I'm leaving for an island vacation in a week, which yea! (especially since I'm looking out my window right now and it's SNOWING!). But also, I'm a little nervous about leaving my 6 month old pup for the first time for an extended time (7 days). He is staying with my boyfriend's mom and dad, which he has met a couple of times and has visited their home. He seems to like it there, as they have a nice fenced yard for lots of sniffing and playing. They are dog people, who have owned dogs for years (though they have no dog now), and they sound excited for him to stay. So, I think it sounds great (plus its free!). However, no one really knows your dog like you do, so I'm still a little nervous. I have left him for short, weekend get-aways and he has always done fine, but he stayed at my own home with my roommate.
Anyways, any tips/suggestions for leaving a pup during a longer vacation? What does everyone do with their Corgis when they can't travel with them? Should I expect the owner-dog bond to suffer at all? Or will he remember me and pick-up right where we left off? Ahh, dog ownership anxiety...
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I always have some one stay at our house with mine when we go . I find that it helps me to write pages of info for my dog sitter. She already knows this stuff but it makes me feel better :) My animals are spoiled when I am away but still seem happy to see me when I return. Hope it goes well for you as well.
I had to take my boys to daycare when I had to leave town for almost 3 weeks with a family emergency. They like daycare, they're really eager to go play, but they also really like to come home.
Be sure you leave the name and phone number of your vet and a note that says its ok for them to take your pup in if they have to, leave treats & toys and a t shirt or something you've slept with so they get your scent. Take the usual food that you feed so there's no upset tummies from a change in diet.
Don't be surprised if you're greeted on your return with lots and lots of corgi kisses.
I am having the same anxiety, and my trip isn't until July! The only time I've left Jeff with someone else was for one night. I'm staying at a cottage this summer that said the only rule is no pets! The owners live down the street, so they would know for sure if I snuck Jeff in. I am beyond nervous to leave him somewhere for a week!
Let us know how it goes :)
We are fortunate to be able to leave our 2 with their groomer who is also a family friend. They stay at her house along with her dogs. I know they are loved and pampered.
Write down instructions for feeding and treat giving, special games she likes to play, also any dislikes or fears she has. Make sure you give them the phone number for your vet and where he/she is located. I also send their blankets with them because it's familiar. When you leave her try to be calm, don't act like there is anything out of the ordinary and don't linger..take them there and leave. Much like when leaving your kid for the first time at day care or preschool. It's not mean. Having worked at a day care it really is the best thing to do.
My 2 follow me constantly the first few days after we come home especially my male. He is a Mama's boy.
It's the hardest to leave them even when you know they're in good hands.
I had to board my dog about three times for a week each over his lifetime, if I remember correctly, and he never forgot who his family was. I remember that on the pick up day, he would huff and puff and alarm bark at me as if I were a stranger, but when I got close enough he would suddenly recognize me and get SUPER puppy like and excited. It's kind of funny to see them correct their mistake (Oh! It's YOU! YOU'VE COME TO RESCUE ME!). If I had had any doubt that dogs feel emotion it would have been corrected in those moments.
Megan, I just picked Foxy up on Wed. after being gone for 13 days and she was very excited to see me. I think she had a great time playing with the other dogs while we were gone. The kennel staff even took a picture of her and a yellow lab she friended while she was there. She has had no setbacks with potty training, which was one thing I was worried about. She is the same girl I left and our bond is exactly as it was before. I will say I think she was a little mad at me and she peed in my bed the first night home. I don't think it was an "accident" because she always wakes me up to go out and there was no sign from her. If I not put my foot in a wet spot I wouldn't have even known she went to the bathroom. But all that aside, have a great vacation and don't worry about Bowie not knowing you or not having the same bond that you had before you left.
The thought of leaving my Corgis is a huge impediment to even thinking about a a vacation. My wife and I have 2 corgis, a 3 year old male, and a 6 month old female (Griffin and Violet). Griffin has always stayed with my parents when we needed to go away, but my folks are no longer capable of taking care of him, must less the new puppy, too. So we are faced with the problem of what to do when/if we go away. My wife had a Lab mix that we used to board at our vet's when we went away, and she seemed to do well there, but the Corgis have never experienced that. I don't want this issue to dictate whether we ever take a vacation, but I must admit that it's a big consideration. I don't even like to be way from the house for more than a few hours. I keep watching the clock when we are out, and when the time approaches 2 hours away, I get anxious. We've left them for as long as 5 hours, but that's is VERY unusual. But this issue here is going away for days/weeks. I have considered talking with their breeder, who lives in California, about 4 hours drive from us. I don't know if she would take them on as boarders while we go on vacation, but I would absolutely feel okay with that situation. The drive to take them there and pick them up would be well worth the piece of mind I'd have while we were away. But I don't know if that's an option for us, and if not, I don't know what we'll do...
Megan, you are fortunate to have such a great arrangement available to you. The pup will not forget you, he will instead grow from the new experience and different handling and environment. Enjoy your vacation and don't give it a second thought. Let them practice on this four legged grandkid, someday they may be doing the same with a child :-) , but I guess that's jumping the gun.
I have someone come in too but I still worry, write pages like Bev and call home...in the end the dogs are all happy when we get home and we all survived! Enjoy your vacation... it sounds like you have a very good situation for your pupster:)Consider it a vacation for him too...he might like to visit them once in awhile!
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