Saturday, July 9, 2011

Bea's First Day of School

Since Bea's separation anxiety is clearly still there, we've decided that we will not crate her until she's fully trained. While it will make the next few weeks (or months) a lot more expensive and filled with hassle, it should give us years of wonderful, well adjusted dog. Well, if it works.

The problem is that, while I work from home often, I also leave for days at a time. Yesterday I had a meeting in the morning followed by a trip to Boston - so at 8AM, we took Bea to day care.



I feel like we should get her a Sponge Bob backpack.


We were wide awake at 8AM, both because we just got back from Europe a few days ago, and because Bea wakes up at 7, so we wake up at 7. Also because our stupid bedroom window is surrounded by a steel frame, making every conceivable curtain solution utterly impossible. Damn you, sun. Damn you.

Leaving Bea in someone else's care is nerve-racking, both because we want her to be happy, and we want the yippie dogs around her to stay alive. And if they yip too much, well, Bea will not be thrilled. She has not bitten (or even scratched) another dog - but she bares her teeth as often as the real Bea Arthur wore a floral print house dress.

We left Bea at City Vet, which lessens our nerves. They only have a few dogs, need piles of paperwork before admission, and take their boarded dogs on three walks a day. Also, they're a vet - if anything does go wrong, she'll be taken care of. And by "she," I mean whatever yippie dog Bea tore asunder.

Sara missed Bea tons, so she picked her up around 4PM and finished her work from home. The "teacher" said that Bea was fine. Bea bared her teeth a few times, but who doesn't on the first day of school? And thankfully there was no, um, finger-painting.

The takeaway is that the experience was good for Bea. Sara says Bea seemed calmer last night, and her separation anxiety was less palpable. I'd guess it comes from socializing her with other people and dogs, and showing Bea that her life is great with us, regardless if we're there in person.

It is funny that Sara rushed home to "rescue" Bea from her first day of school. I think we should let Bea experience a bit more, and try not to be as micro managing. Of course, I will also be driving home from Boston overnight.

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