As some of you know, Dash has not been living with me for the past few months.  Due to his separation anxiety, I have not been able to leave him alone in the apartment without the neighbors complaining about his barking.  Which has put me on the favorites list of the neighbors.  Especially the one who complained to my landlord.

As I type this, I look at his little crate that holds his little blanket.  On top is his toy box, stuffed with his favorite squeaky toys.

Dash has been living with my parents.  He does extraordinarily well in their home.  He is a confident dog, much less anxious, and overall seems happier.  When I come home he immediately becomes the hyper, anxious dog once again.  He is so obsessed with me, what I’m doing and where I am.  He cannot take his eyes off of me.

It’s a true feeling of failure on my part.  We have done training classes together.  We did agility together.  I don’t baby him.  I try hard to be a good “pack leader.”  Except at my apartment, there really is no pack.  It’s just the two of us.  And when I leave, it’s just him.  At my parents, there is usually someone always around.  The house bustles, people come and go.  He has no issues with sleeping in his little bed.  He occupies himself by chewing on a bone.  He lives for playing ball with my dad.

My apartment feels so empty without him.  When I walk outside and see people walking their dogs, I literally feel a tug on my heart.

And part of me gets angry.  Angry that I can’t have a “normal” dog where I can go run to the supermarket without it being this traumatic ordeal.  Angry that I have to see him completely melt down when he realizes that I’m leaving.  And angry that he’s at my parents because he’s my dog.  My responsibility.  And my parents are caring for him instead of me.

At this point, I feel utterly helpless.  I created this website because of Dash and because I truly love being a dog owner.   If I knew what would work…if I knew what would make him happy, I’d do it in a heartbeat.