I have a 7 year old German Shepherd hound mix and he has separation anxiety issues. For the first 3 years I was always home, but then I started working. He cries, barks, whines, howls, and is destructive. He has chewed part of walls, doors, and furniture. I get him toys, give him treats when he is good, play with him all the time, etc. I don't know what else to do. I want to look into home herbal remedies. I tried medication and it did not work. Someone help us!
By Diana
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I know it may sound cruel but have you consider crating him when you are at work? If you live close enough to run home on your lunch break or have a trusted neighbour who can stop in to give him a potty break, crating works wonderfully for a dog with SA.
I had to go back to work after my divorce in '99 (after being home with children and dogs for over 18 years) and one of my Boxers did not take the changed routine well at all!
He was already crate trained; I'd never left him in it for more than an hour or two at a time when I went on grocery and school runs but he adapted nicely to the longer length of crate time. I would pop home at lunch to let him into the back garden to 'stretch his legs' and didn't do overtime if I knew my son or DIL couldn't stop in to give him another break.
He was never crated more than 4 hours without a break so it worked very well for me and him.
Sadly he died aged 13 years in the pet food contamination horror (2007). I miss him terribly. My life has changed since 2007 - I'm retired now and home with my new (2011, and also retired) husband but still can't bring myself to have another dog. We have a Siamese-Abyssinian cat we love completely, but oh how I miss that dog! One day perhaps...
Crate him, if possible. Also, leave the TV or radio on so he hears voices and doesn't feel alone. Perhaps a special toy for while your gone? I have two JRTs 1 year old. I pay a friend $25.00 a week to come in twice a day to take them out of their crate and go potty.
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