I have a 15 week old male German Shorthaired Pointer puppy who I believe is having an issue with separation anxiety. I purchased him at 10 weeks from a breeder I have known for many years. He is appropriately independent and soft so far when it comes to training. The problem started about a week after we got him home. I thought he had started peeing in the crate, but quickly realized that there was actually standing drool in the bottom of the crate. We had never left him more than two hours. He enjoys the crate and goes in and out on his own. He is fed the best food I can afford which he enjoys in the crate and is given bones and other treats in the crate. The only other time he receives treats is when training which is only 1-2 brief sessions per day. We have always made sure he's well worn out before going in the crate. He begins frothing at the mouth in the crate as soon as he realizes we're leaving and seems dehydrated from losing at least a half cup of saliva by the time we return. This can happen in only fifteen minutes. As soon as I realized the issue 3 weeks ago, I began tethering him next to his bed at night instead of putting him in the crate (he was in another room so I didn't realize he was screaming ALL night which caused him to sleep almost all day). He does fine with the tether and despite having a range of about 6ftx4ft never relieves himself inside at night. My husband left him home and NOT crated for about an hour and a half yesterday and he did fine. Though I almost had a fit when I heard about it, but that's beside the point. I have read the articles and many Q&A's that relate to crate training and separation anxiety but was wondering if anyone had experience with using an ex pen instead of a crate when not home. Any thoughts or suggestions would be most welcome. Thanks in advance!

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Please see http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=34245&page=1#391922