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Hi Lisa, It sounds like a plan in the right direction. If he has been diagnosed as having separation anxiety he may benefit from having another dog in the new area with him. Just for company. You might want to try putting Casper, and another doggy sibling in the area even while you are home, and if he starts barking let him know that's a no, no.( Just for small amounts of time.) If you put a doggy sibling in with him...he might not bark, and might not jump, or try to escape. Then progressively taking the doggie sibling out...until Casper can stay in the area by himself. Usually separation anxiety can be faded out ...with trust, and time. Just some thoughts. That may, or may not work ...I thought I would pass by you. Have a great Day! Merri, Emmett(Pyr), Melvin (GS, GR) >Dear Cindy and all other concerned and helpful individuals, Thanks for all of your help with the electric fence ideas, but my husband is very resistant because we have 8 year old twins and they have many friends who may touch the fence unknowingly. (quite a liability for us) We have decided to try one last time with a five foot fence on cement under my deck. (we need a variance for an 8 foot in our town). Only a five foot fence will fit under the deck. If that doesn't work we may try the electric fence in that smaller area. I hate to confine him to less than the whole yard (although the space is larger than a regular dog run). We are hopeful that the cement will short circuit the digging and that five feet will be tall enough. ( I am still pushing for six feet, but the installer doesn't think he can do it so I am getting another bid or two). We will only put him in there when we are gone from the house. We are also discussing Marie and Beau's idea of some fence leaning in or perhaps some fencing on top to make it a true kennel. Although I hate kennels because that is what caused this problem in the first place. Casper was in a kennel for the first four months of his life barking his fool head off with minimal human contact and his litter mates were his company. When we got him his mother was in a separate run and he had been one of a litter of 12 so we don't think he was able to "bond" appropriately.(at least that is what the vet and the dog behaviorist said) I think that is why he is so attached to us. The vet thinks we should give him away to someone who can stay home with him and work with him at least three separate hours a day on separation anxiety issues. (I spend about an hour a day training, brushing and walking with him...otherwise he is just part of the family when we are home.) The vet is not sure that he will ever be cured or happy anywhere. She has never seen a dog with such bad anxiety that started at such a young age for no apparent reason ( such as abuse) get cured. She suspects that he will bark all day in the fenced area and try to break the fence. We are not ready to agree with her. Please let me know if you think we are barking up the wrong tree (heh! heh!) with our fencing ideas and our obedience training efforts.(heh! heh!). Lisa and Casper To unsubscribe, send a message to esquire@pyrnet.org with unsubscribe pyrnet-l as the BODY of the message. The SUBJECT is ignored. >** --------- End Original Message ----------- ** > Mer |