Intuition?

Austin in the park with Mira and Mama

Our dog Austin has had an interesting week. He's a great dog. He's been, for the most part, everything we could hope for in a dog. He's obedient and a good house dog. He hasn't had any accidents in the house, which is quite the feat for a dog that we've had for the last 1 3/4 years.

We wouldn't say he's an overly intelligent dog, but he is eager to please and he's super affectionate and loving. He's what we call our 55lb "wanna be lap dog".

He is especially good with children, which is by far the most important trait when we were looking for a family dog.

In the past week or so, however, our pooch has been suffering from some anxious behaviour. For a few days in a row, he's been suffering from separation anxiety. He'll shake, pant and freak out when we are getting ready to leave the house. When we leave, he would jump up on the glass table in the kitchen and paw at the window-hoping (so I am guessing) to see where we went. Little does Austin realize (this is where the "not so smart" part comes in), there is a window at his level in the hallway which would provide him with the same view as from on top of the table.

Our fear, of course, is that he'll fall through the glass table and hurt himself. We are also a little afraid of the damage that could be done to the window.

Geoff seems to think that this anxiety is coming from the fact that I'm so close to birthing our son. It seems to make sense. I am now home full time and he's been attached to my hip. Dogs must sense that something is happening. Austin used to be Geoff's little buddy and would look to him for everything. Things have changed dramatically in only a week or so.

Austin has seemed to have settled in the past few days. The anxiety is minimal (I'm lucky to even get a goodbye from Austin as he's passed out on the couch) and he's much calmer. I am relieved to see this behaviour cease. I worry about our boy and how he'll adjust to the new baby. I know that he's good with children-exceptionally good. I just don't want his feelings hurt :(