Will try to respond to everyone so bear with me as I jump around from topic to topic...

I take him to the groomer because I work at a petco and I can have him bathed and brushed for very little cost. I want him to get used to it bc if I ever don't have time to bath him myself, I can drop him off and have them do it.

I don't have a fenced yard. I wish I did.

He gets crated when we aren't home, overnight, and for a little while in the evening. His crate is not in the bedroom so when he gets crated at night, he's all by himself. I'm thinking about moving it to the basement. I think this might help.

I might get a tie-out for the side yard for him to hang out for a little while. I've got a great view of the yard from my kitchen so I could keep a good eye on him.

Another thing I was thinking about trying is encouraging him to spend time in a different room from me when he is loose in the house. He's reliably housebroken and I can trust that he won't destroy anything so I think I could put him in a room with some toys and go do something in a different room. If he tries to follow, I'll stop him till he gets the point. Lately I've been demanding more space from him.

 Quote: Jessica Pedicord

I might get a tie-out for the side yard for him to hang out for a little while. I've got a great view of the yard from my kitchen so I could keep a good eye on him.

Personally, I would be very careful with this... JMHO. I will tie Falcon when I'm outside - like earlier tonight we were burning a pile of brush and didn't want to risk him doing something stupid when we were putting branches, etc... into the fire. But for me, I would not be comfortable tying him if I couldn't be outside with him. If one wrong dog came onto the property all heck could break lose in the time it would take me to get outside. Again, JMO.

There aren't a lot of houses around me. There's never really a lot going on this time of year. Two of my neighboring houses are vacation homes and they aren't here till summer and even then only on weekends. There's only one family with dogs nearby. Thankfully they are good people that are great with their dogs

Any way you can close off a deck or make a small run for him? Or are there covenants?

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I was thinking yesterday about posting a similar question. When I first leave the house Tasha howls, barks and whines like she is dying. She's not one for nuisance barking and the neighbors haven't complained so far, but it kills me every time!

One time I had to come back in the house because I forgot something and I noticed she was drooling a little. This really worried me.

When I am home she is glued to me, to the point that she will whine because she was in a deep sleep and *had* to get up and follow me. If I go in a room and close he door she is laying outside when I come out. The other day when I was at my dads house I went inside for a minute and she sat and stared at the door, waiting for me. My dad (who she absolutely loves) was calling her and she just ignored him!

She's crated during the day while I'm at work, and for at least a few hours a day when I am home. Usually when I need to do stuff around the house.

I let her settle and ignore her before I leave, and I also ignore her when I first come home. Is there anything else I should be doing?

I have a dog who displayed severe separation anxiety for the good first part of his life. (This is a dog that used to vomit, defecate, urinate, pass out, destroy things and full out panic when left alone anywhere, even for a very short period, so bad he couldn't go out in the backyard by himself to go to the bathroom)

What I found helped the most (amongst some other behaviour modifications) was what I call "place" training.

Got him a nice bed (it's a dog couch actually), and proceeded to train him that it's not ok for him to follow us around the house, but it is ok for him to stay in his bed. He was rewarded in the bed (treats, bones etc.) and when he jumped to follow us when we moved, hubby and I would bring him back, give him a "get in your bed" and stay command, and start over, throw in a treat and off you go. With a little consistency, it actually didn't take long to train, and he now doesn't panic when we leave the room, and is quite content to stay in his bed. Bed equals positive things (cookies, bones). I use the command "get in your bed", no longer need a stay command, and all is well and good.

I will note however, that if he's allowed to start following us around again, he will regress a bit and start the anxiousness over again, but no where near the same extent. Consistency was the key for him and no leeway. He has to be invited to come out, and it is kept very structured for him. He's a dog that does not do well with change, inconsistency or lack of leadership.

After all of this, he often times chooses his bed over being invited in the basement with us to lay on the floor. Much more comfortable - LOL.

I found this approach really helped him gain some independence and control. I did not use a crate or tether either, so no weaning off any tools.

I hope this helps a bit.

 Quote: Jessica Pedicord

Another thing I was thinking about trying is encouraging him to spend time in a different room from me when he is loose in the house. He's reliably housebroken and I can trust that he won't destroy anything so I think I could put him in a room with some toys and go do something in a different room. If he tries to follow, I'll stop him till he gets the point. Lately I've been demanding more space from him.

Dom continues to be a handsome dog, BTW. I started sitting at my kitchen counter seat which is higher up than family room furniture so Maggie couldn't be such a clingy pest and lay on my feet or against my legs (or try to engage me by pouncing on me). She started moving gradually, after a couple of days of this, into the family room where there is an area rug that is much more comfortable than bare floors. She could also see me from the other room. Now I can move in and out of the room, without her following me with anything other than her eyes.