emmabeth wrote:Do you have a crate and is Bagel crate trained?
I think for now, crate train him and use that for the times you absolutely MUST be out of the house and he cannot come with you.
I have a kennel and though he didn't care for it before, Bagel has been going in it a lot more these days. I think whenever he feels stressed out, he goes in his kennel and just sleeps. Whenever he goes in there to sleep, I say "Good boy" and leave him alone. I probably should give him a treat though? But how long is it acceptable to keep him in there? Some days I'm out three hours, some days two hours, some days six hours..I think my roommate saw that I was stressed out so she has been throwing all of her stuff on her bed so that Bagel wouldn't go on it. So for several days now I've been just leaving him in my room and right before I leave I sprinkle treats here and there around the room, including his kennel.
Bagel's also been on leash most of the day. I take it off for him at night when he's sleeping. Poor guy, must be uncomfortable
emmabeth wrote:There will be lots of opportunities to move either into a new place on your own, or swap into a shared place with someone else or whatever so don't panic and definitely don't assume it won't ever be possible, it will if you keep your eyes open for that chance.
No openings yet, but I think it's still too early and I'm keeping my eyes peeled.
Ari_RR wrote:Follow up on this, Yummybagel.. Be honest with yourself.. Uni life can be quite hectic, lots of things going on, will you have bandwidth for your dog? Dog ownership usually involves sacrifices, even in the best of circumstances. Give this some good thought, you are on to something, maybe sending him back home is not such a bad idea... Don't bite more than you can chew. And remember this - I am sure there are examples out there of someone who has managed to keep all the balls in the air - studies, dogs, friends, social life and everything else. This doesn't mean that you can or should. You know yourself best, make a decision based on your own strengths, weaknesses, abilities and circumstances.
Good luck
I am still considering the option of sending him home. I've arranged it with my parents so that if Bagel and I can't adjust until November, my parents will come over for Thanksgiving and take him back home. So we have until November. I wouldn't be able to give him the ideal amount of attention, but I do think he'll receive more care with me than with my parents. But I'm just giving things a chance.
I'm worried though, because I feel as if Bagel has been sleeping alot. If I were to give a run-down of our schedule, in the morning from 6 to 7 45, we either go to the park where he is put on a long leash and allowed to sniff howevermuch he wants to, or a long walk around the neighborhood. I usually alternate between the two. One day it's the park, and the next day it's the long walk. After we come back we wait about an hour or so. Then it's clicker training for about ten to fifteen minutes. But sometimes he doesn't want to do it. He prefers to sleep, which is a big surprise for me. Then he gets breakfast, and after he's done eating I leave for school. When I come back we greet each other and I do my own thing until about 3pm, which is when I give him a walk for half an hour. When we come back, he usually goes directly for the room that he's not supposed to go in, and when I block him he heads toward the couch where he sleeps. I try to play games with him, but many times he's just not that interested. Maybe I'm boring.
Then we do some training. I've been trying to teach him to get off the furniture, "leave it," and going into his kennel on cue. Then it's another walk for another half an hour, then some games. But again, he doesn't want to play sometimes. After about an hour and a half or so he has his dinner, but I try to do some clicker exercise before he eats. Then he sleeps some more until he gets up, sniffs around, then he goes to bed. This schedule I follow for about four days a week. For the remaining three days a week, I just give him walks and make sure I give him attention, but he doesn't get play times or training. It's so that I would have some time to study. But the amount of sleeping that he does worries me. He sleeps when no one's doing anything with him, and even when I try to do things he sometimes prefers to sleep.
I worry that he might be depressed. But he's very alert during walks, and he eats very well. Should I be worried?