Sep. Anxiety Dog eating paint

Hi there,

does he only do that when you are away? Did he do it when you are out for a long time?
Dogs often fall back into having issues with separation if your behavior changes.
For example you might keep all departures and greetings really low key and your dog learns to be okay with being alone. Then when you think he is over it you might start greeting him straight after coming through the door again, so he will fall back into his old routine.
It's important to always ignore him when you first come back home. The more consistently you do it the more secure he will feel.
If the door is the only place where he scratches it might be a good short term solution to block it off so he doesn't eat the paint.

Give him a kong toy and put some treats in it to keep him busy while you are away. I sometimes put a few little treats in a lunchbox, fill it with water and freeze it. Especially my puppy loves it and she spends ages licking it before it melts. You can also soak a small handfull of dog biscuits in water for a few hours. Then freeze this with some extra water. My dogs absolutely love this "doggy ice cream" and it doesn't make them fat as it's mainly water.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.
John

Hi there,
dogs are social animals, that don't like being left alone. They can learn how to do deal with it, but the best thing is to take them with you wherever you go.
If your works allows dogs I woudl strongly recommend taking you dog with you. It's great for socializing them and your dog will be a lot calmer throughout the day. If that is not an option do you have a neighbor or friend who can check on your dog? Even if someone just pops in for 5-10 minutes and throws a ball for your dog.
If all of the above is not an option try the frozen treats, kong toys and bones.
We have an automatic feeder for when we leave the puppy at home alone. It has a timer and in the middle of the day a bone will drop out. That breaks up her day nicely and the bone keeps her occupied for an hour or more.

What always helps best is if you dog accepts that you are the leader of the pack. That way they don't feel like they need to look after you and can just relax. I posted some more information on becoming the pack leader in my other replies, so perhas do a search for that.

Thanks
John

I hope that helps
John