Wow! I could never "get rid of" my family members as they are the loves of my life, my companions and I am entrusted to care for them for the rest of their innocent lives.
Anyway, enough said. I have a couple of ideas, but it is difficult because most things are not quick fixes. It sounds like you have only the one dog. In that case I can surmise what may be an issue - that your dog needs a companion during the times she is alone. I began with one puppy who was 8 weeks old, but quickly acquired another one, so they have lived together all their lives and have never shown signs of separation anxiety. They have eachother for companionship when I am away. This also prevented them from chewing. How is your girl when she is with other dogs? Does she enjoy their company or is she aggressive?
I know it may not make sense to your husband to add another dog, when, to him, the one you have seems to be enough already. But, it may be part of the solution.
Does she have a lot of toys she can play with when you are home? Things to keep her busy and satisfy her curiosity under your supervision and/or participation?
Do you have a yard? I know it can be difficult without a yard. Is there someone who will walk her for you twice per day while you are away? This way she will come to expect the walk, which will help satisfy her active mind and give her exercise as well. Perhaps that will be enough and give small employment to a responsible teenager or dog lover near you.
And, finally, when I first brought my newest dog home she was supposedly "not housebroken". After clearing up a lot of different infections, I finally widdled down to one last challenge: she still wet on the floor if I didn't let her out constantly. I figured there must be something else wrong. I do not know if the anxiety and chewing can be related to illness, or not, but she does not chew everything up as she did when she was sick. Anyway, the veterinarian looked at her urine under a microscope and found rod-shaped bacteria and crystal formations in her urine. Does your dog ever seem to "strain" when she goes potty? Sometimes this is not even apparent. Now that this bladder infection is cleared up she can hold it for normal lengths of time and hasn't had a single accident. So, it was not that she did not understand the expectation of going potty outside, she simply could not hold it.
But, I am probably digressing too much and off of your main topic - separation anxiety. I hope there is something you will do. I wish you the best.
