Don't Want To Leave My Dog Behind...

[Joe1028]

I know I'm not alone when I say that I'm worried that my dog will not take the trauma of me leaving him while I go on a 4 day cruise. OK, I don't know if I can take the trauma of being away from him. Our pets are our children... we do worry about them.

 

I am lucky to have a neighbor to watch our Chinese Crested while we are away but I still worry that he will not adapt to our leaving him behind. What is your experience.

 

Thanks....

[hockeyluver]

I hear you there, I booked this cruise last March, didnt think we would get another dog, but now i have my 5 month old chocolate lab and an 8 day cruise booked!!! We have a friend of our daughters coming to house sit, and when he is gone to work one of our friends son will be staying with her. Im gonna miss my baby!!! One daughter is gone away to college the other is coming on the cruise.

[MrPete]

I never worry about my dog. Ship her off, get her back, she's odd for a few days, and then back to normal.

 

Left my kid home once. Came home, and she cried seeing us.

 

She's joined us on our next 9 cruises.

[Karshrimp]

I feel your pain! :p

We have two dogs that are our kids. Neighbors will be taking care of them while we are gone on our 7 day cruise, but I will still worry about them. I am sure they will wonder where the hell we are, and who are these people coming in the house to let them in and out!

I see you are in Florida. We have very cold nights (and some days) here. No way I wanted them to stay out at night in the cold. One of our dogs is a bull terrier (Spuds McKenzie type dog - see my avatar pic), and doesn't really have a coat to speak of and no fat on him to insulate him. He is all muscle. Neighbors are going to let them in at night to sleep in the house and back out in the mornings. That way I won't be worrying if they are freezing to death while we lounge in the Bahamas! :D

[Upper Decker]

I'm going through this now with my 7 month puppy. Luckily, my parents have a dog around the same size and activity level and will be watching him while we are away, but I am going to miss him so much!

[klfrodo]

My experience is that they're DOGS,,,,

they have survived for thousands of years if their owners go away for 4 days.

They always have and they always will.

[nrdsb4]

I know I'm not alone when I say that I'm worried that my dog will not take the trauma of me leaving him while I go on a 4 day cruise. OK, I don't know if I can take the trauma of being away from him. Our pets are our children... we do worry about them.

 

I am lucky to have a neighbor to watch our Chinese Crested while we are away but I still worry that he will not adapt to our leaving him behind. What is your experience.

 

Thanks....

 

It's only 4 days. As a dog lover and owner of two (plus a kitty), I will say he will be okay. Don't be dramatic when you leave (he won't understand what you're saying, of course, but he will pick up on your anxiety if you don't control it-and will forever make negative associations with suitcases being packed, etc.) or when you return. He may not be thrilled with the situation, but he'll be perfectly fine.

[newcatintown]

Don't have a dog, but do have a cat. From the moment I pick her up from the vet she shows her displeasure with me. Turns her back to me and just ignores me in general. She does this until she realizes that it doesn't faze me in the least, and she is the one missing out :p It worked the first time, but I won't get sucked into that one again. Thirty minutes and all is forgotten :D

[jenn_x]

I will be leaving my 11 mo pup with family while we are gone. There will be another pup about the same age, so I think once he gets over the initial "where did my people go" whiny stage, he will be too busy playing to be to troubled. He is a bit of a drama queen, so I am expecting that he will be in a "mood" when we return, but it will be shortlived.

[babies12]

We have a Black Lab. We got him after our two beloved dogs passed away. Traveler, the Lab absolutely loves my husband, in fact we should have named him Shadow as he is right by his side the moment he wakes up, and when he leaves for work, he just waits for his return. Like clockwork, everyday around 2:00 p.m. Traveler knows DH is on his way home from work and he will literally sit in one spot eyeing the driveway waiting to see his truck and the moment he sees it he bolts down the driveway lightning quick. Then, he will not leave his side for the rest of the night LOL. My concern is I want to go on a cruise soon, but I'm afraid of this separation anxiety my dog will have. It's not going to prevent us from going on a vacation, but it will cause some anxiety on us as we will wonder how our big baby will be doing.

[LHP]

We have a 7 year old pekapoo that is adorable.

 

I think he has more fun at the Doggie Dude Ranch than we do on our cruises.

 

(at $26.00 a day...he had better!!!)

 

Seriously, he gets to play outside a lot more than when we are home....and he has lots of little friends that he gets to play with....

 

when we pull up to the Doggie Dude Ranch...he literally can't wait to get out of the van...

[rtw68]

We have a Black Lab. We got him after our two beloved dogs passed away. Traveler, the Lab absolutely loves my husband, in fact we should have named him Shadow as he is right by his side the moment he wakes up, and when he leaves for work, he just waits for his return. Like clockwork, everyday around 2:00 p.m. Traveler knows DH is on his way home from work and he will literally sit in one spot eyeing the driveway waiting to see his truck and the moment he sees it he bolts down the driveway lightning quick. Then, he will not leave his side for the rest of the night LOL. My concern is I want to go on a cruise soon, but I'm afraid of this separation anxiety my dog will have. It's not going to prevent us from going on a vacation, but it will cause some anxiety on us as we will wonder how our big baby will be doing.

 

Our pug is like that with my DW. Luckily, our DS will be staying home and taking care of all of our dogs. We are going to get things packed the night before and not make a big show of leaving in the morning, making it like any other day. We take our dogs to our camper every weekend in the summer, and as soon as they see us getting our bags loaded, they know its time to go! :D

[teedee]

I completely understand your worries. The first time I went on a cruise after getting my dog I boarded her. It was a very nice place, but she didn't do well. When I picked her up they told me she seemed to be afraid of everyone and very nervous all week and I should think twice about boarding her again. I felt horrible and at first just decided I wouldn't go without her. But eventually I found a deal too good to pass up, but this time she went to stay with my brother and sister in law, who she was very used to being around, and that worked great. She loves being at their house and playing with her "cousin". No worries about leaving her anymore, so I would say if you have someone your babies are familiar with try to see if you can stay with them.

Terri

[KroozLov'r]

My experience is that they're DOGS,,,,

they have survived for thousands of years if their owners go away for 4 days.

They always have and they always will.

 

 

Yes. Well said. Period.

[Loves_Dogs]

I can totally relate. Last year while I was on my Adventure of the Seas cruise my wonderful lab died suddenly. He had not been sick and it was a total shock. Necropsy report showed he had a very aggressive cancerous brain tumor. I have always taken my dogs for their annual checkups and his last few had been the more thorough 'senior wellness check' but there were no signs of illness.

 

Needless to say in my head I went over and over the months leading up to his death trying to determine if I had missed any signs of him being ill. I felt just awful that he passed while I was gone as he had always experienced severe separation anxiety and the thought of him spending his final days freaking out about being separated from us has haunted me. I now have a Newfoundland (another rescue) and the thought of leaving her terrifies me.

[saltcity]

I can relate totally... Our dog was a rescue dog and the first time we left him with his paternal "grandparents", I think it was worse than leaving a child... I was so worried that he would think he was being abandoned again!

 

Now when DH and I go on vacation for 2 weeks Florida for a few days then our cruise we leave our boy with his maternal "grandparents" otherwise known as Spa Grandma and Grandpa :cool:... I am convinced this dog sits on the sofa with a smoking jacket and pipe and get's waited on hand and foot... He comes home sooooooo spoiled it takes a forever to bring him back to reality:eek:... And keep in mind that he is spoiled with us too...

 

I have often said that if there is such a thing as reincarnation I want to come back as one of my dogs or my Mom's dogs... Ours has definately gone from the dog house to the penthouse... LOL:D

[patrice1]

I understand. We have 2 parrots that wait in their cage all day for us to come home. The only way we can feel comfortable cruising is to hire someone to house sit and maintain our routine. Also, it makes me feel immensely better to be able to call the sitter periodically for reassurance. For this we add $45/day to our vacation budget. Seriously, I am not complaining! The pet sitters think it's funny that I have a "book" I've made that shows pics of their routine and feeding, but it helps them and most pet sitters aren't familiar with parrots. We're happy to have found someone reliable.

[Tasha4199]

Jeleja, that is so sad. I have heard that animals prefer to go alone, as that is what my vet and a few other people told me after my family's great dane Baby passed while we were away on Thanksgiving Day one year. We got home to let her out and found her. Saddest day ever :( They don't want to see their family in pain so they go quietly.

[Kitt Lady]

I have to split my girls up. One is a German Shepard and the other a Great Dane. My Dane goes to the Spa for the week (Kennel) cause she just won't listen to my daughter. (Shhh they have sibling rivalry). She LOVES the lady at the Spa. She also has training classes we went to (Twice). So everything is fun to her.

 

But, when I go pick her up...last time she broke a picture and cleared a whole table of dog supplies with her tail, cause she was so excited to see me. So when I got home, I thinking it's gonna be great. Two WONDERFULL greatings from babies. Well, I got home and all the German Shapard wanted to do was play with the Dane. It was sorta like, Oh your home too, huh?

[tea4ular]

I have sent my "son"(Bruce) to "camp" several times (a wonderful place). Once he came home with his bed completely torn to shreds (as in he was mad/anxious about being away from home), and another time he had a huge "kong" (chew toy) to gnaw on, and that seemed to help. The "camp counselors" said he wasn't very social with the other dogs.

 

I lost Bruce in August, and I am secretly relieved that I don't have to send him to "camp" in January when I take another week-long trip. :(

[jebuell]

He should be fine for four days. After my divorce I had to leave Boo with my parents for the summer while I tried finding a place to live. He did fine at first but then I went to visit for a weekend and when I left my Mom said he kept going upstairs to the room I was sleeping in and would cry and spend all day sleeping on the bed. THAT broke my heart!

 

But now he's a fully trained service dog for me and when I cruise he can come with me. :) He hasn't yet but I imagine at some point in time he'll come onboard with us.

[cruisedawgg]

:( this thread hits close to home. I just got back from a cruise a week ago, a much needed rest from a house full of family members over thanksgiving week. My boxer in my avatar pic suffered from mass cell tumors, and during thanksgiving day he fell very ill. We actually spent thksgvg eve and most of the day at the doggie E.R. so i missed dinner with family.

 

3 days later he passed. So my cruise was sorta like therapy. :(

 

Miss you boy!!!

[Grits53]

We have 3 house dogs....Doberman, Mini Australian Shepherd, and long haired Chihuahua. When we first started cruising, we also had my "special dog of a lifetime", who I was extremely paranoid about leaving behind. Fortunately for us, my best friend volunteered to house and dog sit for us when we cruise. The dogs love her, and she spends a lot of time with them when she's here. She also cleans my house! I pay her, so it works out well for her, too. We don't worry about our dogs when she's here with them. If you can find someone like that to live in your house with the dog while you're cruising, that will give you a lot more peace of mind than just having someone come and check on them.

[donaldsc]

They are animals - dogs. Animals survive very well without people as long as they get food to eat and water to drink.

 

After a short time, he will not even know or care that you are gone.

 

So, don't worry about it.

 

DON

[arpie05]

Four days will not be too tramatic... We went to Florida to see Atlantis liftoff and then cruised in May so we were gone for two weeks. That was a long time so we did not board our dog. I had a house sitter for two weeks.

 

Look into someone teenager/college student from church or neighborhood that could stay at your house with the dog for the days you are gone if you don't want to board.

 

My dog was very happy to see us after TWO weeks but he survived. He is my second child but, he's a dog.