So here's a pattern that's been building since I started a new job. On the days that Aggie is in her kennel 6+ hours, she has a hard time relaxing in the evening. I always take her out right after I get home for a nice long walk that includes jogging, off leash sniffing, and fetch. It is a walk designed to stimulate her both physically and mentally with few emotional side effects. Sometimes she's so stressed from the day of doing nothing, that the walk is quite stressful. Other days she does fine.
However, inevitably in the evening she will become anxious. If she refuses to relax (after encouraging her to chill out in "her" chair) and only wants to rummage the trash or destroy the recycling bin (anxiety!!!), to her kennel she goes. We know what to expect when resorting to kennel time due to destructive behavior: pitiful crying, and if anxious enough, biting or pawing at the door. It's annoying and stressful for everyone involved. Eventually, after her yowling wins her no reward, this is what happens:
For Aggie's ratings, I'm including these incidences in her overall points for the day. I'll be tracking this pattern to see if it really is linked to more time in her kennel like I assume. Eventually I'd like to find a solution. Drugs? More training/mental exercise? Advice welcome if you the reader have ever experienced a similar problem.
What a cool blog! Even that one tip you gave me has helped tons- that dogs pay attention to patterns.
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-Suzanne
Great start to your blog Naomi! I was very interested to read about your and Aggie's assessment of our Thanksgiving gathering. I think she did really well, and you did too, not stressing out when she wanted to stress out. I'm excited to see her progress. Maybe we'll have an entry to add after she's with us for a couple of weeks in December.
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