My wife and I are planning a 2-week vacation next fall without our furbaby, Juno.  In the 10 years we have had her, out longest time away has been two days.  We are terrible concerned about her reaction to her Mama and Papa being gone that long (not eating, depression, etc.)

I am looking for any helpful hints to aid in the separation anxiety that is sure to happen.

Thanx in advance.

When squirt goes to the kennel i send her blanket and her nerf football. When i leave dogs home they have the tv on (ironic since shadow is blind)and ill go get bison legs or beef femurs, something that will last and keep them preoccupied. Im guessing your on the normal spectrum of seperation anxiety. I have 1 that is on the cant leave for 5 mins without something broke or eaten spectrum

I'd develop a relationship with somebody (a dogsitter who accepts dogs in her home would probably be my first choice, followed by a reputable boarding kennel?). Then maybe have your dog go there for a half-day, then a day, then a weekend or two? By the time next fall rolls around, she should be familiar with the place and the people, and even though she will miss you terribly, she shouldn't get too worked up there.

One thing she has to learn is that when she stays there, you always come back and pick her up. The first time we ever left our dog, when we picked him up, he went crazy. He apparently thought that we were never coming back!! All of the other times we've picked him up, he's been happy to see us - but not in that crazy way.

So I'd try a few short boarding stays before the Big One, just so she can learn that you always come back for her! Because she's an older dog, I'd try to make it easier on her in that way...

Some dogsitters are really nice...they have a fenced backyard, they allow dogs on the furniture, they have a friendly dog of their own. I might look for a setup like that, kind of a "home away from home"...your dog might like going there!

I had a live in dog sitter for like 3 years. Squirt had the same experience tje forst time she was upset i left and then so excited she peed on me. All the other times she has been less upset with being left and less excited to see me.

Squirt is happy anywhere someone will throw her football for her

Lostmaniac wrote:

I had a live in dog sitter for like 3 years. Squirt had the same experience tje forst time she was upset i left and then so excited she peed on me. All the other times she has been less upset with being left and less excited to see me.

Squirt is happy anywhere someone will throw her football for her

Squirt sounds so cute! (Although she is a large wolflike dog, she sounds cute.)

Yea, first time we picked him up from boarding, our dog went insane. He was howling, weeping, whining, jumping, running circles around us. I think that he thought had been left at the shelter again. Every time since then, he's been very happy to see us and runs out wagging his tail...but not crazy like that!

Squirt is my small fat husky/Indian dog. Spider is my wolfdog or wolf husky or badly bred wooly husky depending on if im somewhere with breed restrictions

Squirt is amazing but a traumatic experience changed her outlook on other dogs followed by a hormonal imbalance. She was trained as a ptsd service dog and had therapy dog cert from the va. She used to go visit veterans in the abq va hospital. A bad experience with a loose pitbull (and possibly how i handled it) changed things. On a leash near other leashed dogs shes fine. If the dog is loose its a problem.

I like the idea @shepsky13 brought up. When i lived in Houston and was able to travel there were times I'd have to leave the dog at a doggy hotel. I'd visited a couple of times - unexpected visits and decided I liked the place.

A friend and I were taking off to spend the weekend in Mexico so I left Lady there and picked her up on Monday, Now, all my dogs are rescues so they've faced the abandonment issue and when I came back to pick her up she was in the play room but when she heard my voice playtime was over and as they say, she was all over me.

After that I left her there a couple of times and she came to accept that this was okay and that daddy would be back ... it may cost a couple of dollars to try and see how she does, but it's money well spent if she tolerates it well, no??

I had my mom house sit when we went to Jamaica last year. One of my dogs is dog aggressive and high anxiety in kennel situations. All 3 of mine were pound puppies and have anxiety anywhere that seems like it could be a pound or shelter. I guess they think they are being abandoned again. It was much easier having someone they knew watch them. Kenzi still isn't a fan of when I leave. I'm gone weekends during deer season and she is a mess until I get home even with my husband there, but she gets through. Getting her used to wherever she is going to be and whoever she is going to be around a little at a time from now until you leave can definitely ease the transition. Trying to keep as much as possible the same with a house sitter is by far the easiest on them usually but can be pricey and prohibitive.

In-home petcare sounds great!

The only problem we've found with family/friends is that most of them usually have their own Holiday plans...travelling, or having guests over at their home. Because our travels are usually during holiday breaks, we wind up using a commercial kennel just because they are able to work/petsit over holidays!

If you're not travelling during a standard time like Thanksgiving or Christmas, there will be a lot more options (and people) available to dogsit.

Travel without dogs is a conundrum for me. Plan was that Josh would take Ami when we wanted to travel. But neither of us are fully comfortable with Josh and the dogs. He has a tiny house, 2 kids, a dog, 2 cats and a wife. And Josh gets overwhelmed and cranky with Ami (sigh, the compete for my attention.) Then to complicate matters, Archer is house possessive, fine with Ami here, not so fine with Ami in his own environment. Then add Z'ev into the mix, with his muzzle, his separation anxiety (Wayne has to keep him inside if I leave the property - Z'ev will go looking for me...down the road! And Archer and Z'ev are uneasy truce at best. While, even if Ami and Z'ev get into it, Ami just shakes Z'ev, Archer is more...serious. And 2 people are always needed to break up a Z'ev altercation - Z'ev just won't quit. I can pull Ami or Archer off but Z'ev keeps coming back, 2-3 times. Not that it happens often, maybe 2-3 times in the past year. So, long story short, the plan with Josh doesn't work, Best we can do is the dogs are tethered/crated and Josh comes over to feed/let them out a bit and then back home. Ok for an overnight emergency. Not ok for a several night pleasure trip.

And boarding? Nah...Wayne's uncle's dog died, supposedly of a broken heart, while boarded. No way is Wayne gonna agree to boarding. And, I don't think anybody would take Z'ev with his history. So, the guys travel with us. And we stay in dog friendly lodging, eat at places with patios or in our room. Not the best but the dog's love it. Me. Not so much. It's hard enough for me to eat out with my dietary crap let alone adding dog friendly to the whole thing.

Not really a big issue anymore, though. Travel has become much less appealing these days. Has become more of a hassle than its worth. Our aged bodies are cranky with new beds, we like our coffee the way I make it, riding in a car for any lenght of time leaves me aching.

Ok, enough old lady complaints. Have a great day

amymeme wrote:

And boarding?  Nah...Wayne's uncle's dog died, supposedly of a broken heart, while boarded.

Yes, I did not want to scare the OP!
But my cousin's elderly chihuahua died when boarded (they had flown to attend a wedding).
And my brother-in-law's elderly rabbit died when boarded (they were bringing their daughter for college tours).
Boarding is extra-stressful for older animals, which is why I think they have to get used to it slowly...not suddenly drop them for a week.
They should first become familiar somehow with the place, the people, and bring their own food...

And yep, we used to backpack a lot! Nowadays, backpacking has lost its appeal..I need my soft memory foam bed and my slippers! :-)