Hi
I've just had 17 days in hospital with a burst appendix....YUK!  Due to my various lovely friends who moved into my house, we managed to keep my 12 month GSP out of kennels.  However, he has had a serious disruption to his routine and his behaviour has regressed terribly.

Before, I could leave him in the house for 4 hours without a whimper or any destruction.  Now, he follows me everywhere in the house.  He is counter-surfing like there is no tomorrow;  he is destroying all ornaments, plants, cushions, digging and has learnt to open all the doors in the house, be they lever, knob or latch. He is still lacking in the amount of free-running that he gets as I am reliant on other people at the moment as I'm not driving for the next few weeks.  Various people lead walk him but it is not the same. There is only one other person who free runs him, but she has 4 dogs of her own and is going away in four days time.  :-(

We do clicker training, but there is a limit to the amount of time you can do that in any one day!  We have kongs and we have bones, but he is obviously still frustrated and suffering separation anxiety.  How long should I pander to him and make him feel secure for or should I start leaving him for 5 mins straight away and build up?

Also, does anyone know of any PROFESSIONAL dog trainers in the Rugby area who are used to manic gundogs that I could employ to give him the exercise he needs?

Thanks.

Sorry to hear about your appendix. Hope you feel a bit better now. Know how you feel with the Shadow, but don't let him trail you from room to room. With my little shadow I started the day he came home by not allowing him to accompany me to the toilet and only opening the door when he was quiet - if he was hysterical I used to chuck a toilet roll at the bottom of the door  and the thump startled him long enough for me to get out :D Have you thought of hiding the toys or kongs in a room so he can find them? Putting his dinner in a ball thing he has to roll about? If you have and tried em, sorry.. Once he's occupied Id just remove rewards for unwanted behaviour by keeping the surfaces clear, maybe attach a houseline to his collar and keep the doors locked so he can't open em and get back into the routine he's used to as soon as possible.