I am having separation anxiety :(

[Schmidtey]

Hello everyone. I leave for vacation soon and am already stressing out about leaving my baby. Archie is 11 months old and this vacation was planned before we had him. We are leaving Archie with our next door neighbor. Our last puppy would stay with this same neighbor when we had to go out of town and she was always really good with him, however Archie is only 4 lbs and this makes me a little nervous since he is a little more fragile than our last puppy.

I have heard of pets having separation anxiety, but in this case I am the one suffering from it, lol. Has anyone else had this problem? Do you have any tips for being able to get past it?

[Yorkiemom1]

I wish I could help.....but I have separation anxiety toooo bad and several of my babies do too....with me worrying about them and what is or is not getting done like I want it done, and then the ones that are so spoiled rotten they stink! wont even eat when I leave them for any length of time....it is just easier for me to not even go anyplace! If I do go, I worry about my babies too much and cant enjoy my vacation....so I dont leave them anymore.

[Magnus]

LOL You're not alone in that department. I used to get stressed just to go out for quick errands. The first time is the hardest.

Have you left Archie alone before? How did he seem to react? If you've been with him 24/7 since you got him, try leaving the house for 5-10 min and come back to see his reaction. Or maybe you can leave him at your neighbor's home for an hour every day till you go on vacation so he'd be more familiar. There's always a chance that he's very independent and you won't have to worry!

As for your neighbor, make sure s/he knows how to handle a small breed. Have you given her all the emergency contacts like the vet? Don't forget to leave Archie with one of your shirts that you've been wearing. And if it's not too much trouble, maybe s/he can text you a picture of Archie daily. Just for peace of your mind.

[matese]

I could NEVER leave any of my babies with anyone, I would be too stressed and worry, I would not be able to enjoy myself. 18 months ago I had a death in my family, they are 3 hours away from me, I was FORCED to leave my newly adopted boy that I had for only 2 months to attend the wake. It was just over night and my friends house is very safe, my concern is the dog getting out of the house and running away. I had to miss a wedding last week end because I will NOT kennel my boy. Years back when I started having dogs in my life I knew I would miss out on vacations and events, if I cannot take my babies, I will not go. I worry to much so it's just not enjoyable for me.But that is just me. You are lucky to have a trusted neighbor, your pups have been safe with them in the past. Enjoy your vaca. and don't worry, puppy will be just fine. Your neighbor knows what your babies mean to you and will be extra careful with the lil baby.

[Russpilot]

We are the same way. Before we got Bella, we were planning on a nice long trip to Niagra Falls this year. After paying for her surgery and getting super attached to her, we have decided to scrap that and go somewhere close to home that she can come along with too. After having her, I can't imagine going somewhere where I can't feel her running along next to me every step I take for a whole week. Nope, no way.

[Schmidtey]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions... I am relieved to know I am not the only one that gets separation anxiety! Our neighbor has 2 maltese dogs each around 15 lbs. Our last puppy, Schmidtey, was 8 lbs and he would play with her dogs the second he entered the house until we picked him up. I don't think he ever even realized we weren't there with him, lol.

Archie is only 4 lb and is just more delicate than Schmidtey was. Over the summer we have taken walks with our neighbors dogs so they can all get used to each other. Archie tolerates the two dogs, but he is not playful with them at all which is driving some of my anxiety. He does however, love my neighbor and her kids (she has two kids around 12, 13 years old).

[Schmidtey]

Originally Posted by Russpilot

We are the same way. Before we got Bella, we were planning on a nice long trip to Niagra Falls this year. After paying for her surgery and getting super attached to her, we have decided to scrap that and go somewhere close to home that she can come along with too. After having her, I can't imagine going somewhere where I can't feel her running along next to me every step I take for a whole week. Nope, no way.

We pared back this vacation we are going on (it was going to be a whole week and now will only be 3 nights) and in the future we will try to book things we can take him to.

It is funny that you mentioned Niagra Falls... that will be our next vacation. Since we live within driving distance we are now making the trip Archie friendly. We found hotels that will accept pets and have researched dog friendly parks, not only in Canada but also for the drive up. I even made him an unofficial passport so he can have it when we go up to Canada, lol.

[Schmidtey]

Originally Posted by Magnus

LOL You're not alone in that department. I used to get stressed just to go out for quick errands. The first time is the hardest.

Have you left Archie alone before? How did he seem to react? If you've been with him 24/7 since you got him, try leaving the house for 5-10 min and come back to see his reaction. Or maybe you can leave him at your neighbor's home for an hour every day till you go on vacation so he'd be more familiar. There's always a chance that he's very independent and you won't have to worry!

As for your neighbor, make sure s/he knows how to handle a small breed. Have you given her all the emergency contacts like the vet? Don't forget to leave Archie with one of your shirts that you've been wearing. And if it's not too much trouble, maybe s/he can text you a picture of Archie daily. Just for peace of your mind.

Magnus, thank you for your advice. We have left him several times at home for 4-5 hour stretches when our work schedules have us working the same days. Archie does well in his crate (he eats, naps and plays with his toys) while we are gone. I just don't know how he will react when he doesn't see either of us for several days.

I like your suggestion of leaving Archie with one of my shirts. I made up a whole instruction sheet for Archie with his likes/dislikes, eating and bathroom schedule, and emergency contact numbers. It is three pages long... maybe a little overboard, lol.

[JadeD]

I hate to leave my babies home. If I am a couple days without my babies sleeping with me I am ready to go home. My last vacation was 10 days and I had my 2 Yorkies with me. My daughter also has a yorkie and her puppy was with her while she was gone for nearly a month over the summer at the same time I was gone.

However, I watch my friend's dogs (or did until I got 4 dogs of my own and not sure I could handle more here now!) and believe me, your dog will be fine. With 2 kids in the house that the dog loves they will take care of him. I am sure your neighbors will keep the dog safe and happy.

Have a good trip and your puppy will be happy to see you when you get home.

Enjoy!

[matese]

Originally Posted by JadeD

I hate to leave my babies home. If I am a couple days without my babies sleeping with me I am ready to go home. My last vacation was 10 days and I had my 2 Yorkies with me. My daughter also has a yorkie and her puppy was with her while she was gone for nearly a month over the summer at the same time I was gone.

However, I watch my friend's dogs (or did until I got 4 dogs of my own and not sure I could handle more here now!) and believe me, your dog will be fine. With 2 kids in the house that the dog loves they will take care of him. I am sure your neighbors will keep the dog safe and happy.

Have a good trip and your puppy will be happy to see you when you get home.

Enjoy!

I agree with Jade (JadeD) the kids will keep your puppy entertained and your neighbor will keep him safe. Just enjoy yourself, next vaca Archie will join you.

[mscat]

OMG, even going to the local store makes me a mess. I only trust one person to look after them. We went to Lake Tahoe a year ago and I kept in touch everyday with my sitter. she even came over and spent the night with my 2 girls, and her little one. My York Suzi, My sons dog had the worst time of all. She would not get off my sons bed, eat or anything. After day two she started sleeping on the couch along with the rest of them, so my friend was having all three babies on the couch with her at all times. My two should have come , however, my brother and sister in law have 2 big dogs and I did not want my babies getting hurt.
I was a mess finding out what a hard time suzi was having. I wish my friend did not mention that, cause all I did after that was worry.
Your yorkie will probaly be fine as long as she already knows the neighbors .

[JadeD]

I watch my friend's dogs. One family, I am the only person that can get their older female chihuahua to eat while they are gone. I am the only person that can do anything with the dog really. I can take her off their bed to take her outside, but no one else can do that. She pretends she is going to snap at me, but she doesn't do it.

If the dog is comfortable with them, she will be fine. If she is a fussy eater have a back up plan for feeding her. For example, when I take Teek on vacation with me he is fine with me taking him places, but he will not eat while we are gone except for people food (which he gets very little of at home) so I feed him white rice and chicken or I make him a bowl of oatmeal and feed him that. I would rather give him a little people food while on vacation than for him to not eat at all. I don't give him a lot, but enough so I know he isn't going to starve to death. The last time we went on vacation we took my puppy with us and he ate dog food after the first day or two (we were gone 10 days) because the puppy was eating dog food and Teek didn't want to feel left out. Perhaps though with Teek I had finally taken him enough places that he felt secure enough in eating because we had taken several trips at that point. Just have a back up plan in case the dog doesn't eat. I always get the dogs I watch to eat, but then these dogs know me well and they LOVE me! I am one of those people that dogs just love.

Do enjoy your vacation and I am sure the dog will be perfectly fine and happy to see you when you get home.

[Shicks]

Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1

I wish I could help.....but I have separation anxiety toooo bad and several of my babies do too....with me worrying about them and what is or is not getting done like I want it done, and then the ones that are so spoiled rotten they stink! wont even eat when I leave them for any length of time....it is just easier for me to not even go anyplace! If I do go, I worry about my babies too much and cant enjoy my vacation....so I dont leave them anymore.

Yep, I know what you mean. The only place we go is to Fl. To visit our daughter and, yep you guessed it, Ruger goes too.

[chestermama]

I have more issues than chester does, we love our babies so much, it is hard to leave them