Tips for Leaving Your Dog in Someone Else's Care
While we adore our fur babies, other passions and priorities in life bring us bliss and ultimate gratification. But, once you have a pet, you cannot simply escape the duty you owe towards them. So, there comes the point in every pet parent's life when they have to decide if they want to leave their pet in someone else's care or not. Your head must be muddled up with so many questions.
How to choose between a Petsitter, Kennel or Pet boarding? Do dogs feel sad when you leave them? Do dogs think you're never coming back? What if they forget you? It is undoubtedly hard, but it is important to seek expert or well-informed advice from people. Hence, it is important to have a fool-proof plan that would take care of every contingent need of your fur baby. Therefore, it is imperative to explore ways and tips that could help you to leave them with someone while you are away.
Imagine exploring the soaring heights and the lone shores with your ultimate buddy of all times. But the world has still got a lot to adapt to the needs to our babies. Travelling with your pet dog will not be a success if you are not well versed with the contingent plans in terms of pet-friendly hotels or pet-proofing their travel resources. Leaving your pet behind with someone else's care isn't easy; we second that opinion. But here we are with all the safe and feasible ways to go about it. Planning eases every process.
Planning and prepping for it should begin way before, so both parties have ample time to adjust and adapt to this situation. If travelling for you is so frequent, it becomes essential to train your pet dog at the earliest.
Training
A well-trained dog will always find it easier to adapt to newer situations and environments. As mentioned above, if you are travelling very frequently, you need to expose your puppy to this life early on. Training helps in making them independent. You can always start with the Obedience Training, which teaches them how to understand their hoomans and actions.
After clearing these basics, you can start with crate training. It will acquaint them with control, teach them methods to stay calm, trust their hoomans and respect their space. Crate training will give them enough practice about living in their space without frustration and insecurity.
If you feel a need or starting something new on your own without any professional supervision, always consider consulting a vet. They will help you understand the hidden challenges and get ready to move forward with them using a healthy approach. Surf online or understand from the experts more about training your pet dog.
Social
People love dogs intermingle with them, who share an action-response relationship. Even your relatives would be skeptical of keeping a dog who is not loveable and social. Hence, it is better to teach habits that help the dog gel and everyone in the long run.
Certain factors and conditions should be kept in mind while making this planning more efficient. For example, like the number of days you are supposed to be out, and consequently, on this basis, you could decide which among the given options is the best one to leave your pets with and compliments with your pet's happiness too.
Duration Of the Trip
If the trip lasts just a day or two, you can leave your well-behaved dog on its own. Of course, you could even ask your neighbours or nearby relatives to check up on them at infrequent intervals. But, if your dog is habitual of staying on its own, this would not be such a task for them. Thus, it won't be a mess; all you can do is to call someone to keep a check on your pet dog. Finally, prioritise your selection based on your dog's linking for someone. It will ease them and keep them away from boredom. If not, they might face separation anxiety. Here you can learn more about how to raise confidence in a dog.
Now, this becomes an issue, and you will need to plan. You need to make a lot of considerations according to the likings of your dog, of course. The first and foremost would be if your dog would happily like to move out of the house or would prefer to stay at home. Generally, pets find it easier to stay in the house, as at least the environment, furniture, and interior are well acquainted. When you think of leaving your dog with someone, there are multiple alternatives to choose from. Some of them are mentioned as follows:
Dog Sitters are considered one of the best alternatives; as mentioned above, the dog does not have to uproot himself to a completely alien place.
- Family member/Neighbour/Friend: Family members, friends, and neighbours should be the ideal people to look for your pet since your pet would be already acquainted with them. There would be less chance of them going through Separation Anxiety. You would also be assured of the safety of your dog completely.
- Hiring a professional dog sitter: Professional dog sitters are people who are hired to look for the pet at your own home while you are away. These people either check up on your dog from time to time or stay with your pet, all the while you are away.
Pet Boarding is taking your dog to a place with many other pets. It is a place where multiple pets co-exist when their respective pet parents are busy or are away.
- Vet boarding: Vet Boarding is majorly recommended best for pets who are ill or are receptive to diseases. In such a situation, Vet boarding should be your go-to option; rest assured, they will be under the strict supervision of experts.
- Dog sitter boarding/Kennel Boarding: Dog sitter or kennel boarding is a medium through which you can either find a space or a sitter for your dog for the time you will be absent. They help keep a dog engaged and entertained, moreover comfortable around someone new to them.
Now that you have weighed all the pros and cons and made up your mind on which option to go for, the next level of planning begins. But, first, you need to take care of certain things for smooth sailing of the process.:
Vaccinations
Remember, if you send your fur baby to a Pet Boarding, vaccinations are a must. There will be different breeds of dogs in pet boarding, and your pet dog might certainly catch some allergies. So, it is best to get your dog properly vaccinated so that you can stay worry-free.
Writing Down Instructions
The dog sitter or pet boarding would not know your dog's preferences; how and when they like their meals, nor would they have any schedule of their favourable going out time for walks and to pee. So, it is better to pen down detailed instructions, from their temperament to their territorial instincts. You should mention everything so that you can be at peace, and your dog can have a good time!
Checking Dog Tags
No trip, no vacation; absolutely nothing would be worth losing your beloved fur buddy. So, there is no chance for you to miss this tip.
Trial Run
Ask yourself, who are you doing this for? For the happiness of your dog, right? So, let them do the screening process on their own. Then, start making them use their space, hire a sitter and make them acquainted with your pet dog before you need them.
I. Let them be tired before you are leaving:
Spending time with your pet dog is the best stress buster for them. Make this a part of your daily schedule and especially before going out for work. It will keep the satisfied, and they will be less active to feel bothered. It might sound harsh, but it's essential when it comes to keeping them healthy. Enervate them, let them get tired; this will diminish the chances of becoming aggressive, especially in your absence.
II. Avoid long Goodbyes
DO NOT be over dramatic. Chill! Your pet dog can sense everything you do and everything you feel. So don't make it tough for them; keep your calm, before them especially before leaving the premises. If you exaggerate your goodbyes, they will link it to your leaving. And why will they want their pet parent to leave the house? Therefore, whenever they hear you say goodbye, they will become cautious even when you are playing.
III. Providing Distractions
It would help them stay happy around things that are familiar to them. Explore different kinds of toys, interactive, plush or chew so that they can stay engaged on their own. If you can visit a pet store online, get them new toys, buy new dog food, so they are busy exploring them more.
Make sure that their "vacation"; (if away from home) is as amazing as yours because you will be wondering how your fur babies are going to be in your absence. To make things extra easy, make sure to do video calls to avoid the communication barrier. Also, leave them with little reminders, like your sweater, which has your smell, to not let them dwell in Separation Anxiety. Although it would be hard but give them enough distractions, they have plenty of things to interest even when you are not there.