Tuesday, September 25, 2007

First Weekend Away

So, this weekend will be the first time I leave Palmer!! In my absence, my sister and Johnny will tag-team to watch Palmer so I guess I really don't have anything to worry about. They are, after all, #2 and #3 on Palmer's list of Humans that Give Me Treats, Pet, and Fawn Over Me so I'm sure he'll be fine. My main concern is that he'll start to freak when he's put back into his (bath)room. He suffers slightly from separation anxiety (what a baby, I know!) and if you don't put him into his room properly, he'll start to scratch and bite at the door. I don't care so much that I'll have to repaint the bottom 6 inches of the door but I do worry that Palmer will stress himself out. I've noticed that its not the duration of the absence that determines his level of anxiety but the departure. So... if you are with me when its time to leave Palmer to sleep or before I go to work, I'll place him in the bathroom calmly, solftly roll his Kong dog toy with treats into his room, tiptoe away, carefully pick up my keys to minimize the jingle, tiptoe out my door, and silently close and lock my condo so Palmer doesn't realize he's been left alone. Haha! I am tired just thinking about it. Can you imagine when I have to leave my first born!?

6 comments:

Janet said...

you should put him in there for a little bit while you're home so he doesn't associate being in there with being left alone... then confuse him by jiggling your keys even if you're not leaving :) Would that make him crazy?

Kimberly said...

That's exactly what my 'Palmer Handbook' says (an email from me detailing how to dogsit Palmer). I'm leaving it with Johnny and Cher while I'm gone... either way, Palmer's still a little sensitive to it all but I'm sure he'll grow out of it! Thanks for the advice!

Brandon said...

janet you are one smart person!!! i think you should right a book.

Brandon said...

i think you should have a list of tricks he can do... and even post videos nah mean?!?!?? scrabble fooL!

Kimberly said...

Good idea Brandon! .. will work on that!

Ephraim and Rachel said...

don't you ever wonder what he does in there while you are gone? i think you should set up a palmer-cam for the blog. i'd watch :)