Separation Anxiety…. of owner!

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some advice/support about the guilt I feel leaving my newly adopted 3 year old foxhound home alone. I adopted him on Saturday, and had to leave him alone for three hours yesterday and felt sooooo guilty about it! He was perfectly fine when my partner came home; he didn't mess in the house, and didn't chew anything at all.

I know I should be encouraging a healthy independence, but I'm such a wet noodle when it comes to training. I'm working on having a firmer hand with him. We start obedience classes tonight.

This is a bit of a separate issue, but part of the reason I am so submissive toward him (bad for the dog, I know!) is because I was attacked by a large dog a few years ago. To be honest, I'm still very intimidated by dogs, despite my love for them, and when Copper growled at me when I did something he didn't like the other day, I felt too scared to correct his behaviour.

I'm willing to work through my fears to develop a healthy and loving relationship with Copper, but it's tough! Anyone else out there with a similar experience?