I have a 21 month old working line dog. He has been having a little seperation anxiety when I leave the house. He has been barking a lot with occasional breaks. What is your thought?

Hi,



I have a question about my dog. He's a 21-month-old working line dog. I purchased him about 3 months ago for Schutzhund and he as developed a tight bond with me. He has been having a little separation anxiety when I leave the house. He stays in an extra large crate in the basement when I leave to go to work. My other dogs stay in crates beside him when my wife and I are both at work. But when she is not working, the house dogs usually go upstairs with her. The problem is, he has been barking a lot with occasional breaks. It doesn't matter if the other dogs are with him in their crates or not. He doesn't settle down until I come home. He is getting plenty of exercise daily so I don't believe it is that.



On a regular house dog I would probably use a "bark" collar to help with this.



I hesitate with using this on him because I don't know if this will inhibit him from barking in protection work. What is your thought on that? Any suggestions would be appreciated. He does not respond this way in the car if I have to go into the store or anywhere that I go, if he is in his crate in the car.



Thanks,
Phil