How can I practically and cheaply treat my dog's separation anxiety?
How can I practically and cheaply treat my dog's separation anxiety? General Dog Discussions
I have a 4 year old rescue dog: chocolate cocker Spaniel. He's actually a very kind animal, hasn't snapped or barked at anyone aggressively except for dogs smaller than him. We've had a lot of problems with him though and all those issues are evident of separation anxiety. He will bark if left in his kennel or the backyard by himself for less than 1 minute (15 seconds to be exact on most occasions). I understand that Cockers are a very anxious breed to begin with, and I do admit that I can overreact to his acting out which probably just reinforces this behavior.Realistically, to me, this is just a dog. I want him to be a part of my family, but I'm not willing to pay thousands of dollars on training and I can't take a month off of work so that I can be home with him to train him myself. Because he still has issues with being house trained, he has to spend extra time in his kennel (ie: when left in the living room by himself he'll either urinate/defecate or eat/chew anything he finds). My quality of life and own anxiety level, and that of my wife, has significantly been detrimented by the arrival of this animal to our home.No judging comments will be accepted. I only want realistic and helpful feedback. I will report any abusive or judgmental comments to yahoo. Thank you for your help.