Hank's been spending a lot of time at day camp in January. It's busy season for Jeremiah, and I've had a crazy month at work for some reason. So, he's at camp a lot. Day Camp runs from 9-12 and 1-5. So if I drop him off at 7:30 and pick him up at 7:30, you get the picture...Hank is the best dog in the world, but he doesn't care for kennels. So, at camp on Monday he was barking in his kennel during the lunch break and cut his lip. Just a little bit, he's fine, but since he was at camp, they took him over to the Vet clinic and cleaned him up. Back to camp moments later, and off to run around with his friends. They also moved him out of the chain link kennel into a glass door kennel, so he can't injure himself as easily. This is the latest in a month worth of "I hate the kennel" antics. So, when I picked him up on Monday after work, they mentioned that maybe Hank should start taking a chill pill. I guess a few other dogs at camp do that. I stopped at the vet clinic and asked about it, and then when I got home, I did a little online research and then e-mailed my friend Diane, the dog trainer. Diane responded how I hoped she would, that the pill is a band aid, and it's all about the training and reinforcement. So, no drugs for Hank (YAY). But we need to work on this HATE of the kennel.
After Hank's first antic of the month, scratching his toe on the kennel, we talked about doing some private training for him at camp. Isis, the dog trainer comes into camp a few days a week, and goes and plays with him in the kennel. The goal is to make the kennel a HAPPY fun place where Hank likes to be, and not punishment. So, Diane has an extra crate that she trained her dog in, and she's going to let us borrow it for a while. Give him treats in the crate, feed him dinner in the crate, all fun delicious things, in the crate...But the crate is on loan to a friend. So this week we are going to try leaving him in a confined space for a few moments and up to a minute at a time. We shut the door to the office with him in it, and then let him out. He realized that being alone isn't forever, just for a few moments.
Diane and I also talked about his separation anxiety. He can still bark when we leave him home alone for a while. Mostly if we go out to dinner after not being with him all day. But he can bark, so we need to work on this.
Starting tomorrow, when he goes to day camp, we'll talk with the managers about spending some time with him in the kennel, and then leaving him alone and going back a couple minutes later to play with him again. Getting him to a point where it's not a bad thing, and he's not ignored, but it's a fun place that he gets to relax in, play in, and hangout for a short period of time. I know this will work, but I sure hope it works SOONER rather than later!
I also took him to the dog park yesterday, it was a BEAUTIFUL Saturday!
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