Seperation Anxiety is a serious problem and requires serious committment on your part to help the dog get through it. But it can be done! Basically the dog can't handle when it is left alone. Although crating until the issue is resolved is in the best interest of your dog and your home, it is not the ultimate solution. Dog's with extremely severe seperation anxiety can actually hurt themselves trying to escape the crate. If your dogs anxiety is extreme make sure you know if he will hurt himself in the crate before leaving him there. Not all dogs think their crates are havens.

Usually the worst period for a dog with seperation anxiety occurs immediately after the human leaves. So starting out slowly and gradually increasing the time you are gone does not work. The key is too have the dog occupied without realizing you are going or not making a fuss over the dog when you get home. In case you're wondering my experience in this field is first hand. My Dixie suffered (suffers) from Seperation Anxiety but we have learned how to handle it. I say suffers because I don't think they ever get over it completely. They just learn to accept being alone better.

Start by making the crate a comfy environment and a place your dog wants to go to or at the least not be horrified to go into. Use stuffed Kongs or buster cubes with treats in them inside the crate while you are home. Encourage the dog to lay down inside the crate to relax while you are home. Try to discourage the dog from following you everywhere. All of this is while you are home. Your goal is to associate good things happening when the dog is seperated from you. Frozen treats in the Kong or hard to get stuff out of it. Make sure you are home when this happens though so the dog doesn't always think "I'm getting a treat so she's leaving" syndrome. Then when you do have to leave it won't be a signal you are about to leave. I even go as far as to feed the dog it's regular kibble in the crate or hand feed the dog while it's in the crate to get it over crate anxiety.

Once your dog is occupied with a treat that will keep him occupied, just leave. No words. No I'll be backs. No pets. No hugs. NOTHING. Just leave. Make sure the dog is occupied though even if it's in the crate.

After a while I would "test" the waters when I left and would crate the dog but not lock the door. Sometimes I came home to find her still in the crate and other times she was free. In doing this, you also need to make sure the house is relatively free of things that can be problem areas. For instance, I bought scat mats with raised bumps to place on couch cushions. I lifted the garbage cans onto the table so she couldn't reach them. No tissue boxes were left handy to her reach. I basically had to make sure the house was baby proof before I left each time. I would put her in her crate, give a treat that would occupy her and immediately and quietly leave.

Coming home is another challenge. She wanted to jump all over me and make a big fuss that I was home. I wanted to do the same but with a dog who suffers with seperation anxiety, you can't. It has to be very low key and not a big deal. I usually just go about my business for 10 minutes or so with only a non commital pat on the head and then ignoring. After the thrill of me coming home wore off, then I would get more personal with her.

Leaving was always more difficult for Dixie than coming home but you have to do both routines consistently to help the dog.

There is a wealth of information on Seperation Anxiety available. It would be wise for you to research it and determine what methods you want to implement. What works for one dog doesn't always work for another. The first thing you need to do though is realize this is something the dog has no control over until you help it out. In severe cases Rescue Remedy or other calming drugs are necessary. In all cases, helping the dog through it is the most loving thing you can do.