11 1 / 2012
ohh, we have a problem.
I thought Penny was chewing from boredom or neurosis or something, so I got her a million chew toys, stuffed them with treats, covered them with peanut butter, but no. She’s not interested in chewing to satisfy some craving, she’s chewing to escape. She can’t stand being alone. Here I thought she was so well behaved, sleeping through the night and keeping to her doggie bed, but it turns out non-drugged-up-Penny is completely different than drugged up Penny. SO IT BEGINS.
She cries when I leave the room, she cries when I go to work, she cries when I go to the bathroom, she cries whenever she can’t see me directly. She has never barked, never made any noise at all, but all of a sudden she’s always whining. This is bad. I had been planning to keep her sleeping in her own room to get her used to being alone, but she cried so loud and so long last night that I finally caved and let her sleep in my room. I moved her doggie bed in though, so she has her space and I have mine. This morning when I was getting ready for work I locked her back up in her area, and all I could hear was crying and scratching and chewing…and then silence. Thank goodness, I thought, she finally came to her senses and calmed down. And yes, she did, in a way - when I came out to check on her she was curled up on her bed (which had been moved back to her room), tail wagging, and a huge puddle of pee on the cardboard and a tiny pile of poo on the opposite side of the room. Thanks, Penny. I moved it outside (those scented, leakproof doggie bags are amazing) and tried to get her smell on the lawn and then took her to walk around the area. I hope hope hope she takes the hint, even if it takes a little while.
