Hi everyone, I am a new member and I was thrilled to find a group that deals with separation anxiety.

I adopted a Saint Bernard 4 years ago from the rescue and he's wonderful. It is evident that he was very bonded with his previous owner who had suddenly passed away, which is the reason why he was in rescue. He's a wonderful dog, except for the separation anxiety issue. He is not destructive or does he bark or cry. He just refuses to eat and will get bad diarrhea. Most of the info I have read on separation anxiety seems that deals with more short-term anxiety and destructive behavior problem rather than for a dog who has stomach issues. I have boarded him at a daycare facility where he plays all day and is put in a large cage and located in a quiet area at night(and where he often goes just to play all day, so he knows everyone and the facility). He had diarrhea all over his cage both nights and forget about eating. This obviously didn't work. I then got his dogwalker to come over and look after him while he's at home in his environment. He wouldn't eat and I came home last night to a house full of diarrhea (he's 150lb). My last resort is boarding him at my vets who can treat his stomach while putting him on an anti anxiety medication, but if I could avoid this, I would. I don't think it's addressing the problem, but masking it.

I am thinking that perhaps I should start boarding him every other weekend for one night and then slowly increase the amount of time...

If anyone has any ideas I could use, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you

Vivien