how do these little guys handle you leaving on vacation?
 

We have been planning a trip to Cambodia this summer. My kids are adopted and from there. Now we have our baby fur ball and I am afraid to leave him. He is sooo bonded to me. I had no idea this breed were such delicate little flowers. Can anyone share any experiences of leaving their Yorkie behind for any length of time? Thanks. Shelly and Kuzco (5 months old)

my advice is to start looking now for someone that might board small dogs in their home. We have a lady that sits dogs under 10 lbs and most are yorkies. She has great yard and the pups have almost complete run of her home, some times she has as many as 8 at a time, Lola loves other dogs so she has a great time there. I had a male before that did not like other dogs but since he was out numbered when there he seemed to do fine. The other option is to find someone you know to stay at your house. Don't make the mistake of taking your dog everywhere with you or never leaving him alone because if you do you could be setting yourself up for a neurotic adult dog that has severe separation anxiety when you have to leave him home alone. If you do find someone to leave him with do a trial run a month or so in advance for one or two nights. I have had 5 yorkies over the last 30 years and not one was ever boarded and every year we take one or two vacations and have even been to Europe several times. I either had someone stay at the house or found a private home to bring my dog to. I don't have any family in MI so with some planning it's possible to find a situation like I have. Start by asking your vet, other vets, and grooming salons.

chester goes with me most of the time, and I have a friend that watches him when I leave for short amounts of time. I would find a good house sitter, much better than boarding

I started out taking mine with me on all trips because of the whole delicate flower thing, and I didn't trust strangers to watch them. But I found the traveling was difficult on them -- the flights, the car rides, the strange places to sleep, the new homes they're not allowed to pee in. ...

So now I almost always leave them at home with a friend or relative, and I find they are no worse for wear when we return. And while I miss them terribly, vacation becomes more of a vacation without them.

Kuzko should be socialized to the point where he's not so totally reliant on you. You've got till summer to train him, so find someone or a boarding facility you trust implicitly and start doing some trial runs. Have him visit with you at their place. Then have him spend the night, getting used to the new surroundings. If he does good, have him spend a couple nights to test and see if he gets anxious.

Whoever watches him should make his stay fun. Lots of treats. Lots of games. He'll need to be distracted so he doesn't realize you're not around all the time.

And don't worry about losing your little shadow. Kuzko will appreciate you even more when you return. And it's such great peace of mind knowing the dog is not stressed out when he's not around you. You never know when you might have to leave him, so teach him to trust others.

We have a grandaughter who comes over and stays with ours but this summer we are planning a 6 week vacation so they are coming along with us. They might be fine without us but not sure we could stand the separation anxiety lol.

I would rather take our girls with us, but know this cannot always be accomplished. So, we hire a dog sitter to live at our house. (We can usually find a young person in college or 20's that is still living at home.) They are thrilled to get away for awhile and make money at the same time. Expensive, but worth it to me.

Vacation?? I cannot even go to the store without a serious case of poutyness breaking out! Family members say she lays with her head on the floor staring at the door while I'm gone. I have some heart wrenching pics of this stance.

They do seriously bond to their people. If you have to leave your baby try to get him accustomed to visiting whoever you are leaving him with ahead of time. Having someone house/dog sit is one of the best solutions.

We always vacation with our pups! I would not be able to enjoy my time away, if I had to leave them for a length of time.....I am attached to them as they are to me! Even before the 3 we have now, our Tameak (RIP) always went on vacation us. We would make sure the resort accepted pets with open arms. We camped at a resort one year that charged us for our pets that stayed in the camper with us! They were not very dog friendly and were not allowed anywhere, other than the grass! No beach, pool or in the cabins that our relative were staying. To say the least, we never went back!

I would for sure find a friend or family to care for your puppy! Someone that you can trust to take loving care of your baby as she will miss you and need the extra attention. Best of luck!

I lay out extra treat balls and her kong and activity puzzles full of tiny treats when I leave for the afternoon.

She dances and says " OH boy! OH boy! Sorry ya gotta go but bring on the treats! And Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

I don't take my gizzy riding much because he throws up. So, I'm wondering how he will do when I start school full time. I will be gone from 8 until 4 Monday thru Friday, I hope he doesn't develop separation anxiety. Does anyone have any advice?

It will help a lot if you can get him some exercise before you leave the house. While 8 hours of inactivity is doable, that combined with 8 hours of sleep the night before can make for a long day. Toys will help, but I find they generally just sleep while I'm gone.
Try to establish a routine where you take a short walk in the mornings, then another in the evenings.

We just went on our first real vacation since we got our little Lilah one year ago. It was seven days and we flew 3,000 miles away from one coast to the other. We also traveled a hundred miles from the airport and took educational classes at a local college while we were there, so even though I really did want to take my little girl...it just wasn't realistic. And honestly, leaving the kids, the dog and the livestock behind (what no goats on the airplane??) it really did feel more like a vacation - even though it was work/education related. We have great kennel options here in Portland, Oregon. It is a very boutiquey area full of dog hotels, parks, spas, barkeries (think cupcakes..) - we even have an indoor dog waterpark in this town. I had already researched various dog hotels in case the day ever came that we would need their services (we don't get out much so maybe I was fantasizing) and had settled on 'Sniff' dog hotel. It would be very spendy but I felt it would be worth it for their services. But for a lot of it she would have been alone. They have doggy daycare options but Lilah has not been spayed due to show aspirations (Im thinking she will be too small to make the cut but now I am rambling off topic longer than I meant to) and Lilah is a very social dog. I have five children that are all her best buddies, she thinks the cats will decide to like her some day, I only work part time four days a week - I am home by four. A week with 'cuddle sessions' and '20 min walks' even with a cushy couch, television and window views was not going to meet Lilahs needs. Luckily my mom and her little maltepoo Bella were willing to take her in for the duration and she had a blast with her buddy and a snuggly bed to sleep in. If Lilah does not have a companion, I could not see kenneling her for more than a day or two. If she had a best friend, I think it would have been okay. In home is ideal but talk about hard to find! I feel lucky. How long are you going to be gone for?

Thanks I will try that

Here's my experience
 

We had planned a trip out west that was going to be 28 days. Our yorkie/poodle (Hobo) was almost 10 months old. My parents who live about 15 minutes away watched her at their house and it worked out perfectly.

Hobo is very attached to me, but in a new house with 2 people who spoiled her rotten (and also playing with their Jack Russell) she had a ball.

Another idea is to find another small dog lover in your town and get to know them and try to see about trading off for vacations! Many yorkies love playing with other dogs and small dog owners already know the basic needs (lots of love, lots of potty breaks, etc).

When we attended a dog obedience school the owner had 3 small dogs and she would board other small dogs at her home which we also used when we went on vacation WITH my parents. Attending the obedience school there was so helpful for us as we met other folks with small dogs that could be a back up if someone had an emergency.

You are so wise to begin planning now! Have a wonderful and safe trip this summer.

We had to go out of town for family wedding so no family left to watch Yogi. I asked my vet who recommended his vet tech, we knew him for about a year, he does dog sitting. He stayed at our house and was wonderful, gave me daily updates, slept with Yogi. It worked out great, yogi seemed calm and happy when we got home. I think it's good if they can be at their own home, but I know some people are not comfortable with this option.

I won't leave Jackson in a kennel/boarding type environment, just because he's the kind of dog that does NOT do not well in those kinds of situations. I can not even hand him over to the groomer, or vet, without him expressing his anal glands (yuck!) out of fear. He doesn't like to be handled by strangers at ALL, he's extremely sensitive, he hardly even likes ME to pick him up (but does allow me). Just too much stress. Plus I know some people that work at those places, and I'm not sure I'd be thrilled leaving them up to taking care of my dog to be honest.

I'm very lucky that I have my dad. He's the only one I trust to REALLY watch him well and I know Jackson is happy there. My dad said he really misses me though - he's different without me, and does a lot of window watching. BUT, he's overall happy and my dad is honestly probably his #2 favorite person in the world. I've left him sometimes just for one night at a time, I think the longest was around 10 days.

I love him, and he and I are completely attached at the hip. He's my boy. But sometimes it IS nice to have a little break. I really start to get my own separation anxiety though after 3-4 nights lol.

If I didn't have family, my next option would definitely be an in-home pet sitter. I'd have to have the person come meet him a few times with me present, and then he'd be more comfortable.

Attached
 

Yes, you talk about attached! I can't even go to the bathroom without my Gizzy going with me! He is very attached to me and it scares me. I also start missing him and have to come back home from where I go after about 2 hours. I want to take him with me sometimes to visit my friends and family but he tends to throw up.

I have left Prince with my mom one time...Ricky's never been left since we had him. My mom has 2 yorkies and used to watch Prince and his former siblings when his old owner would leave town. He does quite well there as my mom and step dad are pretty much the only other people Prince likes. The only problem is that it's an hour and a half drive to drop them off and my parents are usually not on my way to where I am going.

I have a free nights stay at a Casino in Detroit...only 20 minutes away from me...and it needs to be used by March. I'd love to go stay the night and gamble...but I don't know what I'd do with the boys. Prince is the main problem because he is scared of strangers. I am not sure anyone could get ahold of him to put a leash on him to take him outside to potty. I've got someone willing to stay the night....but I am not sure how they'd fare alone...I know, I keep thinking it's ONE night...and I'll only be 20 minutes away in case of an emergency. I will probably try it...but it's going to be tough.

I know one thing...the boys wouldn't do well in a boarding environment. The perfect place for them is another house where they have other little dogs to play and interact with. I think that's why Prince has done so well at my moms when he has such a tough time elsewhere.

I too was very upset about leaving my Sophie to go on a holiday. Although I had a lot of friends to look after her i just did not feel they could do the job I do! We looked into doggy day cares. As good as they are I was still concerned about her getting hurt, not eating etc.
We finally decided to kennel her at our vet who does this for his patients only. We first left her at 7 1/2 months for a week. I cried for the whole week of my holiday and my husband actually wanted to come home early. We called every day (Skype) and were assured she was doing just fine. WE ARE THE ONE HAVING THE SEPARATION ANXIETY NOT SOPHIE I CAN HONESTLY SAY. She did just fine! We have since just come back from 12 days in Hawaii. My vet laughed and said I was the only one they knew who cried going to Hawaii:D Again we called everyday and they also send us pic's. They let her run around while doing chores and we have her walked weather pending. This time when we came back she was solo excited to see us. Then............. she went behind the reception desk to say bye/hi to all her new family and proceeded to go back to where her play time and kennel was. Guess she did not miss us as much as we missed her:roll eyes: When she did not eat as much they would give her special gastro food. At least if she ever did get the runs or stopped eating "they" could handle the situation as required. Her personality has not been effected in any way and she goes right back to her normal routine. I actually feel she has become more independent now and does not require attention 24/7. Only 12/7 now. If you feel comfortable with your vet it DOES NOT effect them to kennel. We as owners just love them so much we are the ones not letting go. Just mine and Sophie's opinion.