PROBLEM pooch Patches must be Sunderland's most expensive dog.

He's already cost his owners £95,000 because they had to move when his yapping and howling upset their neighbours.

The four-year-old dog hates being left alone and his constant barking and crying, not to mention the mess he made to welcome owners Beverley and Eric Greathead home, caused so much bother the family sold up. But the new start failed to solve Patches's problem, and Beverley and Eric forked out more in dog training lessons. His behaviour got so bad the family even swapped shifts to work weekends to leave him home alone as little as possible. And when they had to go out they splashed out upto £15-a-time to take the pet to a canine creche so he wouldn't be lonely.

Patches the Pooch

Beverley, who now lives in Fatfield, Washington, said: "It was awful. The relationship with our old neighbours got so bad moving seemed like the only option."

The family was also restricted to where they could exercise Patches, an Australian cattle cross-breed dog, because he constantly pulls and lunges aggressively at other dogs.

And the problems didn't end there. Patches would destroy anything he could sink his teeth into – even leaving him with Diddy the family's pet Chihuahua, didn't ease his woes.

"Whenever we went out and left him, he would wee all over the kitchen floor and we are talking lakes, not puddles," added Beverley, who rescued Patches from a rehoming centre a couple of years ago.

"We took advice from two animal behaviourists, one of whom suggested a herbal tranquiliser which initially helped, but then Patches reverted back to his old anti-social behaviour."

They also spent £400 on an outdoor kennel to limit the damage he could cause to the family home

"It was awful. I was prepared to work extra night shifts to pay for the dog to be in a crèche during the day when we were both out," said Beverley.

"There is no way that I could have got rid of Patches, but my husband admits that if it hadn't been for myself and Owen, my five-year-old son who absolutely adores Patches, that he would have returned him to the rescue centre."

Eventually they turned to Bark Busters, whose Newcastle area therapist, Liz Johnson, visited the couple and soon had Patches under control.

She explained that Patches was causing problems because he was extremely stressed and upset and then showed them how to behave so that he understood that he was safe in the home and didn't need to bark or howl every time he was left on his own.

A few lessons later Patches is a happy, fun-loving dog.

The family paid £93,000 for the new house when they moved from Birtley, £1,500 for dog training, £200 for a canine creche, and £400 for a kennel.