment for your dog, avoid leaving them home for longer than they can handle as much as you possibly can! The more that your dog is left and they have episodes, it can become worse with repetition.
Talk to your vet or make an appointment with a veterinary behaviourist. Do NOT be afraid of treating this medically, it's a medical condition in which training may not be effective OR it could be a very lengthy process without extra help on board.