Advice needed

Some of you may remember me. I posted here quite a bit in my grad school
days. I have three dogs: a 10 year old shar-pei/APBT named Clay, a 9 year
old boxer mix named Romy, and a 3 year old terrier mix named Jock.

My current set of problem is with Clay. Over the past two years, he has
developed an incurable Pseudomonas infection in his ears and bad skin
allergies. We have tried a number of treatments, including elimination
diets, etc, but it seems that the shar-pei genes just waited until his
middle years to express themselves. Clay has always been something of a
high need dog. He has separation anxiety, a high prey drive, and is a very
powerful dog. When distressed by being alone or something going on outside
of the house, he "vents" by destroying objects (Mostly stuffed things). We
have dealt with this for the past 9 years by confining him to the kitchen
when we are out, not getting nice things, and, more recently, in using
Clomipramine for the separation anxiety with good results.

In the past few weeks, his behavior has gotten worse. I don't know whether
it is due to his health problems, or not. He destroys the kitchen while we
are gone--opening the cabinets and dumping out the contents, climbing on the
counters, dragging cast iron pans off of the stove and around the room, etc.
He has attacked Romy for being in the same room with him when something
upsets him, i.e. the doorbell, and is reacting to more things. All of a
sudden, this week, the phone is a reason to go berserk! Last week, he
attacked Romy while we were gone, giving her two puncture wounds, some
scrapes on the top of her head, and a Roman nose. We have ceased keeping
him in the same space with the other dogs while we are gone...at least, we
have tried. He has destroyed two baby gates and most of a doorway when
confined alone. We tried crating in the past, but he destroyed crates and
hurt himself. Outdoors is not an option, since he is an escape artist, and
I can't keep him on a chain. Oh, and, of course, I am seven months
pregnant.

I have made an appointment next Monday to see if we can find a physical
reason for his behavior. I hope that we can, and that it is treatable. If
not, I am in a quandry. It isn't fair for Romy to be the butt of his
temper, and, although I have always had a low opinion of people who have
gotten rid of dogs because of a new baby, I have to honestly say that I
would be very wary of him around a baby at this point. He has always been
tolerant of babies and toddlers in the past, but he has also exhibited some
mounting behavior, etc. I worry about him attacking a baby because it
happens to be there when he gets upset, like he has attacked Romy. (I do
not have any plans to leave any of the dogs and the baby alone together, of
course, but I don't relish the idea of constant vigilance JUST IN CASE,
either).

If it is not a medical condition, does anyone have any suggestions? My
husband is ready to have him put down, but he was my very first dog, and I
see his problems as my failures. I love him. I am just very confused as to
why his behavior would be getting so much worse at 10 years old. If
anything, we are home more now than we were before, since we are trying to
save money for the baby. The dogs get walked regularly, which we were not
that good at before. Most dogs I have known slow down when they get older!
In our house right now, it is kind of like living with a large, powerful,
senile old man.


--Deirdre