[NAGDU] Leaving my dog for several days

Thu Apr 29 21:22:03 UTC 2021

Hello Carmella,

A very well written email. It seems to me you are over thinking this
situation. Your dog isn't just out of school, you have had her for several
years, and as you pointed out she already knows your parents.

I'd be betting you will be more concerned about leaving your dog than your
dog will be about being left. You have a vet in place if needed, your dog
will be fed and toileted those are the most important aspects.

With those feeding and toileting concerns having been addressed I wouldn't
worry one bit, your dog will be in good hands.

Good on you for wanting to cover absolutely every single aspect, but
seriously after an hour or two your dog will be fine.

Cheers.

Brent.

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Carmella Broome
via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, 30 April 2021 12:45 AM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Cc: Carmella Broome
Subject: [NAGDU] Leaving my dog for several days

Hi everyone, next week I will be leaving my dog with my parents for several
days while I accompany another family member during a hospital stay. I know
this is going to be confusing and stressful for her and I’m trying to think
of ways to make it easier and to anticipate any possible problems.
We visit my parents often and there is already a preferred sleeping place
for her at their house. Our plan is to go there on Saturday and be with her
there until we have to be at the hospital Monday morning. We were there a
couple weeks ago and I had Mom give her her food in my presence and
accompany us on a couple of walks. She also took her out a couple of times
herself. Mom is very familiar with how I do things as I have been working
dogs since 1996 and my first dog went to live with her after she retired.
Brooklyn loves my parents and always enjoys visiting them.
One thing I am planning to do is to have a couple of shirts that my husband
and I have been wearing to leave in her bed at their home. I assume the
scent would be comforting and familiar to her. I read about doing this with
a cat wants and I figure it’s a good idea in the situation as well. She will
always have a couple of familiar toys with her also.
I don’t anticipate that she will be left alone in their home much, if at
all. My parents are both retired so usually someone is there. I already know
one or the other of them is planning to sleep in the room where she sleeps.
We are usually in that room with her when we visit, so it will be nice for
her to have the company. She is obviously not accustomed to sleeping in a
room by herself, as she is near me at night in her crate or somewhere else
close by. She is not accustomed to being anywhere by herself actually. I
rarely leave her. When I do, it is for brief periods of time and has not
happened in a long time due to the pandemic.
The actual leaving part is something I have put thought into. We do leave
her for a few minutes when we visit my parents sometimes to go riding on the
golf cart. They talk about how she mopes and stares out the window looking
for us after we leave. What I think I will do this time is to have Mom take
her for a walk and then we will leave with my dad to be driven to the
hospital. That way, she will not actually see us leaving and can just return
with Mom to the house. I know that she might look for us and be a little
confused but it just seems less dramatic to have her distracted and and off
doing something else when we actually make our departure.
I am sending any meds that she may need and there is a vet my parents take
their dog to. He is actually the vet who came out to their house and
euthanized my last dog in the comfort of their home simply because he was
asked to do this. This is not normally part of his practice but he was
willing due to understanding that she was a service dog and that I did not
want her fearful at a vets office during her last moments. I don’t know him
well but that makes him special to me. They actually call him the dog
whisperer. He has taken good care of the puppy they have had for a year and
a half now. The medical event that is most likely is that she will develop
another urinary tract infection. I am going to let them know of the signs to
look out for that this might be happening. They will have all instructions
for her feeding and walking schedule obviously. I am also available to them
by phone at all times and I’m sure we will be checking in frequently.
She does not get along with their puppy as he is way too enthusiastic for
her and bounces around way too much. This will not be a problem as his
domain is there very large enclosed porch. He actually injured his leg
recently so is on antibiotics and can only engage in limited activity.
The main behaviors I would expect from her would be pacing and some whining,
sitting next to their door, and possibly refusing to eat a meal or two. She
actually really likes the food she was prescribed for urinary tract issues
and I have had no problems with her eating since she started that food last
summer. If she does skip a meal, it certainly will not be world ending. I am
sending some medication for diarrhea in case that happens as a stress
response but I do not expect it. She just does not have a history of any
significant gastrointestinal issues. I also would not expect her to be
destructive in anyway. She has not done that in years under any
circumstances. We went through a brief period of her chewing up things a lot
when I first brought her home, but she has done well since then and has very
good manners. That was in June 2014 so obviously her patterns of behavior
are well established at this point. The same goes for all of these
relationships, including mine and hers. I am not worried about her over
bonding with my parents or that my bond with her will be disrupted in
anyway.
I expect she will be extremely excited when she sees us after those few days
and that it will take some time to actually calm her down. I also expect
that, after we come home, she might be fairly reclusive for a day or so. She
is normally like this after we have been in a different environment for
several days. I also know she might be a little more clingy. That is fine.
This is going to be hard and strange for me and my husband also. It is
vulnerable to not have her with me and is just very different. This is
temporary however and I fully expect that everyone and everything will be
fine.
These have just been some random thoughts in no particular order. I would be
interested in any thoughts any of you have about this or any suggestions you
may have from your own prior experiences. Apologies for any dictation
errors. Normally I type out posts on my computer. I thought this would be
shorter so that it would not take very long to dictate but various thoughts
occurred to me as I was writing it.
Carmella in South Carolina

Sent from my iPhone

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