I have two wonderful 8 yr.old mini doxies. One I have had since she was 10 weeks old(Oakley) that we purchased from the breeder and the other was a rescue from a puppy mill(Tasha) that we have had for 2 years. Both dogs are great, the rescue dog is so happy all the time that she never gets worried or upset, she just goes with the flow. My other girl is very attached to me, she always has been but has never acted out. My husband and I work during the day and the girlz have run of the main floor of our house and it has never been a problem. Last week the house alarm went off while the girlz were home alone. Oakley found the whole thing very traumatic and since this happened (a week ago) as soon as we leave in the morning she has started ripping up my carpet on my stairs, she has never behaved like this ever. She is not crate trained and is actually horrified of crates so I think she may be more traumatized by being crated. Any info would be greatly appreciated... my house can't take anymore damage. Thank you in advance :)

You might want to trip the alarm while you're there. See how she reacts and comfort her. That might help her get over the incident. Also exercise will help release anxiety. If you can walk her before you leave in the morning. Good luck!

What I do for separation anxiety is to leave the dog alone for only a short amount of time.

Leave the house for only a minute or two and then come back inside...
Sit down or do what you normally do.

Next time leave for a bit longer... say around 3-4 minutes.
Come back inside and sit down.

The next time leave it longer again...

This teaches them that when you leave you will be coming back. By making the amount only a few minutes and increasing it only slightly each time means they won't really notice the time increasing and will teach them that nothing bad happens while you are gone and that you will be coming back.