help with seperation anxiety PLEASE!!

ok.. so we have a basset hound who is about 5 years old... he has a little bit of seperation anxiety, and we learned that we have to crate him during the day or he just gets into all kinds of stuff. we put him in there in the morning, and hes fine till we get home. so we are sort of familiar with dealing with separation anxiety.
the problem is my parents dog! we're watching him for a few weeks while my parents are away. hes a 2 year old yorkie... tiny, about 5 pounds. he even freaks out when you're home with him!! anytime you get up fro the couch, hes right there under your feet, following you. my parents are semi-retired, so hes rarely left alone for a long time. so its been a HUGE shock to him to be left for 8 hours a day! i've been putting him in the bathroom during the day... but everyday i come home to poop and pee all over the bathroom. yesterday he scratched my bathoom rug all up, today he somehow managed to pull my towel down from the towel rack! i just don't know what to do! and i work at a school, so its not like i'm gone for a super long day... like 7:40-4. i'm not sure if the bathroom thing is a nervous thing or if we're just gone too long for him to hold it. its not possible for me to come home for lunch to let him out... dh MAYBE could, but it would be tough for him to do, too.
any ideas?? i feel bad for the little guy that hes so stressed out... and also for me because the last thing i want to do after working with kids all day is clean up dog poop! thanks!

Re: help with seperation anxiety PLEASE!!

Hmm. Do you have a larger tiled area? Maybe you can leave the yorkie in a larger area with a Wee Wee pad?

Or if bathroom is only option, try putting a wee pad in there.

Also - what are his eating habits? Make sure he does #1 and #2 before you leave him alone for the day and only leave him with some water and a little bit of dry (as far away from the wee wee pad as possible).

Re: help with seperation anxiety PLEASE!!

I would hire a dog sitter to come in half way through the day. I'm sure someone on here knows of a good one. even if its just for an hour. then the dog doesn't fell alone for 8 hours, its more like 4 hours at a time