A different dog after vacation??

[Josue]

I can't seem to find it now, but in all my searching and research, I could've sworn I came across threads where people went on vacation, then came back and their once well behaved dog, was now acting up and causing problems....basically a totally different dog? Like it was mad at them for going away and is getting its revenge...

We're planning a 5 day trip to FL for my cousin's wedding in June, and I'm worried that something like this would happen with Tyson. By then, we will have had him for 6 months, so hopefully we'll have a strong bond with him by then. I just hate the thought that he might think we've abandoned him or something, then all the work we've done with him up to that point was all for nothing?

Am I just worrying for nothing? Is there a right way and a wrong way to leave your dog for an extended period of time?

 

[johann]

We boarded Johann for 13 days last fall for our vacation. I was super stressed and worried, especially since we were going out of the country and would be hard to reach. He was skinny and very, very tired when we got home. He was a little clingy for the first few days, but then went back to his normal level of velcro-dog-ness. It was a non-issue for him, and he went back to daycare the next week....didn't even look back when I dropped him off.

I think it helped that he was boarded at the same place where he went to daycare. I would not want to leave him at a traditional "boarding kennel" because I think he'd die of heartbreak (probably not, just my fear that he'd get very depressed being stuck in a kennel all alone).

What type of place will your boy stay at? I think it helped Johann to do a few "practice runs" where we'd board him for 1 or 2 nights and boarding him at a familiar place with people he loved.

 

[Althea]

I'm all for a dog sitter or a friend who can watch your dog -- possibly a kennel if you know them really well (like Johann's daycare -- good set up). We have a fantastic dog sitter who loves my girl almost as much as me, so there's no worries when I leave her with the sitter. She gets babied and lost of attention. I also watch some friends' dogs, and again -- they know me. So their stress level is way down when they are here. Think about where you would like him to stay, and then introduce him to it. Let him get to know the people/person and see how he does.

 

[Josue]

My fiance was wanting to board him at the vet's office (before our recent incident with them) or a local boxer breeder/boarder, but I didn't want him staying in a kennel environment for the same reasons as you guys. I thought for SURE he'd think we had abandoned him if he just had to sit there in a kennel all day...like the situation we pulled him from.

We don't have too too many people we trust with him, or that we trust him to be good around, so it's tough. It will either be my brother, or a friend of the family that house sits for my parents and takes care of their dogs. (my parents will be at this wedding too)

He's familiar and friendly with both choices, but I'm afraid that he wouldn't listen to them if they try to have him do something, like get in his crate or something. Or, are they going to walk him everyday that it's nice, and will he be good for them if they do? My fiance thinks we shouldn't ask them to do too much with him, just feed him, make sure he's safe, and wait till we get back home.

 

[Althea]

Josue -- check out a dog sitter. Seriously -- they know how to deal with problem pooches. I have one that is also very protective and can be difficult. The petsitter has no problem with her. Find a petsitter who has some good experiences and references, and who hears your issue and is willing to deal with it. I had several dogs on my rotation who were, ahem, difficult. But they loved me, because I got to know them while their owner was there.

I would not leave my dog with someone who he/she didn't respect enough to listen. You are asking for a world of trouble if an emergency arises. Though, I'd bet you aren't giving your brother or friend enough credit. Maybe try an overnight stay before hand to see how it goes...that should help iron out any issues. And don't worry....you'd be surprised how different some animals act when their owners aren't present. You'll figure this out. It won't be the only trip you'll take without him. And once you have this nailed down, it will be easy. No worries.

 

[maxandtonka]

I second the dog sitter suggestion! Boxers including mine do not do well when they are at my vet boarding or hospitalized. They are always really stressed. I just think boxers are to social to be left alone with no attention for extended hours.

 

[Caney Creek]

He's familiar and friendly with both choices, but I'm afraid that he wouldn't listen to them if they try to have him do something, like get in his crate or something. Or, are they going to walk him everyday that it's nice, and will he be good for them if they do? My fiance thinks we shouldn't ask them to do too much with him, just feed him, make sure he's safe, and wait till we get back home.

That's really all the kennel would be doing with him anyways. I used to work at a vet that offered boarding services so I am always one to recommend that people NOT board their dogs! LOL. The vet is a place that you think you feel comfortable leaving your dogs with but when vets offer boarding to animals that don't need medical treatment, those animals get boarded in the kennel NOT in the hospital where they'd receive lots more attention, and I don't know how your vets kennel looks but ours looked like a jail. Dogs got to go out twice a day for about 15 minutes each, so spent the majority of days in their cell. On top of that the place I worked at did not allow you to bring your own dog bed or toys -- unless you were willing to never get them back (I guess they didn't like to keep track of them when they had to clean the cages twice a day). The dogs slept on a single towel on a cement floor and had to listen to the constant barking and howling of other animals all day long. If your dogs can handle that type of environment then they are a lot more resilient than mine! I sometimes feel like it's a bit of a burden for my family to take my dogs when we leave town but I try my best to make it easy on the humans and they always get compensation for it. If my dogs have to "suffer" with family for a week that's OK with me because it's still not even comparable to what they'd have to endure at a boarding facility.

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I'd recommend a pet sitter as well. We were gone for 15 day in December of '08 and both of my dogs did GREAT with my friend coming in 2-3 times a day to let them out to potty, play with them, etc and my then 18 month old Boxer was crated when she wasn't here and he still did great. We adopted our new German Shepherd and had had a 2 day trip planned before we got him so we went ahead and still went and did the same deal she came in twice a day for those 2 days and all 3 of our dogs did great (and we had only had our GSD for about a week when we went for those 2 days). We've personally never had any problems and have been gone a few times, anywhere from 2 days to 4 days to 15 days and never had a problem with coming back and having our dogs be no different from when we left.

Good luck.

 

[Josue]

Very reassuring advice guys, I appreciate it! I feel more comfortable leaving him for a few days now...

I would like him to stay with my brother, but we haven't decided 100% yet. He's got a GSD that Tyson gets along with (most of the time, they can't eat together), and a fenced in backyard so he could run around. He loves my brother now too, and my brother knows what the deal is with him from all the conversations we've had, what and how he eats, how much we excercise him, his quirks, etc.

 

[Kilby'sMum]

We go away most years for at least 10 days and my mum has come and stayed at our place with Kiby although we haven't been away since we had Kona. Kilby has been great, she apparently misses me and goes off her food a little but she is completely in love with us when we get back and sticks to me like glue for a few days. She is also pretty good at guilting my mum into taking her for 3+ walks a day (the first time she kept nudging her leash mum thought I must have forgotten to tell her... nope, just a clever girl who loves her walks!) and somehow convinced her it was normal for her to eat toast for brekky!!! We now just leave a list of what/when she eats and her usual walk/play routine and of course we rang and talked to her on the phone ;p