[GunnersMom]

Thought I'd come back to this and post another update.

I'm thrilled to say that things are going well and Gunner is doing much, much better! We haven't "cured" his separation anxiety - not by a longshot - but it's improved drastically, to the point where it's completely manageable.

He still has some not-so-good days, where he fusses and whines a lot when we're getting ready to leave, but he doesn't start the frantic barking anymore and you can't hear his whining outside of our unit, so no one is going to complain about it.
On the weekends now, when we both leave to do the shopping or whatever and he and Riley are left at home, he's fine. I increased his exercise even more and I think that takes just enough of the edge off to keep him fairly calm. I started making his mind work while we're burning off the energy, too. I take Riley for a walk first, then take Gunner out and let him "track" Riley. That seems to do more for him than just a fast walk, alone, and he seems to enjoy having a job to do.

He's still not wild about it when I take Riley for a walk and he's left home all by himself, but even that situation has improved drastically. He'll fuss when we leave and he'll bark a couple times when he hears the back door close, but that's it. Just a couple barks and then he's quiet. No more tearing up the carpet, no more clawing at the blinds, the door... nothing. I reached a point when we were practicing it so many times everyday that I wanted to take the back door out and just put in a revolving one! But it was SO worth it.
Today he was a little more fussy than he has been, when I was taking Riley out. Well, a couple of the maintenence guys were fixing our garage door - it's an attached garage and you can hear him out there if he starts barking. When I came back, I asked them if they'd heard Gunner barking while I was gone. They didn't hear a thing! And that was after he'd been a little fussier than normal, so... yay!

Haven't seen hide nor hair of the woman who complained about him. I'm thinking she's either been out of town for quite a while, or she moved out. (I'm kinda hoping for the latter. Don't like her.)

I really don't know what's "done it" for him. I think it's just a combination of everything. I know his mind is getting more of a workout since we've been here, just from seeing different people all the time and seeing new dogs. There's always new things, new smells, etc., every time we go out. I think that has helped. And I think all the repetition (and not letting him get so worked up before I leave) has finally gotten it through his head that I can leave, it's okay, and I always come back. I also think it's just a matter of him having the time to completely settle in here now and feel comfortable.
It's been a confidence booster for me, too. I thought that dealing with SA was a little beyond my training capabilities. Really didn't think I could pull it off, but now I know that whatever he throws at me, I can handle it. I think that's been part of his improvement, too. I'm calm when I leave now because I fully expect him to be good. Not like before, where I'd ACT calm, but was thinking "Oh god... what is he going to do while I'm gone?" I know he feels that and it's probably built his confidence, too.

I just couldn't be more proud of him. He's come so far in a relatively short amount of time. It hasn't been easy, but we're getting there!