Tuesday, February 17, 2015

The Uncrating

As we work to get solutions to Henry's anxiety, one of the things we have discovered is that he's outgrown his crate. He's not too "big" for it but he's "done" with it. It is no longer the safe place it once was for him. He now feels trapped in there when he's done resting. Rather than staying cozy in there, it is a source of angst. This is likely due to his blindness. (We've had a couple professional opinions on this, so that is not just our take on it.)

So, we have been easing him out of his routine of being crated. This is scary to us mostly from the standpoint of a safety perspective. Henry can navigate the house freely and while there are some little spots where Henry could maybe "get stuck" he's is progressing quite well in his problem solving abilities and getting betting at negotiating his way around the house. The inside is not our biggest concern, though. We are allowing Henry access to the back yard (which means a whole host of other possible worries for us).

We know that Henry (unlike sweet baby Benny) would be distraught if he had to make a potty in the house. So, we know he NEEDS to go out. But with that comes the host of concerns.... Are the gates secure? Is he going to be stolen? Is a lawn treatment guy going to leave a gate open and let him out? Is he going to encounter a snake and in his blindness think its toy? What about squirrels? And not to mention the pool! We had already Henry proofed the pool. Or so we thought. As we were making final safety touches, we discovered that he could indeed navigate beyond the cones and the orange mesh! We almost dropped dead of panic right then! So, we have a temporary (and too ugly for even us to show photos of) fix. But it seems to be working.

So we have been weaning him into a full day at home. Out of the crate. Off the Xanax. And with less company. We are happy to report that he is doing remarkably well. This is extremely relieving. We doubt that we will get to the point where we can leave him for any "fun" reason but now we are almost able to make it to work sans nervous tummies and panic attacks. The best news is that this is helping him to build confidence again. We are seeing a more prideful Henry. So, we will just keep on doing our best to make him comfortable and be well.

#HenryStrong #HenrySmart #HenryHandsome #HenryCalm