barking dog

Question
I recently found an abandoned dog and decided to give her a home. She is a great dog but has severe separation anxiety. The vet estimates her to be a yellow lab about 2 years old. She goes easily into the crate at night to sleep but if I put her in the crate while I am gone she barks continuously. I leave a Konk in with her but as soon as she retrieves the treats from it she starts to bark. At this point I feel somewhat trapped as I don't want her barking to disturb neighbors. I have started to leave her in for short periods of time, about 10 minutes, just to show her that I will return. Is this the right thing to do?

Answer
Dee-

Yes, leaving her in for short periods and ONLY taking her out when she is being silent and good is the right thing to do. Try covering  the crate as well. It will take a while, unfortunatly seperation anxiety is just about the hardest thing to break, but it IS possible with patience and the right training. She goes in the crate, you praise, give a cookie, and walk away. 10 minutes later when she is quiet you say GOOD GIRL!!! and take her back out. Slowly increase the time. If she barks, completely ignore her. Dont tell her to be quiet, dont go in there, just ignore her. She will eventually learn the only way you will give her attention is if she is quiet.

In extreme situations, there are citronella collars. I have, once, recomended these for a client in an apartment who had a dog that just was taking the longest time to learn, and who could not let the dog bark for hours on end. However, I am NOT fond of this method as I think it just increases the fear/anxiety that drives seperation anxiety by punishing them, so I would only recomend it in a situiaton where it was urgent.

Keep at it!! And thanks for rescuing!!