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buddy: an update

demon dog ... ok not really. just a bad pic.
just thought i'd offer a little update on mr. buddy. he's been on xanax for a week now, and it seems to have no negative effects. it doesn't sedate him, just makes him a little calmer. we're all for a calmer, less neurotic version of our dog.

and we're still shopping for the right supercrate. for now, we've been wedging his old plastic crate in between two walls with towels and cardboard for padding so that even if he pops the door open, he can't go anywhere. and that worked great ... until yesterday morning.

as john and i were trying to leave the house, i could hear buddy continually "messing" with the door. i couldn't quite figure out what he was doing - i can't exactly see him when he's wedged in there like that - but i could tell he was fussing with it. after several abortive efforts to leave the house (since he tore the alarm panel off, the only way to set the alarm is in our bedroom, then hurry across the house to leave ... which leaves not much room to deal with the dog), i finally went to check on him. and discovered ... he had removed the gate. he bent one of the posts and it fell inside his crate. 

thank goodness, no storms scheduled for today, so buddy stayed loose in the house. and we'll figure out the long-range plan this weekend, i suppose.

overall, though, buddy's doing really well. we're committed to working with him, and he seems a little more laid back and easy to work with now that he's on some anxiety meds. his foot is healing nicely ... i've been working on acclimating him to treats (he's never been very food motivated) when he does things well ... and once we get the crate situation fully ironed out we'll start working on desensitization to thunderstorms.

of course by then, the worst of the thunderstorm season will be behind us ... but we'll be better prepared for life with buddy in the spring/summer of 2013!

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