Boxer with severe seperation anxiety

Question
My husband used to be a truck driver and was only home one to two days a week. Our male boxer has been displaying some odd behavior. If first started out that if my husband was outside Frank (the boxer) would cry and want out with him. Frank then has started to follow my husband into every room of the house and lays very close to him, if not on top of him.Frank has as well started urinating in the other parts of the house. He has always gone outside fairly easily, however he would only want to be in the backyard for no more than a few minutes at a time. Now he has started to hunker down part of the time and we have to pick him up to get him to go out into the back yard. If he knows we are headed out to the front yard he is excited about that. Even being out there alone. He is not an only dog. Not sure how to fix this behavior. If it helps Frank is 7 years old.

Answer
Hi Becky,

Whenever a dog that is already housebroken starts eliminating inside I recommend getting a veterinary exam to rule out medical causes for the change in behavior. I recommend you take Frank to your veterinarian for a full exam.

I cannot tell from your description if Frank is not feeling well or there is some other behavior issue going on. I would need a lot more information.

Separation anxiety is usually characterized by barking and whining within the first 30 minutes or so of being alone. It is also characterized by destructive behavior due to anxiety.

The fact that Frank wants to be with your husband may not be separation anxiety but may be something else.

I'm not clear on the significance of the back yard and the front yard. It sounds as if Frank prefers the front yard over the back yard for some reason and doesn't mind being alone in the front yard. This bit of information suggests to me that the issue may not be separation anxiety but some kind of learned association with the back yard.

I'm not sure what you mean by "hunker down." Do you mean that Frank would start to squat as if to eliminate indoors?

Cindy