Hi ya'll - I feel like I have been posting so many questions lately! Thanks in advance for all the responses! This post is a long one! Part venting about a situation, part seeking advice on the aftermath! So...I had never boarded Maggie, she travels with us and I work form home so she is with me most of the time. She is a 5 yr old amish mill rescue and we have had her for a year (for the regulars here Im sure i sound like a broken record on that point but I always feel its important to note her past when I am looking for behavior help!). Anyways, over easter she displayed aggression towards my small nephews (ages 5 and 1) and for that reason I had to look into a plan B for future occasions when we travel to see the kids. I tried a local pet sitter who watches pups in her home. We did a meet and greet and all went well. So I scheduled Maggie go for a full day to practice and get to know the sitter and her dogs. Maggie sat near the front door the whole day but was quiet and perked right back up when I returned. Then I did an overnight about a month later. She came home very stressed out with diarrhea. The vet checked for parasites etc and we concluded that it was anxiety based IBS. So she's been on a daily probiotic and also has a low dosage xanax to take only when away from me in a new setting. So I felt like to the best of my ability I prepared for her comfort with the sitter when we went on our yearly beach vacation last week (which I would totally typically bring her on but the nephews were staying in our condo and it wouldn't be safe - also, I considered having someone come to MY house to let her out and feed her but she gets very amped up when people enter our home). I brought her to the sitters and despite the positive meet and greet, and overnight stay, for whatever reason the sitters large dog lurched at maggie and I (I was holding her) and Maggie lurched back (fair enough!). After 15 minutes of trying to get the two to play nice I decided that this was not a safe environment for my already anxious fur baby. So off we drive the 5 hours to the beach with Maggie in tow. I was frantically trying to think of a new plan...I found a highly rated pet resort near our condo. I have NEVER boarded her nor did I ever intend to, but this place was highly rated, very clean and new, no crates, the dogs all have suites, the play area was beautiful the staff was so nice, and I could watch her all week on the webcams if I wanted. I felt like this was the best new option. I filled out the papers while crying hysterically, and returned to pick her up a week later (the place opened at 7am and I was there at 6:50am!). She was so excited to see us and seemed in good spirits! She snuggled and napped the whole 5 hr ride home (tuckered out I am sure!). She looked a bit thin but the amount food remaining in the packages seemed right and I know she was out playing more than she would at home. No IBS issues, or weird behavior. So here I was feeling REALLY good about things after all the drama and my own personal anxiety leaving her. But we have been home for 4 days and everyday she seems...depressed? I know its normal for dogs to sleep a lot after being boarded but she seems sad too. Not her spunky circle running self. She just seems to be going through the paces of her routine and sleeping every moment in between. She eats and drinks fine...just seems depressed. Any thoughts on this? Maybe she's being reflective and has decided to be mad at me now?
