Normpaperman,

I am so sorry, I have to agree with Carrie on this, she really knows her stuff! Even tho it's a heart breaking option. Your dog is not happy. What an aweful decesion that is, my heart breaks for you. Just keep in mind that although you love your dog and he loves you, it does sound like you have exhausted all your options and he's still miserable without you around.

No words of advise, just wanted to say how sorry I am that you have to think about re-homing your friend. It's a crummy thing to have to do, but in the long run, he would be happier with someone around more often, and somewhere where he could run off energy. De-barking him would be a horrible option, he would still feel all the anxiety, just not be able to tell anyone about it.

Best of luck to you and your wife. I had a dalmation that I had to re-home for problematic behaviors too. It does hurt, but he's happy on the farm where he's living now. It's just one of those necessary evil's.