Separation Anxiety Anonymous for the Young Canine

I think they need one of these organizations and invite my puppy to be a member. I knew there was some anxiety but I didn't realize how bad it was until I got home today. You see, for the past week I've been trying different ways to pen her in while not having to actually put her in a cage or kennel. I want her to be able to have space to roam and play. Unfortunately she has managed to Houdini herself out of every single configuration I could come up with. I finally admitted defeat and purchased a large wire dog crate for her. It's not as roomy as I would have chosen, but the medium sized crate looked like a prison cell for dogs. The directions actually say that a dog should only have enough room to stand up, turn around, and lay down. How horrible! So I thumbed my nose at the experts and bought the larger one. At least she can somewhat play in this one. I can't put her things in there quite yet as I'm trying to remove the cat hair from her newly adopted blankie (it's in the dryer - the hair gets caught in the lint trap). Unlike the trellis I had placed across the kitchen doorway, Ms. Sadie won't be able to shift these panels, nor will she be able to pull the fasteners out of their holders or remove enough chunks to make an escape hole. You gotta love metal. I just hope she doesn't chew off all of the paint and make herself sick. Other than the missing chunks of trellis and the shredded books, she hasn't been too destructive when she escapes.....until today. Really though, even today's destruction wasn't too bad. She had shredded three plastic bags and one plastic shower curtain, but at least my sandals were still in one piece. I didn't even see a tooth mark!