Hi!
My wife and I have a 10 month old Boxer/Lab (and a few other things) mix that we have had for about 6 months now. He is a wonderful dog except that he has separation anxiety.
We've been keeping tabs on it for a while and have determined that it's not a learned behavior to get attention. He cannot stand being away from us. He constantly follows us around the house and immediately starts whining if he cannot follow. If left on his own for any longer than a few minutes, he can start howling and/or get destructive. We have had a nice rug ripped into, screen doors ripped up, shoes, remote control, etc. He never gets destructive, except for with his own soft toys (he likes to pull at the seams of stuffed animals), when we are in the same room with him.
We crate trained him from day one and that is where he sleeps. His crate is in our bedroom. He is also kept there when we go to work or go out anywhere. Any time he will be left alone for more than a minute or 2, we crate him, such as when we go to take a shower. He has a comfortable crate with a sturdy but padded base (which we got for him after he tore the plastic bottom apart) and he has toys in there, including a Kong that we fill with treat every time he goes in. He likes his crate and is perfectly fine in there... until we leave the room. We've come back to him howling, crying, panting hard, etc. in his crate.
We love this dog, but this separation anxiety is extremely taxing on us. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to fix or treat this behavior?
My wife and I have a 10 month old Boxer/Lab (and a few other things) mix that we have had for about 6 months now. He is a wonderful dog except that he has separation anxiety.
We've been keeping tabs on it for a while and have determined that it's not a learned behavior to get attention. He cannot stand being away from us. He constantly follows us around the house and immediately starts whining if he cannot follow. If left on his own for any longer than a few minutes, he can start howling and/or get destructive. We have had a nice rug ripped into, screen doors ripped up, shoes, remote control, etc. He never gets destructive, except for with his own soft toys (he likes to pull at the seams of stuffed animals), when we are in the same room with him.
We crate trained him from day one and that is where he sleeps. His crate is in our bedroom. He is also kept there when we go to work or go out anywhere. Any time he will be left alone for more than a minute or 2, we crate him, such as when we go to take a shower. He has a comfortable crate with a sturdy but padded base (which we got for him after he tore the plastic bottom apart) and he has toys in there, including a Kong that we fill with treat every time he goes in. He likes his crate and is perfectly fine in there... until we leave the room. We've come back to him howling, crying, panting hard, etc. in his crate.
We love this dog, but this separation anxiety is extremely taxing on us. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to fix or treat this behavior?
