Might have to give up Gunner - Owner keeping him

[GunnersMom]

It's not going well at all in our new apartment.
He's still barking non-stop every time I leave the house and/or tearing up the carpet. We just got our first complaint about his barking this morning.
I don't know what to do. We're trying everything we can think of and nothing is working. I talked to another behaviorist this morning and he said that he might be able to help, but that it will take time and patience. Patience, I have. Time, we don't. This is a dog-friendly complex, but they don't tolerate nuisance barking. You get one formal complaint. When you get your second, you have 48 hours to remove the dog from the premises. A neighbor was nice enough to inform me of this when she knocked on my door this morning to let me know that she can hear Gunner's barking plain as day. She didn't complain to the property manager, yet, but it's only a matter of time. She didn't seem very understanding.
I spoke to our vet and she prescribed some anti-anxiety meds for him. (Clomipramine.) We started him on the medication last week and so far they're not helping. The vet said that they may or may not help, but thought it was worth a try.
At this point, I can't leave the house. If I so much as step outside to let Riley go potty, Gunner's barking.
So like I said, I don't know what to do. This is absolutely breaking my heart. I love this guy so much and have been through so much with him. The thought of having to give him up is horrible, but it doesn't look like we'll be given the time to work it out.
If anyone wants to contact me, my new email is den1@roadrunner.com
I don't really want to consider a rescue at this point. I'd rather look for a good home with someone who can tend to his needs.

[Zisso]

So sorry to hear this! I have a girl who had severe seperation anxiety and it took awhile to get her over it. While I did not try this with her at that time, I have been giving her Maelatonin for other reasons and it seems to be helping. Maybe it could halp Gunnar?

[frenchie27]

Why don't you leave him at a doggy day care? I would try EVERYTHING before I had to give my baby up. Worse case scenario I would quit my job even.

[Kayla's Dad]

Do you leave something on when you leave the apartment: Some music or a loud clicking clock?

Have you considered a bark collar: They have both electric and spray collars?

Really hope you can find a quick successful solution for this.

[Judykaye]

Can you try the citronella bark collar? It sprays the orange scented spray in his face when he barks?

My niece used it with her large rhodesian ridgeback mix and it worked for him...also know people that use it with their schnauzers.

[georgiapeach717]

quitting a job isnt feasable for most people, especially in today's economy.

My heart is with you. I would say lots and lots of exercise, maybe see if there are more than one anxiety meds, and possible boarding during the day. Anything you can find. Maybe even a dog sitter you can trust to come see and wlak him a few times a day? a tired dog may sleep more if he is getting walked 2-3 times a day?

Good luck!!! Please keep up posted!

[GunnersMom]

The only thing saving us right now is that I do most of my work from home. But it's just not possible for someone to be here with him 24/7/365. He has to be left alone from time to time. And right now, we can't do that. I can't even take our other dog out to 'do his thing' without the non-stop barking and destruction.

We've tried everything that we can possibly think of. I did consider daycare for him because my aunt did that with her GSD and it did wonders for him. Problems are 1) He's intact. The only daycare center around here specifies that they be altered. 2) After the move and all the expenses because of it, we just can't afford it right now. And the behaviorist said it could go either way. He said there's a chance that it could help and there's a chance that it could make matters worse and he'll hate being left alone even more than he does now. He said he wouldn't recommend it right now.
And yeah, I thought about having him neutered. Thought that maybe it would calm him down a bit, but our vet doesn't think it would change his behavior as far as the barking/destruction when he's left alone. She thinks it's too much of a habit for him and neutering isn't going to change that. That's why she wasn't real sure the medication would help, either.

I do leave a TV on for him, but he pays no attention to that. It doesn't give him any sense of security.

I did give in and try the spray collar. Had mom pick one up yesterday. I didn't want to, but out of desperation we tried it. It stopped the barking, but completely frustrated him and stressed him out. He ripped up the carpet and tore a nail clawing at the baby gate.

I've exercised him until his tongue is practically dragging the ground. Doesn't help. The minute I walk out the door, he's barking and clawing at the carpet or the walls.

The behaviorist seems to think that IF we can fix the problem, the only way we're going to do it is by taking time, desensitizing him to being alone, etc. We've BEEN doing that for weeks. We started before we moved (posted about it here.) It's just not working and now that we've moved, we don't have the luxury of letting him bark while we work it out, like we did at our house.

That's why I'm trying to find someone for him now, before I'm in the situation of having 48 hours to do it. The way it's going now, it's only a matter of time before that happens.

I appreciate the support and kind words. This is killing me. I wish we'd never moved, but it's not like we had a choice there, either. We had to.

[georgiapeach717]

this might sound odd, but does anyone think that maybe altering him *would* solve an issue like this? completely hypothetically as I have no idea...

Deni, I know you are trying. Lets keep brainstorming for/with you. Worst case, you can contact local GSD rescues and at least know if you *do* have to give him up, that someone will get him that passes inspection!

[GunnersMom]

Originally Posted by georgiapeach717

this might sound odd, but does anyone think that maybe altering him *would* solve an issue like this? completely hypothetically as I have no idea...

Deni, I know you are trying. Lets keep brainstorming for/with you. Worst case, you can contact local GSD rescues and at least know if you *do* have to give him up, that someone will get him that passes inspection!

I don't know, either -- thought maybe it would help. When I mentioned to the behaviorist that the vet didn't think neutering would help much, he seemed to agree. He said it might calm him down a bit, in general, but that what he's doing is a learned behavior/habit. The only way to extinguish that is by replacing it with another behavior, etc.
And the 'in general' isn't a problem. 99% of the time, he's a great, well-behaved dog. It's not like he's hyper or anxious, or anything. He's always been vocal, but we've gotten most of it under control. It's just when I leave...

[crs996]

Since you don't have much time on your hands, a bark collar may be the only short term solution for that problem. I had one for a problem barker that I got from Cabelas, it activates on the 3rd bark and gives progressively higher corrections if barking continues. It worked very well and fast.

Is he crate trained? I would highly recommend a crate for him. He's in a new situation and crates can have a calming effect on otherwise hyper or over-stimulated dogs.

I would also recommend getting him fixed, it takes hormones out of the equation.

Practice calmly leaving, if only for 10 seconds and then calmly coming back into the house, ignoring any wild behavior.

I wish you the best!!