Thank you for all of the great suggestions! :-) I'm leaning towards keeping Ian at home. He has a nice area in our bedroom with his chair near a large window so that he can look out. That is where he stays while we're at work. I looked at the link about home sitters, but most of them made me nervous because some of the owners have large dogs, unfenced yards, or more than one dog of their own. I don't want Ian around a large dog, even if the owner alleges that he is friendly, yards (fenced or not) are a concern because of fire ants and hawks, and multiple owner dogs are a concern because I don't want them to gang up on Ian. Yes, I admit that I am a protective mom, and I know you understand.
Ian does have anxiety issues when there are other people in his home; he thinks everyone is there to see him, and does not like to be isolated. I'm still working on a solution for that...not sure about giving meds for that, idk. Yes, this will be a little difficult since I am hosting, but I want Ian to have a nice Thanksgiving as well. :-)

Did you ever say whether he is teeny tiny (under 7 pounds)? If he is not teeny tiny then I think you may be anticipating problems that might never happen (if he is tiny maybe you are afraid he will get hurt?). Is he that high strung that he will freak out? I would think that if he can handle doggie camp that he can handle guests. You say he has anxiety when people come over, yet you say that he thinks they are there to see him....that doesn't quite make sense to me. Does he like the people to come see him or not?

Maggie loves people. She thinks everyone is there to see her too. She doesn't mind the people, but I think she gets a little overwhelmed so she goes to a quiet, or safe, place. Cordless drills and fireworks frighten her so she goes to the same spot. Preferably with me, but if I'm not there she goes in her crate. I knew she was sick one day when I came home and she was in her crate because there was nothing scary that day.

Anyway, I have a bad habit of "what if"...what if she is afraid, what if she eats something, what if....I did it with my sons job this summer...what if he doesn't pass the test...what will he tell the next job, what will he put on his resume, where will he apply..all that and he passed the test... (only to be laid off 4 months later) I was getting ahead of myself.

Your Ian will probably be fine, you may be "what if-ing" when you don't really need to. Start now to find him a "safe" spot and get him used to it. It will be fine--unless you guys are a bunch of crazy maniacs.......

No, we're very low-keyed. We only have a lot of people (more than 4 for us) in our home once a year, so Ian isn't used to having so many people in his house. He is very friendly with people and pets and likes to be part of the mix. He does have a large area, with a view, as I stated, but he does get overwhelmed if he is separated from us, when we are home. No, I'm not "what if-in," I know my dog. Ian weighs 9.3lbs. :)

I have an xpen for Galen because he is a bug of a guy. He stays in the kitchen in his pen when we have a big parties. He loves people and wants to be social with everyone. He even escaped the last time and wanted to play with everyone.

If it is just family we let our girls run around. If we are having a bigger crowd over, that are not used to them, then we put the girls in the den away from the party.

Be sure to let everyone know that you don't want your dog to have people food. Chances are, kids are going to want to pick him up too. Make sure you set the ground rules. Last time I had my dogs at a big party, I carried him 90 percent of the time. Fortunately, I wasn't hosting the party.

That's what we will do, get an xpen.:):thumbup: