You & Me, and Me & You (separation anxiety)

May 27, 2009 -

It's been a while since I've written, and during that time, I've learned that Miss Molly might not exactly be perfect - gasp! Ok, it's true, somewhere in the back of my head, I understand that she is a puppy, hence capable of annoying puppy things. But, honestly, I'm too in love with the critter sometimes to admit that she may, just may, sometimes do puppy things. I want to be quick to point out that, despite said puppy behavior, the pup is quite lovely, and I couldn't be more a fan. But she seems to be as much a fan of me as I am of her. And, while that may seem wonderful, it has set us up for some trying times. You see, Miss Molly does not want to be apart from me. It's not just a thing with her if I leave the house, she struggles with it if I crate her and am in the same room. I can't help but figure it's because she's literally been with me her entire life, and has never been alone. When I crate-trained her as a younger puppy she quickly adapted to sleeping happily (and quietly) in her crate near my bed at night. But in that same crate she sleeps in at night, feet from my bed, she'll bawl in during the day if I'm on my bed reading. The only difference being what? Me being awake? Once I left for a very short time with Rosso to take him to the doctor and came home to an awful, disgusting mess. She was trembling and horribly upset. Even when I took her out on a long lead and tied her in the back with me while I worked on cleaning the garage, she cried continuously because she could only get within four feet of me. So, I'm on the search for some good training info about separation anxiety. I need to help her, not only for my sanity, but honestly it breaks my heart she's so discontent with her cute little self. I've looked on the site, and see that lots of people are struggling with the same issue. So I'll do a little research, ask our training and vet experts, and will come back next week with some info and (hopefully) practical tips on working your dog through this problem. Wish me luck. ~ Shana

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