Separation Anxiety

There's a lot I could write about today, but I'll start (and maybe finish) with the easy stuff.

Brogan has separation anxiety. If Carrie or I move a foot from him, he scootches in to close the distance. If we leave a room, he follows. If we go upstairs, outside, or in the bathroom he whines. If Brogan is locked up in the kitchen or his crate for the night, he howls out his pains. Whenever I first come down in the mornings, Brogan acts like he hasn't seen me in ages! I've learned to let him out on the back porch before I pet him, because if I acknowledge him too soon I'll get a yellow stream of joy/submission.

Hopefully, this will ease as time goes on. He's showing less resistant to the crate, but the moment you act like you're going to leave...well, it's a good thing Shane is a sound sleeper. My wife is hit or miss in that department. If I let her go to bed first, she'll sleep through the howling. If she's awake and he starts howling, it gives me trouble going to sleep having a stressed wife next to me who clinches the sheets with every howl! It hasn't been a week since Brogan was introduced to our home, so there's still hope he'll adjust. If not, we'll have to speak to the vet when it's time to get him 'tutored.' (That's a reference to an old Far Side comic. If you got it, you're cool.)

The separation anxiety also may go hand in hand with Brogan's personality. He's a total sweetheart, lovebug, cuddler...and ball-less (and he hasn't been snipped yet!). Our tiny cat, Max, figured out early on that she doesn't need claws to be in charge. She snacks from the dog food and will block a hallway off from Brogan if she pleases. Min has taken much longer to adjust. She didn't want to come downstairs for the first several days. I would drag her down and drop her off at the cat pot to make sure she was dropping off her mess. She's walking around downstairs now, but she's still cautious of Brogan. If he gets too close, she hisses and he splits. As long as there's no conflict, I could care less. I want them all to get along at some point, and Brogan not chasing after the cats is the first step in them accepting him.

Min has a tendency to hide under couches, though. Brogan sometimes likes to lay up against couches (especially if i'm sitting on the couch). A few minutes ago, my dog made the mistake of trying to smell under the couch next to me. There was a loud yelp. Brogan flew back from the couch and skidded and slipped on to his belly before running out of the room. A hiss told me exactly what happened. I couldn't find a mark on his nose, thankfully. I flipped up the fabric at the base of the couch and sure enough, there lurked Min poofed up, scared, and ready for action. I flipped the fabric down too quickly and Brogan startled and sprinted out of the room again!

That's my scaredy-cat dog. I hope his bark is deep enough to warn off any intruders before they traumatize him by trying to say hello!

EDIT: In Brogan's defense: he DID bark when one of the dishwasher guys came in. Carrie was proud.