It all began with a wedding announcement last spring. Jamaica in December! My first thought was that I wouldn't miss it for the world, but my second thought was, "What about Pooh?" So, as the year unfolded I knew we were preparing her for a week without us, but the most we had ever done was weekends and they hadn't gone really well. In fact, our longtime house sitter wasn't enjoying being our house sitter since the introduction of Pooh and Pooh's anxiety was always much higher for the following week. I imagined the worst, of course, huge setbacks, tail tucked, shaking for weeks and starting over on SO many things.
Near the end of the summer, I got a recommendation to a dog sitter that takes your dog into her home and it's like a doggie slumber party. Not too many dogs, no kennels, and she was a wonderful lady. When I went home and discussed it with my husband I couldn't get the image of her lovely house out of my mind. Pooh's room is fairly stripped down, based on the likelihood that if overly anxious (or bored?) she will EAT whatever she encounters, and she isn't allowed free roam of the house when we're gone. Sadly, I called the lady to cancel the trial run we were planning because I was worried Pooh would destroy her house, but I didn't have another plan.
Our vet recommended a house sitter with this vacation in mind and we did a meet in the field near our house. (Pooh is much more calm outdoors, if you walk through our front door you are automatically on Pooh's bad list.) We had a successful meeting, came back to the house together and they did a test run to see how things would go. Since that went well we tried to do monthly overnights in the months right before our trip. We even stayed at a local hotel when our plans changed so Pooh could have time with her babysitter! (I know you're laughing, but if I have to tell you the truth!) Before each visit I would update a long document about Pooh's current status, commands she could handle without worry, whether she could go in her room by herself, what her latest phobias were, or what had been resolved since the last visit. It's an interesting document to read and shows progression, but is ridiculously long because anxiety dogs need structure. Pooh gets apprehensive when she faces any uncertainty so the routine needs to be the same, commands the same, and results similar to when we are home. Sometimes during overnight visits the sitter and I would text, it took her a while to realize Pooh doesn't really get "happy" she just sleeps peacefully when all is well. If she's relaxed on her bed you're doing a GREAT job.
A few days before we left for the big vacation our lovely house sitter stopped by to go over the updated document with me, see Pooh's progress interacting with us, and regroup before being left alone for a week. Pooh wasn't overly anxious during the visit and still followed my commands, so I took that as a good sign. I also showed the house sitter the stash of unopened favorite treats we had for the week (even hot dogs!) and food puzzle toys/things that distract from anxiety. I put a brand new Calming Collar on Pooh a day or so before we left, set out the Thunder Shirt, and left the country.
I must tell you that having a house sitter who works with animals every day and understands the issues made me a lot more relaxed...it probably helped Pooh too. ;-) Pooh was happy to see us, but not panicked/weird when we returned. Pooh let me go to sleep when I came home exhausted after almost 24 hours of travel. She was pretty clingy during the following week, as expected, but overall she was FINE! Pooh ate and pooped every day while we were gone, that's a huge victory, and didn't get off her routine when we returned. We didn't have any major incidents, damage, or problems this week since we've been back and I think that speaks volumes! Quite frankly, I don't know how my wonderful house sitter did it, but I am so grateful that there is someone who appreciates my crazy dog like I do. :-)
Near the end of the summer, I got a recommendation to a dog sitter that takes your dog into her home and it's like a doggie slumber party. Not too many dogs, no kennels, and she was a wonderful lady. When I went home and discussed it with my husband I couldn't get the image of her lovely house out of my mind. Pooh's room is fairly stripped down, based on the likelihood that if overly anxious (or bored?) she will EAT whatever she encounters, and she isn't allowed free roam of the house when we're gone. Sadly, I called the lady to cancel the trial run we were planning because I was worried Pooh would destroy her house, but I didn't have another plan.
Our vet recommended a house sitter with this vacation in mind and we did a meet in the field near our house. (Pooh is much more calm outdoors, if you walk through our front door you are automatically on Pooh's bad list.) We had a successful meeting, came back to the house together and they did a test run to see how things would go. Since that went well we tried to do monthly overnights in the months right before our trip. We even stayed at a local hotel when our plans changed so Pooh could have time with her babysitter! (I know you're laughing, but if I have to tell you the truth!) Before each visit I would update a long document about Pooh's current status, commands she could handle without worry, whether she could go in her room by herself, what her latest phobias were, or what had been resolved since the last visit. It's an interesting document to read and shows progression, but is ridiculously long because anxiety dogs need structure. Pooh gets apprehensive when she faces any uncertainty so the routine needs to be the same, commands the same, and results similar to when we are home. Sometimes during overnight visits the sitter and I would text, it took her a while to realize Pooh doesn't really get "happy" she just sleeps peacefully when all is well. If she's relaxed on her bed you're doing a GREAT job.
A few days before we left for the big vacation our lovely house sitter stopped by to go over the updated document with me, see Pooh's progress interacting with us, and regroup before being left alone for a week. Pooh wasn't overly anxious during the visit and still followed my commands, so I took that as a good sign. I also showed the house sitter the stash of unopened favorite treats we had for the week (even hot dogs!) and food puzzle toys/things that distract from anxiety. I put a brand new Calming Collar on Pooh a day or so before we left, set out the Thunder Shirt, and left the country.
I must tell you that having a house sitter who works with animals every day and understands the issues made me a lot more relaxed...it probably helped Pooh too. ;-) Pooh was happy to see us, but not panicked/weird when we returned. Pooh let me go to sleep when I came home exhausted after almost 24 hours of travel. She was pretty clingy during the following week, as expected, but overall she was FINE! Pooh ate and pooped every day while we were gone, that's a huge victory, and didn't get off her routine when we returned. We didn't have any major incidents, damage, or problems this week since we've been back and I think that speaks volumes! Quite frankly, I don't know how my wonderful house sitter did it, but I am so grateful that there is someone who appreciates my crazy dog like I do. :-)