Leaving Your PUP!
 

I'm going on vacation on Feb 9 - Feb 13 and I am so stressed out about leaving my little Monster that I am choking up right now while writing this! I am such a sap. I have never left him for more than 12 hours (overnight).

He will be staying with my mom & step dad who treat him like he is a small child. They're wonderful with him and he loves them, but I KNOW he will be sad/scared and maybe he will think I am not coming back.

Any suggestions on what I can do to make his stay more comfortable? or to reassure myself? I am going to make a list of written instructions for my mom on what he can/can't have/do, but I am still really nervous. I know I'm not going to be gone for a long time, so please don't laugh @ my over reacting.

When I went into the hospital to have my daughter, I slept with a blanket for a few nights before hand, so it smelt like me. I gave it to Gracie right before I left and made sure to tell her that mommy was going bye-bye but would be back. I also gave her a new toy that I knew that she would love along with the blanket. She did ok and was excited to see me when I got back. I had my mom care for the baby for an hour and spent one on one time with Gracie when I got home. It helped that my neighbors let her do some things that I normaly would not let her do (she slept with their son every night while I was gone and she normaly sleeps in a play pen and they gave her new treats so she felt special). It is so nerve wracking to leave them, even with someone you trust. Good luck! Your baby should do just fine!

Trust me, he'll take it better than you!! He'll be getting spoiled rotten by your mom, so don't be hurt if he wants to stay!! :p

I would send his toys and favorite treats. Oh yea and send a camera too, they can take pictures of how much fun he's having, and when you get back you can share your pictures with him. I'm sure it's going to be harder on you, I bet he gets spoiled there too!! (we already know how much you spoil him) LOL
There's always sending him here to stay with Princess. :D :D :D
Try not to worry, have a great trip, and take LOTS of pictures!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

kristy, your not alone. i would cry tooo... i leave her with my mom for an hour in her house and lexi goes nuts looking for me...my mom tells me, gina i never
saw a dog so in love with their master like lexi and me...they get so attached especially cause i dont have children and ALL my attention is on her..
dont worry your parents will take good care of him.. after a few hours he will settle down... just have a good time, well try to anyway

Make sure that you take all of his favorite toys and blankets. You may want to keep a shirt or something for yourself.

I am having the same anxiety!! Your not alone. I don't want to leave Apple to go on my hunnymoon. I want to take her with us but Bob wont let me. I know it is silly but I don't want to leave her for a week :confused:

Wow i was thinking this exact same thing today!! i just booked a trip for june 1-10 and i'm going to leave my two lil ones with my aunt..(she's a dog freak like me) so i know they will be well taken care of..i'm just so upset i have to leave them..has anyone's furbaby ever been mad at them?? like when you go to pick them up??

Thanks for the advice and for sharing your experience everyone.

I am also afraid of him being spiteful and angry when I return. He really knows how to show that he's upset with me. :(

Aw, bring him home some nice presents, and I'm sure he will be SO happy to see you and kiss you ( cause now, we all know he is a KISSER) He will forget that you were even gone.
Easy for me to say, I've never left Bailey for more than 4 hours.. what a Loser! :rolleyes:

I'm the same way
 

I hate having to leave moose when I go on trips but my parents take good care of her. I usually sleep whit one of her toys which is not too out of the ordinary since she brings a couple to bed every night. When I leave I tell her mommy will be back and the lil bear will take good care of her. And then I call home every night and talk to moose on the phone. My mom will say moose mommy's on the phone and she comes walking over and will listen to me. She so excited to see me at home that I think she forgets to be angry from me for leaving her.

I am very happy cause moose gets to go with me on my next business trip, my dad doesn't want me taking her cause he says she will get taken but I get plenty of breaks, her crate is lockable, and the do not disturb sign will be up and it's a hilton for peets sake!!!

honeymoon
 

i'm in the same boat, i leaving in June for 7 days on my honeymoon and i have to leave Harley and Haley, i wish i could take them with me, but my mom and dad will take good care of them, but i will miss them dearly :(

I know how you feel...I left the girls for three days to go to Vegas for my birthday and it was horrible!! I knew they were in excellent hands with my aunt but I felt sad leaving them...I just made sure they had all their favorites toys and blankets!! When we came back we made sure they got lots of special attention and treats and within the next day they had forgotten I had even gone anywhere!! I did call everyday we were gone as well just to check in on them...made me feel better!!

LOL You two will be making out in no time!!

My older dogs cop attitude BEFORE we leave. They know what's up as soon as they see the suitcases come out!! I've never had problems when we came home, though. They're just happy to see us!!

Since Stewie doesn't know what a suitcase means yet, you're probably safe this time!

I know exactly how you feel. I had to stay in the hospitsl early in Dec. and I the only thing I could think of was them and how they were doing, I drove my family crazy with instructions and questions lol......they brought me a pic of them which helped a lot. Im happy to say that they did GREAT! I came home, they were happy, healthy and VERY excited to see me! Good Luck , have a nice trip and TRY not to worry too much!

We just went out of town this past weekend. It was only for 4 days, but I was so sad that I had to leave her. I kept trying to convice my husband to take her with us, but even then I would have been nervous because I would have had to leave her in the hotel room as we attended a wedding. So in the end I'm glad she did stay... I would definitely rather her be with my mom than someone possibly steal her ( I always think of worst case scenarios). I wrote pretty detailed instructions for my mom which I felt neurotic for doing, but it made me feel better. The day we dropped her off, my mom was at work so we had to leave her gated off inside the bathroom. But she's been to her house before several times so I think that made it easier for her. I definitely think it was easier on her than it was on me. I cried when we dropped her off, but once we got on the road I knew everything was going to be okay. I did call to see how she was doing.

When we got back on Sunday, she was soo excited to see us - i was just happy she didn't forget who we were :p She was given lots of attention and spoiled by my mom and sister. She got to sleep on the bed, when normally she sleeps in her crate on the nightstand next to our bed... and she seemed like she'd enjoyed herself. I think she even got a little more confidence because she was less afraid of the stairs, the car console, little differences like that... it was cool to see :) And I do think it gave my mom and her more of a bond, because she normally would only like to be with me, but now she's just happy as a clam at her house

So it did turn out to be a good thing - so maybe next time i won't feel so nervous if i have to leave her. But I'll definitely still try to take her along!!

It IS SO HARD to leave them, isn't it! :( We had booked and paid for a 2 week vacation, before we even thought about getting Rowdy. He was only 4 months old when we had to leave him. I worried so much about him. He stayed with my daughter who has 3 dogs herself and is a total dog NUT - but of course, I worried that she wouldn't know how to take care of him like me!

Of course, he did just fine and loves going to her house now - BUT if we leave him there, he does cry for a bit, but then he gets into playing with the other dogs and he has a great time. When we pick him up, he sticks to us like GLUE!!!

Both my husband and I have to travel some, but usually not together so one of us is home with Rowdy. However, he has now figured out the suitcase routine and when we get them out, he gets in them and sits and sits and sits - like "ya'll aren't getting out of here without me"! :D He will even sit on top of the suitcase, after we close it up!

We planned our vacation this year so that he can go with us. We are going to fly to San Francisco, rent a car and drive to Portland, OR where I have a weekend conference. We decided he could come along and we are all going to have a great time!!!

Good luck and have a good time on your trip - everyone has given you wonderful suggestions!

Kristy, thank you so much for posting this! I am absolutely delirious b/c I have to leave Simon and Hallie for 4 days in Feb. and it's the first time I have done that!

I appreciate all the responses too, I am a wreck! Kristy, I'm glad Stewie will be staying with your mom, that is great. Just think of all those kisses you will get when you return!