serious separation anxiety

[boogi]

this continues my old thread: http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137249

My parents convinced me not to crate Roccy.
My parents claimed that our previous dog had the same problem when he was a puppy, and he got over it when he became older (a year old).
But they were wrong...

Each time he was left alone in the house, he was left locked in the living room, with nothing he could ruin;
Rvery thing was fine for 5 months, nothing was eaten or ruined.

And then one day i return home and saw that the matrial covering the sofa was torn (special matrial wich was supposed to protect it from him), I sewed it back up.
next day he torn it on the second sofa and part of the sofa was eaten.
next week he manged to open a drawer in the closet,
this week he jumped over the wooden barier separating the kitchen from the living room and ruined ther some things in the kitchen.

The point is it get wors from to day, i am not andgry at him, i worried that he will hert himself.

I can't play with him much before i go to work, nor my parents; i do feed him, leave bones to chew and some toys, water and walk him out before.

First thing i do when i come back home i take him out and play with him.

He is left alone for 12 hours, i don't know if carting is good idea for such a long period.
he is 14 months old now

I hope you can help me solve my problem,
thanks

 

[TwoDogs]

Is this really separation anxiety or is it just extreme bordom? Twelve hours is a huge time to be left alone with nothing to occupy him with. My dogs need stuff to do during the day. It isn't always exercise, but it is stuff to break up the monotony of just hanging in the house. I have the luxury of being a stay-at-home mom. I can let them outside, train a little, play a short game of fetch or tug. If I were to leave my guys with nothing to do for 12 hours on end, they would eat the couch too!

Could you perhaps get a dog walker or sitter to come in a couple of days a week at mid-day to let him out or walk him?

 

[boogi]

he does this even if i leave him for 20 min,
ofcourse when he is left for 12 hours he has planty of time to find what to ruin.

i still think this separation anxiety because of two reasons:
*the writen above
*when i go out of the house (even for 5 min), he becomes sad, lies down near the door, doesn't want to play with any one ( all family except of me are home), antil i come back. Then he start jupming and licking me non stop and brings me his toys (even if i played with him for an hour before i left).
But i some of the other family members goes out of the house, he is still willing to play with me (ofcourse he jumps and lickes them when they come back too, but it still deiffers to they he does if i was the one out)

* there is somthing strange i forgot to point out (continues the above):
Because i am serving in army now, i am not at home from Sunday to Tuesday (i come home on Wednesday evening).
My parents say that Rocky never eats or ruins anything on Sunday.

ps:
*I am took care of him when he was a puppy, taught him commands and spend time with him more than anybody else did.

*The living room was the only room for him at first, and i did leave him there alone for a couple of hours every day when he was a puppy. when he was about 5 months old he was left alone there for about 8 hours, only twise a week and that when all started.

thank you for your attention

 

[Cami]

I can't play with him much before i go to work, nor my parents; i do feed him, leave bones to chew and some toys, water and walk him out before

Boxers are a very high energy breed. They need (more than likely) MORE exercise than we think they do!
He isn't getting any exercise before he is left to his own devices. He is making up his own games (for lack of a better word) because he has the energy to do so. Destroying things isn't so much about separation anxiety as it is about releasing pent up/stored energy. A good portion of dogs with SA while stressing about being separated will eliminate in the home, bark, whine, claw at doors and windows, and drool profusely when left alone.
You didn't mention any of these in this post (didn't read the first), so it really seems as if this problem could EASILY be helped by exercise. **Not easy for YOU but easy in theory!
A dogs reaction to their "favorite" humans is different that it is for other humans. He is acting overly happy with his greeting with you because you might just be his "favorite"!

 

[jrackow]

Do you have a backyard that you could let the dog out in before you leave for 30 minutes or so to let him run around and play, even by himself? I agree about the exercise thing. Our puppy goes bonkers if we don't exercise him twice a day. He's usually really groggy in the morning when we leave, so he just goes out to potty. We come home at lunch and play with him, and then after work, as well. Sometimes again after dinner. They do have *SO* much energy.