I am not sure how to handle this request for advice....there are a few sides to the issue. First and foremost is my need to keep Dexter safe and secure and also so I can leave him at home when I go to work. Dexter is a 3yr old male, neutered Husky/Shepherd mix. He has separation anxiety (SA) and has become an escape artist, destroying two crates (walked crate across the room, chewed the door, broke welds, broke wires, chewed through zip ties, etc...) and when he escapes, he digs up and chews the carpeting at the front door and also the front door (6 inch hole in the solid wood door). The anxiety and escaping has been going on since April. I have tried special calming food, Anxitane, and now prescription medication; 40mg Clomipramine 2x a day; still no change. Last week was especially bad, when he dug the hole in the front door, damaging his nails and gums.

Plastic crate, wire crate, custom made wood crate/dog house; all destroyed. He is not afraid of the crate, he gets his meals in the crate, and will nap in his crate; but when I leave the home, he goes nuts, whining, whimpering, panting, and then within about 5 minutes, heads to the door and starts chewing!

I have read about aluminum dog crates like the Zinger Professional 4500 with "Escape Artist" Upgrade Package.

Will crating him in a crate he can not escape do more damage to him psychologically or will it be a tool to help him overcome his SA?

How long have you had him, and what changed in April?

What have you tried (aside from meds)?

Well....where do i start...had him over 2 years. He was crated while I was at work and at night. No issues. In March 2013, I forgot to latch his crate and he came and slept on my bed.
I enjoyed his company, and except for getting into the garbage once or twice, he was good.
In April, my 13 yr old daughter moved in with me. She has done training with him and he listens to her commands. In July we adopted Makita, 2yr old female Shepherd/Malamute, in October, we introduced 2 guinea pigs. In June, stopped going to the off leash dog park (had been going 3-4 times per week) due to increased aggression towards other dogs. A week after adopting Makita, he bit her ear in a fight over a dog bone. Lesson learned, all toys are my toys and never left on the floor.
He now wears a muzzle when we go to the conservation area for an off leash run 1 - 2 times a week. If we run into another dog, he can not do it any harm.

From adoption to April of this year....had a dog walker come in during the mid day to take him out for a pee and a walk but fired them after she repeatedly over excited him, making him pee on the carpets, didn't clean it up or call me and left him out of his crate after he escaped.

I am overwhelmed by the amount of information out there and have not tried anything specific. Not sure where to begin. I am a high school teacher so I am on Christmas Break till Jan 5th, after that, I have to go back to work and will have to find a way to contain him. As it is, I cant go anywhere on my own without taking him as he will just rip up the carpets more and chew on the door even more.

So the S/A all started when the midday dog-walking ended and/or when your daughter came (I'm inclined toward the first thing, but what is more important what you think), all in April?

And he is fine if someone is there, not necessarily you? There is no way to replace that midday dog-walking and play-with-dog person?

(Please write off the off-leash dog parts permanently, BTW ... these are a disaster in the making, IMO, but there are so many threads on here about it that there's no need to re-type the wheel. Click red "advanced search," upper right of your screen, expand the date range, and probably use PARK as your search term .... maybe even start with that as a "subject" word, then a "subject and body" word.)

Then in July you added a second dog? Where is that dog all day? Is the Shepherd x Malamute loose while the Husky x Shepherd is crated?

And the original dog (Dexter) is running off-leash in a muzzle? While this is not your primary concern, I know, I am thinking of problems, from panting in a muzzle to getting in a dog fight while muzzled.

I'm not seeing much exercise there, either, but of course I didn't ask that. Is Dexter getting structured daily exercise? How much?

I'm sure I have missed stuff .... you do have a lot going on. This is a slow period, too, in the holidays.

But you'll get suggestions.

I used to have malamutes and one of my brothers raised huskies, and this level of SA is not unusual,imo. Where is the other dog when your dog is crated?
Just for my quick thought on the aluminum crate, imo it will neither make the SA worse OR better, with one caveat: if he is able to bite through the aluminum it will be like biting and scratching razors.
With any physical concerns ruled out (and it sounds like he has had a lot of changes in his environment) If he were mine I'd go back to a SA desensitizing routine BUT that takes time.
Did you happen to fire the dogwalker in april? The part about peeing on the carpets makes me wonder if it was submissive peeing and perhaps when you were not around she was being rough (no pun intended) with him, or worse.
Are there any kennels nearby that you could day board him at while at work? I don't mean daycare where he'd be playing with other dogs, but in his own kennel. This would help burn off energy, and prevent any escaping and destruction while you are at work. jmho.

Connie and Jodi, than you for responding so quickly. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and very helpful.

Connie, I read the articles on muzzles from Leerburg and it was the advice given from Ed that prompted me to muzzle Dexter. I use a basket muzzle, fitted by my vet. It allows him to pant and drink, but yes...in a fight, he is defenseless.

As for the dog parks....it seemed like the only way to give him the ability to run and exercise off leash as I can not run due to knee problems. I hear your concerns and will use the advance search with the key words you suggested.

Today I read about using a weighted saddle pack to increase the effort on walks and will definitely get him one to get more bang for the buck on our walks.

Makita is crated during the day....her crate is about 4 feet from Dexter's crate. Makita is fine during the day.

Yes, Dexter used to pee submissively and still does if he is greeted with lots of excitement.

Exercise involved a 20 minute walk in the morning, a 30 - 90 minute walk in the afternoon and another 20-30 minute walk at night.
If we went to the dog park, we walked/ran the trails of the conservation area and avoided the "off leash park area" as I have seen way too many ignorant people there.

This afternoon, after four months of walking and working them together, and after teaching them the basic mushing commands, we had our first trial run with the scooter on quiet residential roads. It was an amazing success.
This seems like the first time that they are actually tired, physically and mentally. Until tonight, I have not been able to tire them out, no matter what I have tried.

I have to admit, after reading all the posts and working my way through the articles....I have a long way to go to get my dogs to respect me and obey my commands all the time. The courses I took at the local Petsmart were a waste of money looking back. I would have been better off getting a couple of the Leerburg videos and working through them.

If I send him to doggy daycare or a kennel, am I postponing or avoiding dealing with the underlying problem or are you suggesting doing both....send him there during the day and then work on crate desensitizing and SA when we get home?

Get an aluminum crate that he can't escape from. Each time he gets out it reinforces that HE CAN.

Make sure he is very well exercised before going into the crate. Honestly, a 20 minute walk before being crated for the day is a joke. Get up an hour earlier if you have to. I used to get up at 4:45-5am to work 3 dogs before showering & heading out to work at 8:15am. It CAN be done!

Give him a frozen stuffed kong or a knuckle bone to keep him busy & distract him while crated.

For exercise off leash ... see if you can find a fenced in tennis court or playground (after hours)to let him run free if you don't have a fenced yard. Maybe even see if a friend with a fenced yard may let you use it to run your dog a few times a week at least.

Real SA is very hard to eradicate & takes a great deal of effort & time. Unfortunately, it's not a 1-week project.

At this point with all the door destruction etc...it is amazing that you haven't have an obstruction & surgery required for this dog. If it continues...your luck may run out.

 Quote: Anne Jones

Get an aluminum crate that he can't escape from. Each time he gets out it reinforces that HE CAN.

I agree. I am not convinced this is real SA.

What is your reaction when you come home, he's out, door chewed?

Regarding the kennel, I am NOT suggesting doggie daycare. This is what I did when my current dog was young, had SA, and I had to work. I made arrangements for her to go to a local kennel that I trusted. Because I worked nights at the time she was dropped off before my shift and picked up when I got out in the morning. She was kept in her own space, she did not participate in daycare. The purpose of my bringing there her peace of mind and safety. Additionally, although she didn't play with other dogs the stimulation and activity of the kennel was tiring to her. When I was home and on my days off I would work on her seperation anxiety, every single day, several sessions. It took about 6 months of gradually increasing times to where she was at the point where she could be left alone, but now she is 100% reliable to be alone. I also always leave a tv or radio on, and I do leave a bone or other treat out. Basically I make my leaving awesome, and my coming home boring. I also walk my dog about six miles a day, if we don't walk, because of weather or whatever we play a very active game of fetch for an hour. Remember, a tired dog is a happy dog!

I finished off building my kick scooter and have begun "urban mushing" Dexter and Makita. We started out doing 5km, then 6, then 8 and then 12km the other day. Today it was -19C so we only did 7km but they are doing more of the work. Since starting the urban mushing, I am finally seeing them physically and mentally tired.
I went out tonight and put him in his crate with his femur bone stuffed with hot dog and his favourite ball, he wasn't panting when we left; however, we got home 3hrs later to find him up on the sofa, only mild carpet and door chewing.

I am off tomorrow to the vet to get a pheromone diffuser so that it will put out a pleasing scent around his crate and hopefully reduce the anxiety.

Also getting a brass kick plate for the door so he cant chew the wood anymore.

Thank you for your advice and suggestions.....I am open to any other thoughts you might have.

Peter