Sorry, this is kind of long, but I wanted to make sure I include enough info:
My beagle, Baylor, is 3 years old and suffers from Separation Anxiety. When I first got him (at 9 weeks old), I tried to crate train him, but that didn#%92t work out well at all. Even though I followed all of the crate training steps—feeding him there, making it a happy fun place, not closing the door, not leaving him there alone for long periods of time--he hated the crate, and if I left him alone in it he would cry and howl (which was not great since I live in an apartment and he is loud, even for a beagle), and I#%92d come home to find both he and his crate soaking wet with drool. I#%92d leave him with a stuffed kong (which he loves, normally), but he wouldn#%92t touch it in the crate. He#%92d wait until I got home and then would eat it. So, after about 3 months of this, I left him out of the crate (again with a stuffed kong) when I left. He did much better in terms of drooling/fear, though he#%92d still howl, and I stopped using the crate altogether. Cut to now (a few years later) and he#%92s gotten much better with the separation anxiety (a combination of desensitizing him, routine, and medication—he#%92s currently on Clomicalm), except for one major thing: he freaks out if left alone at night (he#%92s fine in the daytime).
Normally, Baylor is never left alone for longer than 3 hours (I think the longest he has ever been left alone is 5 hours). I#%92m a student, so on the 2 days I#%92m gone for more than 3 hours, he goes to doggie daycare. On the other days (when I#%92m gone for about 3 hours during the day), I leave him alone with some treats (stuffed kong, etc.) and he does fine. He does get really excited when I come home, but I ignore him until he calms down (which doesn#%92t take too long anymore, usually only a minute or so). He#%92s usually just sleeping or laying by the door when I get home, no major panic barking or anything. The difference is if I go out at night. If I leave at night (again, usually for no longer than 3 or 4 hours), I follow the same routine I do during the day: make sure to take him for a long (2 mile) walk to tire him out, give him his treats, leave with no big fuss. The difference is, I come home and can hear him panic barking. He does eat the treats, but he still freaks out (after he#%92s finished, I#%92m guessing). I asked my neighbor and she confirms that he barks continuously some nights (the other night I went out and he barked from about 9:30pm until 1 am according to my neighbor). So, now (finally!) my question: why might he be panicking at night but not during the day? I can#%92t figure out what the difference is, so does anyone have any suggestions about what#%92s causing this night-anxiety? And/or how to fix it?
Thanks!