I have been living with a Siberian Husky with severe separation anxiety for over 4-1/2 years. I’ve been able to keep him because I am self-employed, and I don’t need to leave him for more than a few hours at a time. In cases where I would have to leave him for more than a few hours, I have had the option of either taking him with me, or of leaving him at “Doggie Day Care”, which he loves. (I live in Bucks County, in Pennsylvania, and leave him at RC Dog Care (http://www.rcdogcare.com/index.html). It is a family operation. He loves it, and they treat him very well. Plus, it is one of the few “Doggie Day Care” centers that will take dogs overnight. When he must spend the night, they usually put him in a “room” with several other dogs that he interacts with well. In this setting, he is fine. When it is bed time, he simply seeks out his “bed” and goes to sleep. No crying, no fussing, no trauma. If he was left in a conventional kennel, where he is put in a kennel for the night, I shudder at the thought of what that emotional trauma would do to him. That is especially true since he has come so far from where he was when I first rescued him. (At that time, I could not even go out the front door, or leave the room, without his having a panic attack.)
Anyway, I’ve been through a lot. As I said, if I was not self-employed and working out of my home, I could not have kept him. I know that there are millions of other people with dogs with separation anxiety. Some have found solutions. Some have not. The tragic truth is that many great dogs have been euthanized for this reason, and this reason alone. Since I intend this site to be a resource for other people who have similarly afflicted dogs, I would appreciate hearing what you, the owners of dogs with separation anxiety, have done. Have you found a cure? Have you found a great medication? Have you found a technique to decondition the dog, so that they can be at peace when left alone? Please send me information and links so that I can publish the information. Also, I am thinking of adding a forum to this site. Would that be useful?
Thanks in advance for any input.
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