Vivien,

I have a 16 month old mini aussie with separation anxiety. I bought him from a
breeder at 4 1/2 months old. She misled me about his temperament, and after 3
miserable weeks, I contacted her. She confessed that his Mom had the SA gene and
his grandfather was ultra timid and nervous. That explained why he couldn't be
left alone, even for 1 minute, and why he was afraid of everyone and everything
(even other dogs). At this point I knew what I was dealing with, but the
question was how to make this work for both of us. I consulted with
behavioralist who specializes in SA. She told me to buy the book "I'll be home
soon" by Patricia McConnell. It has a 3 week guide to helping desensitize your
dog to being alone, etc. She suggested a music CD for dogs and using Kong toys
full of food to keep him busy. She also suggested medication, which I was
totally against. I was determined to do this without meds. I bought the book and
the CD, but it didn't seem to help. We also tried an anxiety wrap garment,
rescue remedy, pheramone plug-in...pretty much any suggestion out there for SA.
I used to crate him while I was gone, but I would come home to him screaming and
puddles of spit in the crate. He would tear and dig at his bed trying to get
out. After 6 weeks of following the book's plan, I gave up and went to the vet
for a prescription. She put him on chlomicalm, which is specifically for SA.
Within 2-3 weeks, I noticed a huge difference. There was no more screaming when
I came or went, and no more puddles of spit.

As Bogie grew, I decided to put him in the laundry room. He kept jumping over
the baby gate I was using to keep him contained, so I started closing the door.
My little 15 lb. Bogie chewed the walls, door sills and door in desperation to
escape. I was at a loss as to what to do, so we went back to the vet. She added
2 mg valium (split in the morning and at lunch) to his routine. I met with the
behavioralist around the same time, and she liked my idea of moving him to the
room I use as an office and keeping him in a 4x4 ex-pen with a cover to keep him
contained during the day. I leave on the music CD while I'm gone, as it acts
like white noise and is calming. The combination of a quieter room and the
valium was the solution. I also added a short morning walk and 15 minute
obedience/trick training sessions in the morning and at lunch to mentally tire
him.

I tried daycare, but he stressed the whole time, did not play with any dogs and
wanted to be in the arms of the group leaders when it was playtime. The last
time I took him, he jumped the 4 foot internal playroom fence and I was asked
not to bring him back. Given the shy/nervous genes he was born with, I can see
why daycare wouldn't be fun for him. It took 6 months before he was comfortable
with the dog park and now he enjoys it quite a lot, but I'm there for support
so I think that's why he can relax.

Because Bogie is nervous and easily overwhelmed, he has a lot of intestinal
problems. We switched his food 3 times in the last year, and is finally on a
high quality lamb and rice food that agrees with him. I am an avid label reader
to make sure nothing I feed him has something he is allergic to. I also added
probiotics to his diet a few months ago, and he has a lot less vomiting and
diarrhea.

If Ellwood's problem is genetic, it will be that much harder to solve because
that's the way he was born. As much as I hate giving my dog medication every
day, I feel its the humane thing to do. He has such a better quality of life.
Hang in there. With training, and possibly medication, there is a solution for
your Ellwood. We'll keep our paws crossed for you both.

Paulette