I have a special guest dog blogger for you! My new pal Caramel Easterly wanted to talk to you all about having a dog sitter instead of going to a kennel when your rents have to be away. Since I always go with mom and dad or stay at my grands I thought she would be a great dog to share with you how it is like to have a dog sitter. Also, it doesn’t hurt she is one cutie and when a girl doggie with those pretty brown eyes wants to blog on my site how can I say no! hehehehe
Imagine a loved one leaving you with a stranger and not keeping you informed about why they are leaving, when they will return or even if they’ll ever come back. Think about how panicked you would feel if this loved one made sure to say a long, emotional goodbye before leaving. This is how I feel when dad leaves me.
Dad says there are places that don’t allow dogs and that he can’t take me everywhere. Sometimes he takes day trips, vacations and not often but sometimes medical emergencies require dad to get a dog sitter for me. I don’t think I’m alone when I say that dad needs to understand I may be anxious and afraid when he leaves. Now, I’ve had to train my dad on he can help me cope with the separation so I’ll offer them over to you in case you may need to train your mom or dad as well.
• Well first, I had to tell dad to stop taking me away from my home every time he left. Being in a strange place with people I don’t know and dogs I’ve never met makes you going away even scarier. It makes me think that maybe you are leaving me in this new place forever because you don’t like me anymore. I had to tell dad that if he has to go away, I would be much happier if he let me stay at home and had someone come check on me every now and then. Of course, no one compares to dad but I still want to meet this new person to make sure they’re okay.
• I don’t know about you but I get confused when dad makes a big deal about saying goodbye before he goes away. If you make a big deal out of it, I start to focus on you and your goodbye instead of getting comfortable. If dad strings it out and makes the goodbye the focal point of my day, it makes me worry that he might not ever come back. I handle it best when dad says a short, normal goodbye.
• My safe zone is curled up on my bed in my crate. That’s the place I go when I’m sad, miss dad or unsure of what’s going on. Maybe your safe zone is your crate, or a special room that you go to for a little bit every day to relax. Establishing a safe zone ahead of time has helped me cope when dad is gone and I start to miss him.
• I need lots of exercise – mentally and physically – and my dog sitter has to know that I need to be taken outside to run around while dad is gone. Also, playing helps keep my mind off … BALL!
• Okay this one I really had to train dad for because he likes a clean house when he is away but leaving dirty clothes or something that smells like him on the floor or in my crate can help comfort me when he’s gone for a while. Let your mom or dad know how important smell is to you and that smell alone can make you feel at home.
I get real nervous when dad leaves and I don’t like it so for me, it’s best when dad can leave me at when he goes away in order to ease my anxiety. This is how I had to train my dad, what did you use to train yours?
Caramel Easterly serves as Chief Rover for the dog boarding and dog sitting offices of Rover.com. A tiny, red-headed 11 year old Teacup Pomeranian, Caramel has over 10 years of experience in dog advocacy and spends her days at the office scouting for belly rubs and dining on bacon and Asian cuisine. For more tips and posts from Caramel, follow Rover.com on Twitter @roverdotcom or on their blog, Dog Boarding News.
I think dog sitting in their own homes is certainly an awesome option. Of course, there are dogs who love adventure and are perfectly happy to do sleep-overs and things. I still remember when we were dog sitting Jasmine’s best friend and his buddy. They were so excited to have a sleep-over with the “cousins.”