Making progress

Working on separation anxiety issues is a test of patience. When Cane failed obedience class, he couldn't stand to be by himself for 30 seconds. Little by little and thru individual classes, Cane has been working on his "stay" and his ability to be alone for a given time without going completely crazy.


Several months ago, a 20 minute trip to the store resulted in a wrecked house. A month ago, Cane howled so loudly at the vet that he had to be picked up early.

In the beginning the only thing that could bring sanity to the house was the crate. The crate was a life saver. Quite bluntly, it kept Cane from going back to the pound. But the goal is to have a good balanced dog that can be trusted alone. Over the course of the past few weeks Cane has had the run of the house. It began with 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there. Soon the elusive 20 minute trip to the store was possible.

Eventually Cane was able to be all by himself for a few hours. In fact, his new record is 4 hours with no destruction. He almost hit 5 hours but an accessible leftover Easter basket ended the new streak.

More practice and “Cane-proofing” to come.