Thundershirt

We had Duncan's Grade 1 teacher, Joan, who is also a behavioural consultant, come over to talk about a few issues, especially the way he gets so upset when someone leaves (unless, of course, everyone leaves and he goes into his crate, which is fine.) She did make some training recommendations, but she feels most of his problems are due to high anxiety rather than behavioural issues. 

She suggested several ideas to reduce his anxiety levels, including a Thundershirt. We picked one up yesterday. Doesn't he look handsome? He doesn't seem to mind wearing it at all, and we do think he seems calmer with it on. Fingers crossed! 

(If we find it works, it comes in several colours, with optional sweaters and jackets that snap on. I think he would look quite dapper in the trench coat, don't you?)

In other news, Duncan had a pleasant romp at the Alton leash-free park yesterday. First he played with an enormous but very sweet dog named Jackson, then with 7-month-old Penny. Penny was a bit worried at first, apparently due to a recent encounter with a couple of determined herding dogs who mistook her for a sheep, but she and Duncan seemed to have fun. (You can tell he had fun – look how black his paws are!)

And here is the annual "helping Daddy put up the Christmas lights" photo. We went outside to supervise in person for a while, but eventually Duncan decided that there was no point in all of us standing around getting cold.