[FF/MEDIC]

Shadows story: 11 month old Black Lab (male) rescued by me and my wife at 9 months. I diagnosed the dog with separation anxiety on day five after he jumped a 5 foot gate and dove out a screened 2ND story window onto the pavement to find me when I attempted to leave him alone in the house. This dog must always be no more than two feet away from one of us at all times. Secluding the dog to a safe area of the house when we leave seemed to be the answer until he found out he could claw through sheetrock and plywood to gain access to the outside. Now Mr. Shadow has found himself in a crate and other than destroying everything in it he seems to be doing better. One problem that really really bothers me to the point that I feel as though I want to hurt the dog is when he goes to the bathroom in the house when he gets upset at us for not giving him attention.

Example 1: My wife and I are in the bedroom doing what a newly married couple does and the dog doesn’t like to sexiled so this completely housebroken dog goes down and takes a dump on the new furniture and pisses on the kitchen table!!! He doesn’t even think about jumping on the furniture normally knowing its not allowed.

Example 2: Me and my wife have to go down in the basement to get something together and the dog can’t go with us, he proceeds to run upstairs and piss all over our bed.

This is a housebroken dog that only does this when he is upset at us for leaving or not paying enough attention to him. This is an excellent well behaved dog as long as he can see us at all times.

I NEED HELP PLEASE.

[Renoman]

I can only tell you what I was told and it worked for me. My dog Max and I were very close. My seperation anxiety being away from him wasn't nearly as bad as his. I did not eat whole couches when I couldn't be with him ~ he did. I called a behaviorist and her suggestion was this; this is a desensitizing exercise and you must start off very slowly.

Open the front/back door (whichever door you normally go out). Immediately close the door.

Open the door wait 3 seconds then close door.

Open door - go out door and immediately return inside and close door.

Open door - go out door wait 3 seconds, return inside and close door.

I repeated these steps 2 or 3 times a day and each time I would increase the amount of time I was outside before going back in.

Imagine my delight on the day I could walk from the front door around to the back door and the couch was still intact!

I gradually increased the periods of time outside until I could drive around the block and he was alright. then I went to the supermarket, etc.

I would give him a kong filled with kibble and sealed with peanut butter and frozen before leaving. No fuss, no comment, just toss the kong immediately before closing the door behind you. When I came home I had to be very calm and pretty much ignore him for the first 5 minutes.

This whole procedure took about 1 month but it worked. Once he realized that I was coming back he was fine.

Maybe you and your wife need to try these exercises individually and then together?

As far as the other things ~ I have no idea, never had to deal with it.

[cshellenberger]

This is pretty severe Separation anxeity. I would get two pros inolved on this one, your vet AND a behaviorist. I do have some suggested reading too.

Books
"Canine Seperation Anxiety Workbook" by James O'Heare
“I’ll Be Home Soon” by Dr. Patricia McConnell

Both can be found on www.dogwise.com

Now for behaviorists
http://www.iaabc.org/
http://www.apdt.com/
http://www.ccpdt.org/

Renoman has given some great advice to get started, also some good clicker training (basic stuff) will help build his confidence. You could start here http://www.dogforums.com/3-dog-train...doggy-zen.html (Doggy Zen)

[Alpha]

I agree, this sounds pretty severe.

Instead of looking at it as a bad dog, bad thing though, think about what this dog may have gone through before you got him. And how much he loves you and your wife.

Reno had some good ideas.

I would crate him. If you can't watch him or be with him, crate him. Every now and again let him out for 5 minutes alone while you two are upstairs, if he doesn't make a mess, make a HUGE deal! Good boy! No messes! If he does make a mess, mildly verbally correct and crate him the next few times.

Hades was destructive as well when we left him alone. I think it was more something to do to occupy his time while we were gone. We crated him, then we could hear him crying from a block away on our way home. He'd cry for hours, definitely not one of the dogs that cries for a few minutes than goes to sleep. He'd also leave presents for us if left out when we returned.

Personally, I would crate him if I couldn't watch him or be with him. Slowly I'd give him more freedom and if he messed up, back to the crate. It's a slow process but it's worked with my Hades. He knows what "messes" means, and with our new business we've had to leave the dogs alone a few hours a week now, and when we come home now, there aren't any messes. Hades knows darned well he's been a good boy and greets us at the door waiting for his treat, after a mess making hour alone he'd hide under the desk because he knew he was in trouble.

I think teaching your dog a word, like I chose "messes", helped Hades a lot. If he made a mess, he got in trouble, he knew that word. If he didn't make a mess, I told him and he got lots of love a treat.

[Curbside Prophet]

I would add another tactic to your campaign. It sounds like you want to get some distance between yourself and the dog, so why not train to add distance. What I'm suggesting is, teach a long down-stay and when your dog is down and in stay, add some distance between yourself and the dog. Start with a few feet, and reward for every foot you can add to the distance. And practice, practice, practice. I would also toss the treat at or behind your dog when you reward him to prevent him from chasing you.

Has the dog had any kind of training? Working on obedience will help your dog to gain confidence.

Also, you need to be conscious of any time your dog is exhibiting good behavior, and reward it. This would include going into another room to settle down, alone. It may not happen, but you still need to look for it.

[rawralphadawg]

sounds pretty serious. i would definitely ask a vet to recommend help.

one possibly helpful comment. do try to ignore the dog a bit. maybe you can get him to settle down and just "be" with you calmly. don't praise him for being glued to your hip, and don't immediately pet him/praise him/interact with him when you're away and come back.