No . . not me when Vince leaves the house for 5 minutes! It’s Rita. Sometimes I wonder if we don’t manufacture issues to cause ourselves problems. Rita had Speck when she first came here. I don’t remember if I was sewing much then. I doubt it. Now, even though Vince is home and in the house most of the day, I’ve been spending so much time in the sewing room and Rita is literally making herself sick over it.
I was able to take Speck to the sewing room with me but I can’t take Rita. The paths are too narrow, she would get lost and panic. I’ve thought of putting her crate in there and keeping her in that but I don’t think she would like that either. I feel so bad for her. When I come back into the house, she is so happy to see me . . she cries and jumps around and cries and it takes about half an hour for her to calm down. Usually I’ve just come back to the house to go to the bathroom, or grab something out of the washer and the plan is to go back to the sewing room but no, I have to spend time with her.
I’m guessing that the trip to MO with us all being together for about two weeks has caused her to lose her independence. Yesterday I started to coming back to the house for about 10 minutes every hour so we’ll have a routine and she can judge when I’ve been gone long enough, she’ll know I’m coming back soon.
The next two trips to MO I’ll be making by myself and Rita will be home with Vince. I hope she gets over this clinging to mom before I leave!
Melissa Raddetz says
Building a predictable routine is a good idea. Her poor vision could be making her more anxious. You might try having a phrase “I’ll be right back” or something like that when you leave which over time she’ll learn means that you are leaving for a short time. You can also make your departure a pleasant experience by giving a small treat. It can be helpful to only greet her matter of factly when you return, just a quick verbal “Hi Rita” without affection so you don’t reinforce her over the top behavior. When she is calm and quiet you can pet and love on her. And anxious dogs are anxious dogs so sometimes none of the strategies work 100%.
Dar Welch says
Is there space to set up a small X-pen type enclosure for her? More room than a crate but not freedom to wander maybe with a warm blanket to curl up in, you could talk to her so she knows you’re nearby? It’s upsetting to see our fur babies upset.
dezertsuz says
How would Boots feel about having her in there?
Melissa says
Could you put her on a leash in the sewing room or maybe put her in that pen y’all used on the Louisiana visit?