I can’t really remember how the first night went with Conan. A friend of mine stayed over and we had some fun playing with the dogs until they were exhausted. As a result of that, I think my new puppy slept for most of the night. The peaceful nights were, however, to be short lived!
The following day, I was due to take Dexter to his agility class and I was determined that my boy would not be neglected just because there was a new dog in town! I was a little concerned about leaving Conan alone so soon after bringing him back to his new home, but Paul Connolly of Wolfspeak had told me to be brave, leave him in his dog crate, and come to training class. He assured me that a good way to conquer separation anxiety before it even started was to get the dog used to being alone for short periods of time from day one.
So, I made sure the pup was fed, watered and had been outside to do his business, then I locked him in his crate and left for training class.
A few hours later I returned, fully expecting to see a sleeping puppy, but the sight that greeted me was somewhat different! There he was, my 8 week old pup, asleep on top on my slippers which I had placed on top of the shoe bench by the front door. Have you ever looked at something and done a double-take? I was convinced I’d left him in his steel dog crate, locked and bolted. Was I going mad? On closer inspection, I discovered that the little cannonball had broken out of the crate. How he did this is still a mystery to this day, but yes, he had obviously gotten himself into such a state of separation anxiety, that he had broken right out from behind his metal bars. I knew from that point forward I was going to have trouble with this one. And Dexter had been such a great puppy. What on earth had I let myself in for?
A Picture of Innocence?
