We rescued a 2 yr old Lab Dane mix in early December who was found locked in an apartment for an unknown amount of time. He's such a good dog and we love him to bits but we can not leave him alone..we have been working with him. Putting him in his crate (that he loves and willing lays in when we are home) he chews the mat to pieces, uses his nose and pushes out the tray and moves the crate across the room, we had to zip tie the cornors because he got out. he ends up with scratches on his face... he's actually having what we call a panic attack, when we get home, so that's a no. So far We have only left him alone no more than 15-20 min with a kong. We close the upstairs door so he only has access to the rec room, we pick up what we think he can get and we get home and curtains are down on the sliding glass door and he manages to find and get at things and destroys them. We walk him and exercise him before leaving. Summers coming and taking him every place is not going to be an option because leaving him in the car is NOT an option (He's been fine left on the car alone) hasn't destroyed that. Lol. HELP we love this big guy and have to find a solution.
How long have you had him? It looks like about 3 months? I think I would try gradually increasing crate time, initially while you were home with him. Hopefully he begins to understand that you will come back for him. Would he be more comfortable if he had access to the outside and could come and go from the house to the yard? We have a dog door to the back yard, but that doesn't work for everyone. I can't tell where you live from your signature. Cooper is pretty clingy when we are around but just fine when we are not, so We have not had to deal with this ourselves, so my advise may be of little value.
