Toby has Severe Separation Anxiety

My Chihuahua/ Dachshund mix is very attached to me. We rescued him about three months ago from a rescue near my hometown. He almost immediately bonded with me and now is a total wreck when I leave. It doesn't help at all that my husband is around. He won't stop crying for me.

I work a normal 8-5 job and my husband runs his own web company so he's around. If Toby (the dog) can't see me, he will sit and whine, which grows in volume and pitch til he's yipping loudly. Other than that, I've barely heard a bark from him since we got him. I've tried all of the kind methods of training him not to do that, but they don't seem to help. He doesn't mind being in his crate, as long as he can see me. I tried leaving him in his crate, I've tried letting him have more free reign of the house while I'm gone. I've tried giving him things to chew. I've tried the pharemone collar that is supposed to help calm him down. He sleeps in my bed every night and I have him stay in one place while I'm doing house work, rather than following me around. Short of sedating him for 8 hours a day, I have no idea what else to try.

Something that helped Sophie is I leave my robe or a shirt I've recently worn on her chair. They tell me she curls up with my smell while I'm at work.

Try covering the crate to make it dark and as said leave two items of clothing with him. One in the crate the other just up against it. Shoes are a good idea as they have your scent in them. Stop having him in the bedroom. When you go to bed leave a radio on playing quietly near him. This will take a few days so don't relent. Get your husband to do more with him, walking,feeding etc. Don't resort to drugs or overuse the pheromone things as they do stop working as the dog gets acclimatised to them.

Try Marlena DeMartini-Price's book "Treating Separation Anxiety. You can down load it to kindle from Amazon.

Well ,done for adopting a rescue dog . He is feeling very unsettled and insecure so has become over attached to you.
BTW Whats his name?

Have your tried filming him when you are both out of the house to see what he does.

I would second the advice of getting your husband more involved with feeding him and grooming and walking him.

Rather than leaving him in a crate or not having him in your bedroom you could to teach your dog to cope without you by finding a place that he prefers to settle , eg your bed or a sofa , make it really cosy perhaps with a duvet and article of clothing with your scent on. Sit with him a few times and feed him treats so he associates it with you and pleasant memories. Sit with him and give him a filled kong for example , walk a few yards and go back before he follows you or starts to whine. Build up the distance and go back before he finishes the kong, repeat this often . Hopefully, he will learn that he can cope without you at his own pace and wont feel the need to cry and whine.

When you have to leave him , leave him out of his crate with access to his safe place but dont give him the full range of the house.


Info and more links on this page
http://vetbehaviour.info/dogs/separa...ehaviours.html

Yep, I also recommend asking your husband to take over some of the caregiver roles such as feeding the dog, walking him, playing with him, etc. What does your dog love most, other than you? Playing? Food? Walks? Make sure your husband is the one who provides access to that.

Also, do you make sure to ignore the dog's frantic, excited behavior when you do return home?

As someone else suggested, I would also consider having the dog sleep somewhere other than your bed, at least until you can get the anxiety under control. Even in a crate right next to your bed could work. I just think it's wise to lessen his dependence/attachment to you.

I did write a post on separation anxiety that you might find helpful: http://www.dogids.com/blog/how-to-he...en-left-alone/

Perhaps the most important thing is just patience and more time. Good luck! I know separation anxiety can be stressful for everyone involved.

I highly recommend fluoxetine(prozac), didn't cure my former dog that was VERY SEVERELY (as in, screaming at the top of his lungs for 5 hours straight and destroying literally everything in the house, including chewing his metal crate to pieces if crated. you would not believe his reaction when the trainer we had come to our house to help us w/ him tried to walk him about 5 ft away from me, it was ...not pretty.) affected w/ separation anxiety, but it really helped him a lot. Talk to your vet about it if what the above posters mentioned doesn't do the trick. It does not sedate them in the least. Just a small pill you give every morning.