Mr. Baxter has anxiety

First, I wanted to let you guys know that Jayson Bales has cancelled tonight's concert at Sharpie's. He's got the flu and an ill drummer. We wish Jayson a quick recovery and hopefully the date will be rescheduled soon.

On to the story.

Baxter knows when I'm about to leave the house in the morning. The sound of the television being turned off, the clicking off of my bedside lamp and the sight of me putting on my shoes all indicate that momma is about to leave for the day. He darts downstairs and hides under the coffee table until I pull him out by his back legs while he lays submissively on his back.

But this week, he tried to outsmart me.

I went through my typical routine before walking out the door, and Baxter ran downstairs and underneath the coffee table. When I bent down to pull him out from his hiding spot, he ran behind the couch. When I'd get near him, he'd run to the other side of the couch. This game of cat and mouse continued for about three minutes before I tried negotiating with him, "Bax, come on buddy. Come see me."

He wasn't budging, so I pulled out my last resort -- the car keys. He knows the jingle. The familiar sound that means we're going for a ride. It was enough to sucker him into running toward the back door, where I scooped him up and put him in his house.

All of this activity made me wonder what my dog was thinking. Is he sad because I'm leaving? Does he hate staying in his house while I'm gone? Why is it a challenge each day I leave my house?

I called the dog doc and Monday pet columnist Gregg Flowers to get an idea of what my pooch was thinking.

"Separation anxiety."

I guess if you're going to have a pet problem, the best one to have would be a dog that loves you too much. Gregg gave me some techniques to work on with Baxter and hopefully we'll work through our problems soon.