Hi, I am new here! I came because I have a 10 month old black lab, Sampson. I've had him since 7 weeks. He's a great dog, and very smart!! I just am having problems with him that I have been unable to control. The main thing is his chewing. I've replaced 4 remotes and have 2 now that are chewed, my dining room chairs, really anything he can get hold of. Shoes, make up, toilet paper, just everything!! He will not drop it when told we basically have to chase him through the house and corner him to get it. He has access to all of his toys, and when told to go get one he goes to his basket and retrieves one so it's not like he don't know where they are! I buy bones from the pet store and he literally eats them in no time. I try to keep everything out of his reach but I have to live too. He is just ruining everything, my kids shoes, bookbags, books for school, I just can't take it anymore!! He has recently become a counter surfer so are food is now at risk as well. We walk him and he runs while playing, some days if it's raining he doesn't get as much exercise but indoors he plays tug, and chase his ball, and runs around the house with the kids. Either way it makes no difference in his chewing! A little background before I go on... Up until a few months ago I believe he had separation anxiety (it is still there, but not as extreme). If I left whether it was 5 min or a few hours he would cry and cry. My brother lived with me and would be home, so he was never alone it was just me well and my daughter he reacted to. If I left and my daughter was home he would not cry, he was fine and the other way around. But if my grandma was there with him or anyone and my daughter and I left he just went crazy. Now he will bark for a few minutes and then calms down when someone lets him know they're in the house. But still he knows when I get my coat, purse, and/or keys that I'm leaving and he follows me around right against me. I have to tell him I'll be right back and he seems to respond to that. When my daughter leaves, he goes to the door and watches her, an occasional bark, he runs up in her room to look for her out the window, then back to the door. I try to distract him, he'll come lay by me then gets back up and goes to the door, will lay back down by me for a few and back and fourth for awhile. He knows my car when it pulls up, so when I get out I hear him barking. Like I said previously, I've had him since he was 7 wks so he knows if I leave I am coming back, he has never been abandoned, ir left for long periods of time. In fact now the way our schedules are, the longest he is home alone is 4 hours 1-2 days a week, if that. The point is I don't know if the chewing is part of the anxiety?? Plus it makes it difficult to leave. He is not fixed, so that was my next question, will that help? The other issue I have with him, is when he sees someone whether I have guests or we are out walking, he gets so excited, he wants everyone to pet him and he can be overbearing, sometimes he pees! I thought only little dogs peed when excited. Even when I come home or my family, he gets so excited and if you give him attention when he's in that state he will pee. I have to ignore him for a few minutes until he calms before I greet him. I could leave for 5 min and run to the store 2 blocks away and when I return he reacts like I was gone for days. He recently started jumping up at people too. He weighs 80 lbs, so he can do some unintentional damage to someone. Other people don't know to wait til he calms before petting him and responding to him and I need him to listen to wait or sit. He sits and waits when he is not in this excited state but when he is, he hears nothing. I would appreciate any suggestions/help. I love him, and I don't want him having this anxiety, if that's what it is, and I also would like to keep my stuff in one piece. I also need to figure out how to control the excitement. Oh I should mention, he thinks he is one of us. He sleeps with either me or my daughter, he sits on the couch, and believe it or not yesterday I looked over at my daughter in the dining room and Sampson was actually sitting in a chair at the table. Could this be part of the problem? He thinks everything is his, and we are his instead of him being ours if that makes sense? Do I give him too much freedom I guess is what I want to say?