Satanic Separation Anxiety

Heyy, 

Last week I was dreamily gazing out of the window at the setting sun awaiting my new arrival and now I sit here and listen to him cry and winge as we try and attempt one of the hardest things about puppy ownership - Training. Little Frankenstein (made by mistake and pieced together from two different breeds of dog - Jack Russell Terrier and Toy Poodle) has been somewhat of a little horror this week in terms of separation anxiety. Whilst his time alone is arduous, to say the least, I look at other owners we know and their animals as I am glad we don't have it that bad! 

A quick Google of Dog Separation Anxiety come up with hundreds of helpful pages with useful tips, tricks and hints on how to have a happier pup! One website, in particular, I have referenced for a bit of help has been PetMD. Their article on "Five Steps to Preventing Dog Separation Anxiety" has some really great information that I think would be helpful for all levels of Dog momma out there. 

Separation Anxiety can show itself in animals and in humans, however, for man's best friend this could develop if left into a psychological disorder of hyper attachment that manifests as barking, crying, urination, defecation, and other destructive signs when the dog is left alone in the house.

Veterinary behaviourist Lisa Radosta from PetMD recommend to ignore and not pay attention to your dog when he follows you or your family around the house. "Many attention-seeking behaviours, including dog and puppy separation anxiety, can simply be corrected by ignoring them." 
I have done this pretty much from day dot, just simply because I want to get in through the door, put down the bags of shopping or kick off my shoes and down my laptop bag before even saying hello to the animals, Mr. Warehouse is exempt from this of course!

The article continues with "hiding all departure cues from your dog so that he or she can’t begin to associate them with your departure". 
This is difficult as for us it is not leaving the house that seems to be an issue, although we haven't yet heard any complaints from the neighbours, but itis night time and the routine surrounding that my fiance and I find difficult. Everything seems fine, up until we leave the lounge and leave him with his blankets, toys, chewy things and play stuff. You would think he would be entertained but our little Frank just isn't happy when it comes to bedtime! Howling and crying were the first problems, but then, after looking after friends dog's for a few nights last week, he really learned how to use his lungs and has even started scratching at the inner lounge door, which we have tried to train him out of doing, but it is hard. 

Avoiding having a meltdown was another point in the "Five Steps to Preventing Dog Separation Anxiety" from Lisa Radosta at PetMD. Keeping your dog from having a full-blown emotional response is difficult as we are finding. However, the Veterinary behaviourist says that he "should not be following you to the door when you go to leave. Instead, put him in his crate with something really fun to do, well before we are getting ready to leave or go to bed." Coupled with this the article carries on to say that we should, in addition, confine our dog in his crate for 10 to 15 minutes a day when at home. The problem we have with that is that I don't want to crate train Frankie and neither does Mr. Warehouse by the sound of things. They are ugly and space eating but also I am not sure that they actually help, I feel it is the lazy ladies answer to training and only makes for a less family feel of owning a dog. Obviously, I understand it is helpful but whilst crate time can be fun and never used as a punishment, I just feel that for us as a family, not to say that is wrong, it's just not right for us. 

Top Tip we haven't tried yet is the treating method, which, in itself seems pretty counter-productive. Veterinary behaviourist Lisa Radosta from PetMD recommends associating our departure, be it night time or otherwise, with something wonderful, like rare dog treats that he only gets at that time of day. We have however started the task of always asking Frankie to sit before we interact with him and this includes leaving as well. This will hopefully in time set up a predictable, structured relationship between us all and help him to understand how to get attention from us in the best way and by doing things we want him to do like wee's and poo's outside and staying put when told to do so. 

Training other than the whole night time routine seems to be going OK though as he now knows his name and comes back most of the time when called, he knows a little on how to play fetch and catch, knows the command down or no, although little most toddlers and puppies, sometimes selectively hears what he wants to. I am sure we have made the right decision after the hell of the first few nights, but only time will tell how much of a clever little boy we have. 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

Getting Hitched!

Hi everyone, 

Sitting there in the darkened corner of the dancefloor I watched as the bride and groom skitted across the parquet flooring watched by all their family and friends I thought about how that would be me one day. As Mr Warehouse sat beside me I could tell he too was getting emotional as their children joined them in their union to become a family once again and that was it. Hearts stopped! As my fiance and I joined the happy newlyweds on the dance floor surrounded by twinkling lights and disco music we thought about how our day would be. With less than eighteen months ago it was certainly whizzing by in a flash. 

What with Vivienne being a right off and getting a new car, as well as work and social life, planning our special day, was put slightly on the backburner and it had been some weeks since I had checked our emails. Having a little peak in the inbox I realised that we had yet to try and secure our caterer and after a meeting with him at the Stagsden Village Hall where we will have our reception and our wedding breakfast, we have yet to hear back from him. 

Mr Warehouse and I had indulged in wedding planning and had booked the bar, the ceremony and the reception venue. I had researched into the perfect dress and been to try quite a few on too. My fiance had looked into suits and I think we have a colour scheme in mind. The flower-girl has met her dress and demanded her shoes to match ( as it should) and the mother of the groom outfit has already been chosen. 

But there is still so much more left to plan. The wedding planning website "Hitched.co.uk" says that when it comes to wedding planning there’s no right or wrong way to do it. However, there is a simple way to organise your wedding planning tasks that’ll reduce your stress levels and ensure you actually enjoy this exciting time!

One of the websites top tips is to create a budget - And stick to it! Like most couples, we sat down together and had an open discussion about finances and realistically after buying a house and managing debts, how much we could both afford and how to save over the coming years and months. Unlike some newly engaged couples, we are not fortunate enough for our parents or other family members to help pay for the wedding, and I think to be fair I wouldn't want them getting involved financially as it becomes a bit too messy in terms of who is paying for what and when and how much. This is our special day and we will finance this on our own. 

When it comes to wedding inspo, "Hitched.co.uk" has got you covered with their helpful website and suggests making mood boards to gain a theme or style. There are so many sources of inspiration out there which can make everything a bit overwhelming sometimes, so I choose one medium and have stuck with it. You can’t beat Pinterest – it’s a great way to gather ideas and create boards for each aspect of your wedding. The great thing I love about Pinterest is that you can collect all of the table décor, dress, cake, photo ideas all in one place that takes your fancy, and I can share them with friends and family, although Mr Warehouse doesn't love it as much as I do. The social media platform comes into its own when getting closer to the big day as I can ping across ideas and thoughts to suppliers when the time comes for a better understanding of what I want and how I want it!

Another tip from the wedding planning website is that before the hunt for the venue begins, the Bride and Groom should sit down together and talk about what wanted from the wedding venue and this is certainly something we chose to do very early on in our wedding planning process. Nothing else could ah[[en until we found it. And so we searched and searched but nothing was perfect enough. Mr. Warehouse and I knew we needed somewhere fairly sizable as our wedding party would be at least seventy. We ideally wanted some outside space to enjoy the hopefully warm setting sun and space for the kids to exhaust themselves. A bonus would have been a separate area for dinner and dancing but not essential. A bar would have been nice as well as some additional space for a quiet moment whereas parking and accommodation nearby was a must. Luckily we found most of it all in the Stagsden Village Hall. 

Some more helpful advice from "Hitched.co.uk"  was about the wedding party and choosing well. Now I instantly knew who my bridesmaids would be and wanted to ask Mr. Warehouse Neice, the only little girl in both our families if she would like to be my flower girl. However, Mr Warehouse had a bit of a harder time choosing between his brothers as who would be Best Man and so just settled and chose both. My advice would be if you’re not sure then don’t feel rushed into your decision. Think carefully about who will be the best people to support you and your fiance on your special day and in the run-up to it.  You may also want to consider the cost as your bridal party will need outfits, bouquets, buttonholes and thank you gifts, so the more people you have, the more this could impact your budget.  They will be in your photo's on your mantlepiece forever so be sure to make a wise choice. 

There are so many more decisions to make, most of the ones I talked about both Mr. Warehouse and I have already done, and more. Here's hoping that the next few weeks I can get the catering sorted and maybe even onto some more exciting things!

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx