[epmgirl101]

I have a 2 year old female mutt that I have adopted from my sister around 4 months ago. She's a very laid back dog and doesn't get too excited about too much. I noticed instantly that she had separation anxiety when I left the house for the first time after getting her because she would whine at the door (24 hours later). My sister said she would fine in the living room with toys and won't bother anything, but when I returned home, she had ripped all the blinds at the bottom.

On a side note, she doesn't care anything about toys unless I throw them and she doesn't care much about treats.

I started putting her in a kennel that prevents her from pooping and peeing in it as well as putting a sheet on top to keep her from noticing me leaving. I want to try using a Kong toy with the kennel, but I'm worried she won't care about that enough to be distracted. She howls and screams when she knows I'm gone and my neighbors have even asked if we're torturing her or something (we live in an apartment complex). She hates her kennel and thinks I'm punishing her every time I tell her to go to bed. I've never associated negativity with the kennel (my sister may have).

I have tried almost everything I could do to stop the whining and stop her from being so clingy. I've tried leaving our box fan on high as well as play classical music on my laptop. I've tried giving her treats in the cage to promote it as positive. I've tried feeding her in her cage. I've tried keeping her in there when I am home so she knows it's a positive place to be and that I'm not abandoning her. I don't talk to her when I put her in or let her out of the kennel.

When she's out of the kennel, she's underneath me ALL THE TIME. I almost dropped boiling hot water on her from the stove because she was literally standing right underneath me and I had no idea. I'm scared she's going to get hurt but she has to go everywhere I go and I live in a 1,022 square foot apartment.

On a last note, she doesn't care much for my fiancé and I know he hasn't done anything to make her not like him. She must have had a bad experience with a male previously.

What should I do? I don't want to give up on her and I refuse to do so, but I'm running out of options and I'm getting tired of dealing with a clingy, whiny dog and would just like for her to feel secure and trustworthy that I'm not going to abandon her. Please help!

[xx-man]

Wow... sounds like MY old dog!! Had a Pomeranian the would not leave my wife's side... cried when she wasn't around or needed to be petted.. constantly... Sounds like your dog is very insecure... mine was... not from abuse but from neglect... long story... anyway... we took a stuffed animal toy and sewed a wind up alarm clock inside and put that next to our lap while we petted her... then after a short time she got used to it, after 2 weeks or so, we placed the toy in her pen( we had a pen, a doggy cage really, because she associated going the vets with the car carrier.( another traumatic event for the dog) then after about another two weeks we stopped closing the pen door when we put her in there and she stayed there. Then after another 4-6 months we would come home to find her laying behind the front door waiting for us, really my wife because if I stopped petting her she would go and wait behind the door for her... and she would always bring the stuffed toy with her... every dog is different , just keep trying stuff till it works... I don't know if anything I wrote will help you but at least you know your not the only one with weird dog problems... I have had many, many dogs in my life, quite a few were rescues and it seems that if you dog has not been with you since a very young age... they seem to have baggage... but it can be overcome with time and patience... good luck and remember... you only fail IF you stop trying!