Feeling guilty about boarding pup at kennel for a few days

[fireswan]

My brother is getting g married out of state. Cannot find anything else that I half way trust to watch my 15wk puppy. Decided a boarding facility is safest/best.

I can't stop thinking she is gonna be SO SAD I F#;&*ING ABANDONED HER.
Worried she is gonna be traumatized.
ughhhhhh ill be back Sunday you poor innocent landshark

 

[ramondor]

@fireswan she’s gonna be so excited to hang out with the other pups, and like others said it is great to do this while she’s young to get her used to being in new environments with new people!

one thing to be prepared to based on my own experience is she will probably be SO tired when she gets back home with you. i thought my pup was sick the first time we picked him up from the dog sitter because he was sleeping sooo much and was not interested in playing at all. it’s totally normal after all of that activity and excitement.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@ramondor Haha my dog goes to doggy daycare one day and sleeps the next two. It’s amazing.

 

[alwaysjesus]

@ramondor Twice now I've had a "hmmm you're a little more tired than I feel like you should be" with my boy and both times it was kennel cough. In general though yes when boards or even does day care he's lazy the day he comes home. If he's tired the next day is when my internal alarm is going okay something's amiss.

 

[throwawaymana]

@fireswan I just dropped my dog off at doggie day care. She pouted and glared at me the entire time.

Flash forward to me getting pictures of her playing with the puppies, and looking happy.

 

[mariancothersby]

@throwawaymana The first time I dropped my pup off at daycare he was definitely confused as to why he wasn’t coming with me when I left but then following times when I left he didn’t even glance back at me just ran straight to the back very willingly haha

 

[throwawaymana]

@mariancothersby Mine is such a fibber. She runs to the door and then suddenly acts like she doesn’t want to go in

 

[jaoza]

@fireswan It’s good to get the dog used to being apart from you while young!

 

[mariancothersby]

@fireswan I actually found it to be really helpful leaving my pup when he was younger. I think 16 weeks we left him with my parents for the weekend and he had a blast. Probably every 1-2 months we left him for a weekend or a week and now he adapts to us being gone so easily.

He’s at boarding for a week right now and they post photos every night of him running around playing with the other dogs. I miss him tons but I know he’s safe and having fun!

It’s always difficult leaving for the first time. I think it was harder for me than him haha but as long as you trust the place I really do think that it does them good in the long run to be okay being away!

 

[markedjar]

@mariancothersby Honestly it's a lot like people/kids. You want to take care of them and give them what they want and keep them comfortable, but significant leaps in learning and coping only really occur in uncomfortable situations. You do them no favors by sheltering them.

Let the dog be upset for an hour or two on their first day of doggy day care. They will figure out how to cope, and then love it. If you shelter them, they're comfortable but missing out on great experiences.

 

[mariancothersby]

@markedjar That’s a very good way of looking at it.

We eased into it also by taking him to daycare at the same place before we left him for boarding which I think helped too. Then he already knew the employees and environment and that we’ll be coming back so I like to think it must’ve helped.

 

[mutero]

@fireswan Hi my recc would be leaving her there for a night here and there BEFORE you go away and leave her for X days. Just so she can get adjusted to the environment slowly and should something go wrong, you won’t be out of state. This way you could also get a feel for the place, too. My friend had her dog boarded while she went away and he had a very hard time adjusting to being away from her and his familiar environments. He is now on antidepressants because he’s very anxious and attached not saying this is the common scenario or this will happen to you, but it’s something to keep in mind! Personally, I’ll be easing my dog into it as well

 

[iamabcy]

@mutero We go to a big chain that offers daycare and did half days to start and next full days before boarding overnight. Gave us peace of mind that our dog didn't hate being there.

 

[mutero]

@iamabcy I’m going to do exactly this. Thanks for the idea!

 

[skydiveveteran]

@iamabcy U make a good point. If dog is excited to return and happy about the ppl that's good.

 

[fireswan]

Thanks ya'll this is helping. I have never boarded a dog before. always just had family watch my old dogs but as its my brothers wedding all of my family is not available.

She will be fine, she will have fun, she will be loved and cared for.

 

[randall4466]

@fireswan Just a thought, and I’ve done this before, but if you are driving to your destination, you could look for a kennel in the destination area. She’d still get the advantage (because they do have fun!) of being around other dogs, but you’d be away from her for a shorter time.

 

[antuongpro]

@fireswan Best thing we did was board our puppy for both us and for him. We boarded him for the first time when he was about 6 months old, it was just for a 24 hour period and my only regret is not doing it sooner.

It really helped him gain some independence and learn that it’s okay to be without mom and dad. Helped him to learn anytime he is alone, we will always come back. Crate training was very difficult for us and boarding really helped with isolation anxiety.

We’ve been doing boarding and daycare for nearly 6 months now and he gets soooooo fired up to go. Has the best time and then completely crashes before we even make it down their driveway to go home lol

 

[patrick_m]

@antuongpro this is so reassuring to hear. my puppy is 5mo old and going to be boarded for 10 days while we attend a wedding. he has never really been alone yet and I hope hope hope he finds some independence during this! and not the opposite of creating separation anxiety.... D:

 

[joeweatherly]

@patrick_m I think your puppy will be totally fine Before the big trip board him before then a couple times at a facility you trust (such as a daycare he has tried and loved that also does boarding), so it is not a new place. 10 days is long, so work up to the days. Maybe board one night first, then three, then five. After that 10 will be a piece of cake. This way no matter if it is 3 days or 11, your dog knows you will ALWAYS come back!