Going Away For A Month... Will It Hurt Their Psyches?

[Burpdog]

If it's a greyhound kennel, they should be fine.

 

Considerations/thoughts: make sure you take good bedding; do not board them in the same run, but next to or across from each other; pay extra for turn outs if it's not included in the boarding price or pay a vet tech to stop by and play with them; take your own food if they don't feed what you are feeding.

 

 

[robinw]

No flames, but would you leave young children fo a month?

That comment is crazy.

 

I regularly leave my dogs for weeks at a time. In fact, right now I'm in Spain and she isn't. She stays at a friend's house and they consider her part of the family. She always remembers me when I pick her up.

 

I strongly feel that you have to continue to live your life and do the things you love to do, even if that means leaving your dogs with others.

[Guest Scouts_mom]

Forget you? No way! My Henry recognized his trainer 2 years after he retired and he was thrilled to see her!

 

I've boarded my Henry and Mindy for 2 weeks at the vet that my group uses and who has great turnout areas. Mindy was fine with it but was pleased to see me upon my return. Henry was in heaven--I think he thought he was back at his racing kennel and didn't want to leave.

[3vagreys]

I'm just thinking about how upset my little girl Echo was after Stampede died. I thought she was going to die and I think she'd be the same if either my son or I left her for a period of weeks.

[JAJ2010]

Could I do this.... Probably not without going insane. Dbf is lucky I will leave them for an 8 day vacation in the summer.

 

If I had to do this I would see if one of my grehound friends would keep them so they didn't miss a comfy couch. Although I have a shy one that would not do well in a kennel environment.

 

The girls remember thier foster parents so I'm sure they will remember you after a month!

[MaryJane]

I think that they will likely make it through but, they are likely to be very depressed as they will not understand that you are coming back and they will be looking for you everyday. They could also end up loosing weight because they don't eat. You want to make sure that you bring your dog food so they don't have a change in food and get diarrhea issues. Bringing their blankets or toys could also help.

 

You want to make sure that if your hounds are in any distress that the kennel knows to get them to the vet and not wait to "see if it gets better" - better safe than sorry. Many kennels just fed once a day just because of the logistics, you might want to make sure that they continue a twice a day feeding if that is what you do as it would keep any complications to a minimum. You might have to pay extra for that.

 

As someone mentioned, make sure they do not put them in the same run - even though they may get along OK, the close quarters could end up causing a fight. You might also find out how long someone is at the kennel at night and what time they come in the morning.

 

You didn't mention if this is the first time that you have left them ...

 

Good Luck.

 

 

edited to add .. find out if they have a webcam or any way that you could call in on your computer and see the dogs or if they could post pictures or a video on a regular interval.

Edited March 18, 2012 by MaryJane

[cleptogrey]

i boarded 2 greys here for a month. trust me, it was harder on me than them. they fit into our schedule w/o any problems and were content.i just hated the feeling of being responsible for anything that could happen 24/7. i treated them as if they were my own and they really did thrive.

 

remember you are boarding a pair and just make sure they are left together. if you are using a traditional boarding kennel greys seem to burn up more calories being there than at home.(there is an excellent kennel around here that many grey owners use, but the weight just seems to fall off) so send extra food and maybe even some canned food to mix in as well(i never used canned food, maybe you do).just double check w/ the kennel about keeping them in good weight, yes it will come back on, but do mention it.

[greyhead]

We left ours -- for the first and only time -- for two weeks while we went to Ireland. They stayed in our home, and a greyhound friend came to house/dog-sit and brought her three greys with her. They all knew each other from before. I called her just about every day, even though she put herself through college as a vet tech and we knew this set-up was the gentlest we could devise. (It was as hard on us as it was on them, I'm sure.) They were glad to see us return, but one of them also gave me a stink eye that I will never forget, and it was clear that they didn't just forgive and forget immediately.

 

I'm just sharing an experience here, not telling you what to do. Hope everything works out fine with your arrangements! Now that I think of it, is there any chance you could have a Plan B in place in case they don't do well in the kennel...like a greyhound friend with a secure home? Or somebody who can take them jammies if they're dropping too much weight?

 

ETA: I think I remember your posting about canceling your trip when your dog was so sick. You really are greyt grey-parents.

Edited March 18, 2012 by greyhead

[rschultz]

Your dogs won't forget you and they can't tell time frames between 2 weeks vs 4 weeks. They will enjoy themselves and so will you. It is always hard on us humans that is our nature. Tyr not to let it overwhelm you.

[Guest IrskasMom]

I would never do it in a million years, but I don't have fun if my dogs aren't involved.

 

 

Same here. I had to go to Europe for 2 Weeks this past September and I missed my Boy terribly.No fun without my Boy.

[DocsDoctor]

If you are set on boarding them for a month, can you take them for a weekend before you are supposed to leave as a test run to see how they handle it? That might help ease your mind.

 

Yes, good idea. I also think if you leave them there for just a short stay first that will prove helpful for them. The kennel will become a familiar place, and they will remember that it's somewhere you come and pick them up from!

 

Doc regularly goes back to the greyhound rescue he came from, as they offer holiday kennelling. The first time it was just overnight - I had a family wedding to go to - and I was there first thing the next morning, worrying that he might think he'd been abandoned! But although very excited to see me again, and come home, he always settles back into the kennel routine quite happily. It's great for me too, as I have the reassurance of knowing that he's in expert and loving hands.

 

Having a dog that is 'kennelable' is also useful backup for emergencies. I live on my own, and I will go so far as to say that rescue's holiday kennelling facility was an important factor in my choosing to adopt from them. I do urge anyone who says they can't bear the thought of leaving their dogs for so much as a single night to consider how they would all would cope if there was really no alternative! Last summer I had a health scare (a questionable mammogram that turned out to be nothing, thank goodness) and it was certainly reassuring to know that if I did have to have an op, Doc would be able to go down to the kennels and would cope just fine...

 

I don't think dogs perceive the passing of time in the same way as we do, particularly if they are living in one place and according to a regular routine. So I don't see the length of the stay as problematic in itself, especially if you have prepared them with a shorter preliminary stay.

[EllenEveBaz]

I kept some friends' non-grey dog for about 3 weeks while they were moving to a new house that needed renovations. He and my dogs already knew each other and got along. He was a wonderful guest and had a good time being around other dogs all the time. When his humans came to get him, he did the happy dance for about five minutes straight.

Edited March 18, 2012 by EllenEveBaz

[Guest lynne893]

No flames, but would you leave young children fo a month?

 

Even so, some children have a parent in the military and they ARE left for several weeks/months at a time when it is necessary. For the OP, this trip has been planned for years and obviously had some serious thought put into it. They didn't go when their older dog was sick, and they might not go if they have very young children as well. But adult dogs already raised in a kennel environment that will have each other, IMO, should be okay. I wouldn't want to leave my dogs for a month either and might avoid scheduling a trip for that reason, but life is short and sometimes you do what you have to do.

 

I have a guilt complex about this already, and we do love our dogs like children, believe me! If we could take them with... what an adventure that would be, I'd love it! But we can't. We're gone on an international trip. Were they children, we would have the option of taking them.

 

Life is short, and this is a trip of a lifetime, something I've always wanted to experience, from the time I was a very young child (we're going to the Olympics this summer). It's not a trip or experience that we'll ever be able to replicate, hence taking it now while we're still fairly young and before we have human children.

 

Thank you for understanding. Again, believe me, I'm feeling awful at the thought of our hounds wondering where mommy and daddy are, and I just hope that they won't be too traumatized.

 

No flames, but would you leave young children fo a month?

 

Sounds like a flame to me......and a ridiculous comparison. (Personally, i would leave kids faster than my hound...)

 

We often board Rocket at a place that only boards greyhounds. It is setup with crates similar to the racing kenels, and has a massive turnout area. The hounds are so well cared fo and have so much fun, that he pulls us into the building when we drop him off, and could care less that we are leaving. He runs into building, goes crate to crate and says Hi to every hound there, and then jumps into his assigned crate when told to"kennel up."

 

We usually let him take something of his from the house like a stuffy or one of his own blankets or pillows since he likes to nest. Don't know if it helps anything, but I know that I always like having "my pillow" when we are on the road.

 

We have left him for up to 15-20 days at a time. When we come back, he is happy to see us, but I swear it's only because he wants to go home and get some sleep. He is so busy playing ith the other hounds while there, and comes home with all of his "racing muscles." He looks fantastic when he comes back. We love the fact that we don't have to check on him constantly, because we know they will handle whatever happens, and keep us informed if something does.

 

Your pups will not forget you. They will be excited to see you, and ready to go home. If they were racers, they were used to being moved around from place to place anyway. Sounds like you have a great boarding place for them. Enjoy your trip.

 

Thank you. Yes, we sure do feel that the greyhound rescue's kennel is the best place for them-- they'll be among "their own" in a very nice facility with beautiful grounds and with people who know and love the breed inside and out. I'm already teasing our hounds telling them that they're going to "doggie camp" this summer.

 

I love them so much that I simply don't even TRUST a dog sitter for a month... I'm too nervous that s/he'd leave a door or a gate open and let them escape... you know? Or even a regular kennel/boarding facility....

 

We have a ten year relationship with the rescue and donate on an annual basis, so I at least know that they're in the best hands....

[Guest lynne893]

 

Where are you boarding them?!

 

 

Hi there fellow Los Angeleno!

 

We're boarding them in El Cajon, east of San Diego, with Operation Greyhound's Bob and Bruna. Wonderful people. We used to adopt through Operation Greyhound, but found a closer rescue group (GreySave) and now adopt through Grey Save. Bob and Bruna have remained friends and we send a modest annual donation and they happily offered to kennel the girls this summer.

 

It just felt like the most comfortable option for us, even though we'll spend 14 hours driving to take them down and pick them up again when we return from our trip (3.5 hrs each way! crazy!).

[Guest zombrie]

A former foster spent the entire month of February with us while her family was away. The only issue they had when they brought her back home was that she had to re-adjust to being an only dog again. Your pups will be fine

[christinepi]

We have not been anywhere since we got Tracker 2 years ago, not necessarily because of him, but it just kind of happened. However, even though I love to travel, I'm the first one to whine about the poor pup will be miserable, I can't do this to him, he'll be so stressed etc etc. So there's this opportunity to go HAVE FUN for 2 weeks in Germany in June and I'm just soooo reluctant. So I can completely relate to every body here. However I know I also have to ask myself, in clearer moments, why I'm making such a fuss. It's two weeks out of his life, everything will go back to normal afterwards, and as some posters have pointed out, some dogs were actually thrilled to have all this play opportunity. So I think, FOR ME, it's being attached to the dog in somewhat unhealthy ways, and it's really about me projecting emotions onto the dog that I kind of "want" him to have: that I'm so important to him, that he can't be happy without me, that I'm irreplaceable.

 

I had a woman friend once with a 3 or 4 year old daughter. She dropped her off at pre school for the first time, and was prepared for a hysterical, screaming, tearful kid. Not so. The girl went off with the other kids, not even looking back at her mom once (well, more or less like that, but you get the idea). The mom laughed about it when she told me, but she also admitted that she was a bit stung by how easily the girl could be without her.

 

So I'm not implying anyone else is motivated by what I wrote about, it's just that the thread got me thinking about my own motives about not wanting my poor baby to be without me.

[Hubcitypam]

They'll be fine. I has Elvis here for 7 months while his Mom was deployed and he didn't miss a beat coming or going.

[robinw]

Ok. This is how I look at it...we adopt our dogs to enhance our lives, not to run our lives. I think that if we stop doing the things we love, we will become unhappy, which will make everybody within a 50 mile radius of us unhappy, also. Have fun, and that includes doing things that don't include dogs!

[Guest mariah]

Ok. This is how I look at it...we adopt our dogs to enhance our lives, not to run our lives. I think that if we stop doing the things we love, we will become unhappy, which will make everybody within a 50 mile radius of us unhappy, also. Have fun, and that includes doing things that don't include dogs!

 

Agreed.

 

I'm only speaking from my own experience here, with my own dogs, my family's dogs, and dogs I've sat for in the past...I feel like the first few days of being away from you will be the hardest. Once they settle into a routine they'll probably forget about it and enjoy their vacation. They might feel a little bummed out or confused at first, but I doubt that they'll spend the whole time or even most of the time moping around and wondering where you've gone. If we're going to make the kids analogy here, which I agree is not ideal...but it's a little like going to summer camp!

 

Would it be possible to drop them off for the day at the kennel a couple of times before you go on your trip? Might ease the transition and make those first few days a little better for them (since they know you'll be coming back for them, as you've done in the past).

Edited March 18, 2012 by mariah

[Feisty49]

No flames, but would you leave young children fo a month?

 

Dogs mean something different to everyone; for some people, they really are their children. For others, like myself, who DO really love their dogs and try to give them the very best care possible, still know and treat them as dogs.

 

I don't think it is a fair comparison to make. Children have complex attachment to their parents and can in severe cases have attachment issues if they are away from both of their parents for extended periods of time. Dogs live in the moment and have entirely different mentalities than young children.

 

Even so, some children have a parent in the military and they ARE left for several weeks/months at a time when it is necessary. For the OP, this trip has been planned for years and obviously had some serious thought put into it. They didn't go when their older dog was sick, and they might not go if they have very young children as well. But adult dogs already raised in a kennel environment that will have each other, IMO, should be okay. I wouldn't want to leave my dogs for a month either and might avoid scheduling a trip for that reason, but life is short and sometimes you do what you have to do.

 

I agree. I love my Annie Bella. She has given my life a lot of happiness and love, but she is a dog and if I had an opportunity such as you have (especially planned for so long), I would miss her but I'd go because I do have a good place to leave her.

[Busderpuddle]

I just got back from 15 days away and we left Ruby at a kennel which was greyhound savvy and everything went just fine. I texted a couple times to check on her and got the reassurance I needed and knew she was fine. The first day home she was roaching again in her favorite bed. No worries about them forgetting you or your routine. GO.......have a wonderful time !

[Guest snoopycomehome]

We haven't left our two greys for a month, but in Feb we were in the Dominican Republic and FL for a week and a half. A family friend stayed with our kids and pets (whom our greys had never met). I swear a piece of my heart was missing the entire time...and my dh was probably getting tired of me playing with all the beach dogs while we were there.

 

I was so worried about my dogs the whole time, and we didn't have our phones on so we didn't know how they were doing. Well, I had nothing to worry about. They were not only extremely happy to see us, but they were well bonded with our friend...and continued to snuggle him on the couch all the time for the next week after we got home.

 

I feel so much better knowing that they will be ok when we travel in the future, but I will warn you...it is hard to do!

[Guest DragonflyDM]

No flames, but would you leave young children fo a month?

 

Obviously you were never in the military. I had to leave my daughter all the time for 3 months to a year at a time.

[XTRAWLD]

We only had Kasey for a year when we took our first vacation. It was 2.5 weeks long and we left him with a friend that also had a greyhound at the time so she was aware of their quirks, they even had the same vet! She was made aware of his routine, that he requires a cookie before bedtime, etc. Knowing this trip was on the horizon, we continued to crate Kasey so that she could continue crating him at her house just making it easier. She emailed us updates throughout the time we were gone, how much fun he was having with the other greyhound, that they played and did this and that in the yard, or they went on a road trip, etc. We were very happy to read he was having a good time, and seemingly not missing us!

 

The kicker was getting a Happy Father's Day email from "Kasey" to his daddy.

 

When we went to pick him up, I have never seen a propeller tail move as fast as Kasey's. He was delighted we came home, clearly he remembered us, and he was very well taken care of in our absence. In fact, I don't think he wanted to leave when we first took him to the car, but on the ride home you just knew he was happy to be going back to a sense of normal!

 

I think the important thing is for the caretaker to keep them stimulated while you are away, and sticking as close as possible to your normal routine. They will remember you when you return, you will still be the best of friends, think of it as a mini vacation for them too. I know for a fact Kasey had WAY more fun on his vacation than he does just sitting around at home on any given day. Don't think of going away as a bad thing.

[racindog]

IMO the most important thing is to make sure they understand what is going on! They may indeed get upset going through this if they don't know exactly what's happenning. May I suggust you have a qualified animal communicator explain to them exactly what is happenning. They will need to be told how long you will be gone in terms they can understand (dark/light cycles vs. "days" etc.) and other pertinent facts. Once it is explained to them what is going on I would think they will be fine as they would have no need to worry about what is happenning to their world! But I would NEVER do such a thing-leave them somewhere like that etc.- without explaining to them what was going on so they wouldn't worry. Put yourself in their position-what would you think if nobody explained to you what was happenning? JMO.