Spencer has not handled my going back to work very well. Our unicorn of a dog -- so well-behaved, so quiet and unfussy -- morphed into an emotional wreck three weeks ago. No matter the length of the walk, the intensity of the run, or the amount of playtime, he cries, howls, and barks when he's left alone. Sometimes he starts out quiet, but inevitably deteriorates into one sad, crying mess of a dog.

I told the guy at the pet store about my problems. I asked Reddit for help. I called a doggie daycare and spoke to a trainer. I was ready to try anything (except for a bark collar), but everything we tried failed AND Spencer was regressing.

So last weekend, we tried Skype. We call Spencer from our phone or laptop and he "auto answers." You, too, can spy on your dog by setting Skype up as follows:

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Voila! Spencer on Skype.

We're only a few days into using Skype now. It's by no means a cure-all, but man, does takes the edge off our anxiety! We no longer leave the house and wonder if we'll get an angry email from our lawyer friend below. We no longer hope Spencer's not barking. We simply know if he is or isn't by calling him up on with a video call. He can't see us and we tend to leave ourselves on mute, but when he's upset, we try to calm him down with a few words. So far, that's worked amazingly. In combination with our other training and mixing his schedule up with daycare and walks, we hope he'll kick this anxiety for good in the next few weeks.

Am I crazy or am I crazy?

Don't answer that. We just love the damn dog.