Alone Training Needs Some Work : /

Poor Ferguson had a rough day yesterday.  Supposedly he barked the whole six hours I was gone, even though he had a long walk and special food stuffed toys : /. 

However, I think it will be okay.  I know he really wasn't ready to be left that long, and these things take time and gradual exposure.  Luckily, now I have all the time in the world.  Fergus gets to come to work with me next Wednesday, and once we got on a regular schedule, I think that will help a ton too (like the first night we got him and he was just too exhausted to care what we did).  We'll start at 5 minutes at a time.  Plus, the fence people came today, so Ferguson will be able to run off some of his energy in the back yard, rather than relying solely on me for walks (don't worry, the walks will continue as usual...the yard will just help supplement).  I've also got great suggestions from fellow grey lovers, and his black kong should be coming in the mail in the next few days to serve as that special "I'M GOING IN MY KENNEL!" treat.  Over the summer, Freesia the black lab had pretty bad Separation Anxiety, and I was able to cure her of it over the course of a month.  I'm sure that a calmer, easier to tire out dog like Ferguson will be able to get it in no time.  I have faith in him :)  After all, he did great on the first night for an hour.  I'm sure he can do it again <3

In other news, Ferguson saw the upstairs today for the first time.  I walked him on a leash, preparing to help him on steps, but he did fantastic (thanks to his foster, Chris!).  He explored all the rooms and went down easy.  Otherwise, the fence people, as I mentioned, were here repairing our very broken fence.  However, this required making the inside of the house suffer a earthquake-like experience, which poor Ferguson did not like.  The wall near his kennel and dog bed started shaking like crazy (I thought the clock would fall off the wall), causing him to get up and retreat to the kitchen after giving it a "stop that!" bark over his shoulder.  I had to coax him back into the family room : / poor guy.  He seems pretty content now, chewing a toy on the floor next to me.  His foster was also right about his compressed rawhides...he goes through them like it's nothing.  I hope he likes nylabones just as much!

Anyway, I can't wait to see him run.  I'll walk him along the border so he knows what's what before we cut him loose...and I'll be sure to try to get a video (though it is a bit dark).