Hi all,
In July of this year we had a stray husky come to us. We put up ads on Craigslist, Facebook, and took him to vets to see if he was chipped. I was even planning for him to go live with my parents but when the day came, he would not go with them. We have fallen in love with him and named him Maximus Prime. I knew going in that I was taking on a huge responsibility and that I would need lots of education and help, hence why I joined this forum.

Our biggest issue right now is separation anxiety. I know this is far from a new topic but not knowing his past, I'm not sure what to do. I am a stay at home mom and we only have one car so with limited finances and all we don't usually go anywhere. When we leave without him, like to the store or church, I can hear him crying while we get in the car. He is crate trained, but the last time we left him, we came home and he had chewed/broken part of the bottom pan to his crate. He is estimated to be about two years old and is very sweet. I don't want him to be sad when we leave, though. We give him treats, a chew toy, or a bone whenever we leave. I think it's mostly because we are always together. Any advice?

Hi Melody!

Welcome to the forum! I found this place when we adopted our 4mth rescue husky to be a HUGE help! Our rescue is now 10mths old, and this forum has provided us with advice, support, and lots of laughs!

When we brought Gus home, we also found out that he had separation anxiety. Pretty bad too. He would pee, howl, cry, be destructive (but not over the top), and just in general be a big stressball!

There are a couple of threads that might be helpful for you.
https://www.itsahuskything.com/t10310-separation-anxiety-help
https://www.itsahuskything.com/t10377-seperation-anxiety-and-crating-help

I'm sure there are plenty more on this forum, but those are the two that i was following.

I highly suggest desensitizing. We did this for at least 2mths every night after work. During the day, we brought him to daycare. Each night, i would go in and out of our condo, and each time, i would increase the amount of time i was gone. But at the start of every night, i started slow with just 1-2mins outside! Then one day, we found out he had giardia, and he could no longer go to daycare. BIG TROUBLE! My husband was able to come home during lunch to take him out and spend some time with him. But that was still at least 3-4hrs that he would have to be at home by himself. Then a break. Then ANOTHER 3-4hrs. That 1.5mths that he had giardia was the toughest time we have ever had with him.

Our setup for him now is two baby gates mounted one above the other becuase he can easily jump over just 1 extra tall baby gate. His room has nothing but a towel, bowl of water, and some toys (which he never plays with). We no longer have to desensitize him. If we do notice that he is getting anxious about our departure, we simply sit down for a few minutes before leaving. We never leave at the same time. Even leaving 2mins apart will help keep him calm. He will still howl if he is alone for 5+ hours. But will settle after a little while. We have a dog walker come on weekdays where he gets to go to the beach for 1.5hrs. He still does an anxiety pee sometimes. But this is becoming less and less frequent.

I know how frustrating and defeating it can be when you come home everyday to a mess and a stressed out dog. But it is worth all the effort!

Hey there! I live not that far away from you up around Lake of the Ozark. Mine is a rescue as well and we too went through the separation anxiety business shortly after I got her. Going in and out of the house a lot helped her. When I was getting ready to leave I would always ignore her for a while leading up to the moment and I would make several trips back and forth out of the house. The only time we have any signs of separation anxiety now is just when we do things out of routine and even then it's a little pouting that goes away quickly.

Ok, I'll try desensitizing him. The thing is, I have three small kids so any time we leave it's a big production lol, complete with me having to ignore him to focus on getting the kids ready and trips to the car to load stuff up. I guess it would give him time to deal with the fact that we're leaving but it also gives him time to get worked up. Shortly after I posted this, I took the kids out to get the mail without him, trying to leave him for 5 minutes tops. He tore up the floor of his crate even more! Not sure whether to take the pan out for fear he'll injure himself or if he'd injure himself more getting caught in the bottom bars of the crate! Hoping this passes soon!

@anubisXIII This is your first warning. Speak that way to a member of my staff again and you will be banned.

Sorry for the delay. @anubisxiii has been banned for breaking the rules of the forum. My apologies for the slander and misconduct. I wish him well and hope he gets help for his anger issues.