I would definitely continue to work on letting her see that separation from you or your husband is not a bad thing. Separation anxiety is something that is really hard to treat the older a dog gets. I know its really hard and we let our feelings get in the way but in reality they are not going to die or be harmed by being alone for a few hours at a time ...
I started with Holly after about a week of getting her .... We live in an apartment and would go down to get the mail which took about 15 mins (its a large apartment block) ... I made no fuss leaving ... didn't do any of the high pitched or cutsie "I'll be back" voices that many of us do ... simply just left .. I heard her whimpering at the door but just had to keep walking, any attention given after leaving just feeds the anxiety .... when I came back I came in made no contact with her ... no excitement and loud or high pitch voices saying "did you miss me" or good girl etc .... once she had calmed down I sat on the couch and let her come get some attention and praise. Basically coming home like nothing is wrong to give her the message that its fine for me to leave, its no big deal kind of thing ....
2 months down the road we can leave at any time for hours at a time to do shopping .. we saw a movie on the weekend and when we get home most times she's been asleep and barley aware that we've been gone .... I always make sure to make no fuss at all when we get home... my belief is that making a party when you get home makes it a big deal and adds to the problem of us leaving ....
As for kenneling her .. that's a hard one ... we would have her in the bathroom the first few times we left as that's where her potty pads are .... with in a few weeks we let her have access to the living room, kitchen and bathroom (bedroom doors are closed) we are confident in her potty training so we can do this ... if not we would fence off the kitchen that has access to the bathroom and pee pads .... getting appropriate fencing is key as well ... it can be more expensive but stops them getting out and peeing in the house or chewing things :-)
not sure if you have kids or not but in some ways its the same concept .. if we let our kids cling to us constantly things like going to school become a disaster down the road ... independence is a good and healthy thing for humans and for dogs .. they are missing out on part of there life if they don't gain their independence (that's what I think anyway)
And yes Yorkies are one of the most stubborn of breeds out there and they are the master manipulators ... they look so sweet and frail but in reality they are some of the toughest little tikes out there :-)
Good luck ... you are going to do fine .. its very very apparent you love your fur baby to pieces and that alone is an awesome thing :-) |