I got my border collie/Boston terrier mix about two months ago now, and she truly is a sweetheart. But the more I get to know her, it’s becoming very apparent she’s a very anxious dog. Her head is always on a swivel.
For the first few weeks I had her sleeping in her kennel which I keep in my room. And she was totally okay with it and would enter her kennel willingly. We built trust and I decided to let her sleep with me in bed. It was great, no accidents, she’d sleep through the night, easy sleeping for the both of us.
Then at 6 in the morning one day I wake up to her in a frantic panic because my fire alarm conveniently died and started chirping. The poor dog was distraught and ever since she goes into a blinding panic whenever I bring her upstairs for bed time.
She’ll whine for hours if I let her. She’ll claw at the door. She’ll do anything in an attempt to break out of the room.
In an attempt to calm her down I brought her kennel upstairs, put it in my closet with a blanket over it, and she was still a frantic mess, clawing at her cage to escape. I gave up when my neighbors knocked on the wall at 3am, so I just put her downstairs in her kennel. I just don’t know what to do.
She’ll sleep the night away in her kennel (now in our living room), but that’s not a permanent solution. My roommate and I share an apartment and he’s communicated that he doesn’t want her sleeping in the living room. I understand, I don’t want him to feel responsible for her if I could to bed earlier than him or wake up later than him. But at the end of the day, I don’t want to force her into a space she’s terrified of.
I just feel like we’re going backwards. I’m frustrated with myself because I haven’t been the most patient with her — I’m just exhausted. I’m going through a break up and this dog is requiring so much from me, and I’m at a loss.
Any advice for a struggling dog owner would be appreciated
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