Laughing at Bitkin's comment about Cardaphs OCD.

There were some fireworks went off one night and Lana didn't appear bothered but they were in the distance. We have a homeless unit other side of our back garden and as they sometimes had barbeques in the summer was thinking they might have a bonfire party, although it's council run so possibly fireworks are banned. Nothing against the homeless unit, just meaning that they seem to know each other, unlike in our blocks of flats so they might all want to get together and have a party.

What I really hope is that there are no dogs in the police pound across the road. It's bad enough hearing them barking and crying in distress without their fear being compounded with fireworks going off. It breaks my heart listening to them sometimes.

Yes, Lana's a stubborn little booger so will see if the zylkene work again.

So glad that Jimmis boots are so good. Can he walk and run in them okay? I bought a boot once when Lana had a cut paw but it was useless, couldn't get it on right so just chucked it away Wouldn't it be absolutely brilliant if they stopped his abscesses, that would be wonderful, so keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Cardaph, good luck with going out the door today, here's hoping for a good report from you later. I don't know anything about that training class you are asking about, so sorry, no help from me.

That must be awful listening to those dogs in distress 1cutedog, it breaks your heart
Yes fireworks are a problem if they upset your dog but maybe the zylkene will help Lana keep calm with them this year.
If it's a unit run by the council I doubt they will get permission to have a fireworks party. I used to work for the council (please don't hold it against me!) and they are pretty hot on health and safety .

As to yesterday's training it wasn't too bad. We have two front doors so I decided just to go outside the first one, so she could still see me and come straight back in. SHe followed to the door each time but then just sat and watched to see what I would do. So more of that today, I think baby steps are the way forward with Bessie.

The dogs barking in the pound isn't so bad, although it is upsetting, it's the ones who cry and cry, really breaks my heart listening to them.

Went to the post office yesterday, big long queue, was going to take Lana to my dads and come back, but my dad came along the road. He sat with Lana while I was in the PO. She whined and cried the whole time and completely ignored my dad when he was speaking to her or petting her, yet when we are at his house she sits on his feet and follows him all over the house.

Left her outside a shop today for 2 minutes and she was jumping up and crying when I came out. Definitely needs the zylkene, it's a shame seeing her go back to how she was. I'm used to taking her with me everywhere I go, heck I even joined a certain bank last month as dogs are allowed in it Not that I go to the bank often but it's great I don't have to tie her outside, not like at the last bank who told me off when I took her in with me one day.

There are a few times when it would be great if I could leave her, like yesterday when needing to go to the post office. There's one not far from me and it would have been great just to nip along there without her. Instead I had to walk to one about 1 mile away as if they're not busy I feel I can leave her tied outside there whereas I wouldn't at the nearer one.

I'm so glad I work from home because if I had to go out to work I would have to rehome her, something which doesn't bear thinking about as she could end up being one of those dogs getting rehomed and taken back, rehomed and taken back or else left in distress with a collar on to stop her barking like my downstairs neighbour has on his dog and it's such a shame as she's a lovely little thing. I also have to put up with his dog crying and whining. Okay I am glad it doesn't bark all the time, that would be horrendous but I can hear how upset it is especially if they come home later than normal. Sometimes you wonder why people have dogs.

One of these days you'll get out the second door, unless of course you fall through your worn out floorboards first I do hope this works out for you. You were trying some calming tablets on Bessie, do you find they have made a difference or is it too early to tell?

Hope Jimmi's getting on well with his boots and Bitkin can go back to leaving him a while.

Cardaph - I think that if there was an award for patience then we who frequent this thread should stand a good chance of nomination!!! You especially, and I think that you are so right to take tiny steps at a time until Bessie is completely comfortable before going to the next stage.

Jimmi is now totally relaxed when either myself or my husband go out, and is completely calm when we return. We go away for our two days in just over two weeks time, and I really hope that it does not set him back. Daughter and family will be coming to stay the night before then for a sort of trial run. I must stop worrying so much Can't help it though.

1cutedog, that must be horrible hearing those dogs in the pound - just remember that you have given one canine soul a new chance in life; with luck someone will do the same for those that you hear calling out.

Great news about Jimmi being totally relaxed when you're out. So pleased to hear. Jimmi will be fine with your daughter he'll have a lovely time. I know it won't stop you worrying though but try and not let it spoil your time away.

I'm amazed at how many dogs end up in the pound. Often it's 4 or 5 days a week I hear them and I think of Lana being in there last year and how awful it must have been for her especially as she's still suffering from the experience.

I've also met a couple of people in the park who've got their dogs from the same 'stray' kennels as I got Lana from so quite a few of them must be getting rehomed and of course hopefully some will be reunited with their owners.

Lana really does need the extra benefits from the Zylkene doesn't she. As to the effects of them on Bessie, it's hard to decide really. I haven't noticed that much difference in her but last week at training after she did a stay perfectly where we had to walk backwards away from them and which she's not very good at usually, the trainer asked if I had her on drugs she was doing so well So maybe they are calming her a little.

I can't even leave Bessie outside the post office, have to take her for her walk first then do the post office run when I get back. Funny thing is when I used to do it, she was fine once I was inside and just sat quietly waiting. It was the leaving her that was the problem and got to the stage where she was lunging at me and grabbing my clothes.

Bitkin apart from us being nominated for our patience I think if we got together we could produce a really useful book on the the trials of coping with separation problems Of course we would have to wait until we have all succeeded and have really calm dogs that stay in the house on their own for a couple of hours.

Try not to worry too much about when you go away, you have to go and you are making sure Jimmi is well looked after. Hopefully there will be no setbacks but if there are, you just work with him to overcome them again.

1cutedog and Cardaph - you know, reading through your latest posts has given me food for thought. Perhaps we have all been TOO nice to our respective dogs??! We all care desperately about them, and all have this stubborn problem Maybe this sowed the seeds of separation anxiety, who knows. No, that cannot be right because the majority of people love and care for their dogs just as much and don't have all this rigmarole.

However, when Jimmi first came home (and this may have applied to Lana and Bessie too) we never let him out of our sight during the day, because of his tendency to scent mark all over the place. If he trundled out of the room, one of us instantly leapt up and followed him; if he went outside one of us went with him to trail around making sure that he couldn't escape and also to praise any wee, and it was many weeks before he was trustworthy enough to be allowed to wander freely on his own. So whilst he was used to being on his own overnight in the kitchen, the daylight hours were a different matter and we inadvertently perhaps made him reliant on company from dawn until bedtime.

Just a minor cogitation on what may cause this annoying problem.

Shall we start a fund for a new hall carpet for Cardaph; an invisibility cloak for Lana so that she can go everywhere with 1cutedog, and a robot dog sitter for Jimmi

I just wonder if you aren't on to something there you know Bitkin. When we got Bessie at 8 weeks old, she seemed so small and helpless to me she just was never away from my side. My OH was still working at the time so it was me she bonded with first.
When she was old enough we went to our first puppy class only she couldn't go down on the floor for the first week, so the trainer very kindly offered to come to the house and go through the basics. Having mentioned to her Bessie's attraction to electircal wires and that I was a bit nervous to leave her on her own, she agreed that there was no safe room she could stay in.

Hence we didn't actually start to even try and leave her until she was a bit older and had got out of the chewing stage.

As she sleeps upstairs she really was never on her own.

In hindsight of course I would do things differently, I could have blocked the kitchen off from the dining room and left her in there. If I had I maybe wouldn't be going through all this now

Brilliant idea about the fund

When I first got Lana she used to go to bed by herself at 9pm. I didn't send her, it must have been the time she would normally go. I suppose she was mostly in the same room as me and I did have to take her out on the lead into the front garden to pee as there was no fence round it but I still do that now and I always did that with my previous dog.

If she went out the room I was in I didn't follow her, she was free to come and go as she wanted in the house. She was always on her own when I had a shower or went to the toilet although she always slept in my room at the side of my bed but sometimes she would take herself through there during the day.

Right from the beginning though she was left on her own tied up outside the local shop or else on her own at home if I had to nip to Asda so it wasn't as though I was there all the time with her. My son did come down to watch her the first time I was going to Asda and she whined the whole time.

Lanas in her bed just now, has been for a couple of hours, she's through in the bedroom and I have the door shut here so it's not as though she can't spend any time on her own, she just doesn't like to be in the house on her own.

When I left her on her own at the beginning she was always in a terrible state when I came back, she's much better now. I think Lana was either like that before, maybe that's why she ended up homeless or else the time in the kennels did it.

I too think the fund is a brilliant idea

It seems strange that both of your dogs are quite happy to be apart from you inside the house, yet react as soon as alone in the house. Bessie is now ok being shut in another room if SHE chooses to go there, however if I make her go she starts barking after around 5 minutes.

She's been good with the going out the first front door, just sits and watches so next week we will progress to going out both doors, still letting her see us. Baby steps do seem to be working the best with her.