So, my friends, you know that Zeke has “a bit” of separation anxiety if you have been following our tale. That is a tongue in cheek “bit”. Severe separation anxiety is a devastating problem. I never truly appreciated the effects of it until I had experienced it myself.

You can see some of our trials in my previous post titled The Artist. https://sanctuaryacres.wordpress.com/2018/12/03/the-artist/  It shows Zeke’s second bowl chewed to shreds, among other damage. Little did we know that was to be the tip of the iceberg.

This is Zeke’s crate when we came home one day last month and found him loose in the house. He had previously broken off all four of his fangs by chewing from stress. After this, one of his molars is cracked off too.

This was the inside of the crate from that day. It contained the dining room table cloth and several shopping bags, plastic and cloth. Everything shredded to ribbons. That was a small portion. I could not bear to photograph the rest of the carnage. I was hoping I could forget.

Everything that had been on top of the dining room table was scattered across the dining room. Christmas presents. Tools and nails from installing a new window near the table. Mail. Christmas cards, books, etc. I think you get the idea.

Since then Zeke has chewed the side latches off another plastic crate. He has bent the bars on a standard wire crate. It is fastened with zip ties and carabiners in addition to its latch. It continues to hold him. For now. We limit our time away to places that he can not go with us.

This post sets the stage. It lets you know what we are dealing with. Zeke is a loving and fairly obedient dog. He is just apparently terrified of being alone. I want to share Zeke’s tale in the hopes that it will benefit someone else and other dogs. In future posts I will share things we have tried, other behaviors, and where we go from here.

Stay tuned…