Hot Diggity Dog!

I love my kennel! It's so nice and comfy, much better than the kennel out with the other dogs. It has blankets, and I get food in there, and lately the nice person who takes me out has been putting a red rubber toy in the kennel too. I don't know what it's for, but it has food stuffed in it. It seems strange to stuff food inside rubber rather than just putting it on the ground where I can eat it easier, but people are strange.

I'm much more confident being left alone. We played the alone game again today. I went into my kennel and laid down right away, but kept a close eye on the person. There was no free food today- it was all stuffed in the red rubber toy with peanut butter. Yummy sticky peanut butter! I made sure the person was sticking around for a little while, and when she did, I licked the peanut butter off a little. I haven't quite gotten the hang of the toy- I think the person wants me to eat more from the toy than I do. After a couple minutes, the person went away for a little while- about 4 minutes. There were other people around, milling in and out of the room. I was quiet and just hung out, eating the hotdogs that rain from the sky just before my person leaves. She came back in, and then left me alone for another 3 minutes, with people still in and out of the room. I was okay with that. I know that nothing will hurt me, and I'm getting less anxious. It helps that I like my kennel so much.

The next seperation was a whopping 9 minutes. I think my person was afraid I'd be scared, but I was okay with it. I whined once or twice while she was gone, but nothing happened. I curled up and moved my blankets around so I was extra comfy. Then she was in and out, in and out of the room for 10 minutes. I got the hang of this pretty well! Maybe I will find a home of my own soon. She was playing with me, and she left for just 2 minutes before returning. Big deal- I can handle that!

The next bit really made her excited, I think. I was left alone for 17 minutes with the door closed and everything! I was fine- I just relaxed, enjoying being away from the noise of the kennel. It was nice- calm and quiet. That means in about 53 minutes in the crate, I was left alone for a total of 45 minutes! And that also means that my new record alone time is 17 minutes! My person says that means 30 minutes isn't too far away. I know the longer I can go all by myself without being nervous, the better chances I have of going home for good. I really really want a home for good!