Hi,
We are having mixed results with trying to resolve Sherlock's separation anxiety. The current daily routine we have been working on (for the last 7 weeks, since we stopped sending him to day care) is that in the morning he goes for a walk, is fed, settled & then left on his own (with access to the hallway, kitchen & utility room). We have built this time up from 10 mins to currently 1 hour 30 mins & he seems to be fine & we are happy that this length of time is building up. For the 3 days a week when we are at work, my step-son then comes round & continues with the work we have been doing by leaving Sherlock randomly during the day for 10-30 minutes & again all seems to be ok. The ultimate aim is that he will only need someone to pop in over lunchtime & then he can be left again for the afternoon. The current problem starts when he is left in the evening………we have been trying to stretch this amount of time as well. Step-son leaves the house at 5pm & we generally get home between 5:30pm-6pm but Sherlock only seems to last about 30 minutes before he starts whimpering, scratching at the front door & then starts barking & howling. We know exactly what he has been up to as we set up a sound recorder whilst we are out & once he starts barking he doesn't stop until someone comes home (which is something he has done since we got him as a pup in March).
We have tried various suggestions for keeping him calm & making him feel secure etc. We are now using an adaptil plug & collar. He also wears a t-shirt during the day & has a den in the hallway which he tends to go in at other times whilst on his own & we leave the radio on. We don't leave him with a kong as when we tried this, once he finished it he would almost immediately start crying & barking.
So, any ideas on why he seems to be improving during the day but we don't seem to be getting anywhere with the evenings? Is it as simple as he knows we are going to be coming back around that time & he will be getting his dinner (even though we don't give it to him immediately when we return)?