Separation Anxiety and Daycare

[josh1992]

I’m looking for some guidance. My dog has separation anxiety— luckily I WFH and was able to keep working on it. I feel ok leaving her for 1.5-2 hours at most. She did 1.75 hour on Saturday with only 4 barks which is amazing. Her type of separation anxiety is “no one is as good as mommy”— she is upset even when with another human.

The issue is that I may get to the point where I’ll need to go to a work event or in the office a couple times a month. I’m thinking of getting her involved in daycare (a small in home one/ Rover daycare). She’s not that dog social as in she enjoys walking with dog buddies, peacefully coexisting on the couch, but doesn’t play or romp around. She's also older--6/7 per the rescue.

Should I do a daycare evaluation? Is she a good candidate? How did you find a small daycare? I’m terrified she’s gonna scream for mommy the whole time.

Is she too old and I should hire a super competent dog walker and hope she won’t be too loud?

 

[naturex]

@josh1992 There’s definitely lots of good options for small daycares or small group outings ran by a dog walker. I am a professional dog walker/hiker. This is a common service in my province because we have a ton of bush and trails surrounding the communities here.

I pickup up and drop off dogs to their homes. I take them on 1.5-2hr hikes offleash. With driving time the outing is usually 3-4 hours long. I personally like this a lot as the dogs aren’t overstimulated from being at daycare all day long, but they get out of the house for a good portion of the work day, then can get used to relaxing at home by themselves after.

Maybe something like this would be a good option for you if you can find something similar in your area.

 

[josh1992]

@naturex Thank you!! I think she’d like that too

 

[josh1992]

@naturex Thank you! I think she would like that a lot

 

[chris457]

@josh1992 If she’s not that dog social, then I would personally not do a facility. They tend to be play group focused and they’re in kennels when they’re not playing. Very limited human interaction.

Besides rover, there are professional home based boarders. Check your local Facebook groups for recommendations and you’ll get them! My fiancé and I do this and I get a lot of dogs who just want to chill. They usually have a little separation anxiety from their parents but they get over it the more they come!

 

[donttakesixes]

@josh1992 I would just leave her home. If she panics without you and doesn't like playing with other dogs, taking her out of her comfortable environment may make her worse.

I try to leave for 30 to 45 minutes at least every day with my dog because of his severe separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is made better with a schedule and time away. I'd talk to the vet and ask about options. My vet prescribed my pup cbd and he's literally never been better. As long as he has his routine followed through. He seems to panic most when he's open and vulnerable. He gets cbd in the morning and at 4 to 5pm. Then when it's time to go he gets the radio put on for him, he gets put in his dark crate with his bed, the blanket he got from his breeder and a soft toy to cuddle up with and then I hand him his hoof filled with his food.

He's gone from full blown panic and unable to settle and screaming for hours to being able to be left for a few hours safely and with minimal whining. In fact when I checked in on my camera, he decided to eat his food out of his hoof when he started crying instead of letting himself spiral further. Even then it was close to 4pm when I usually give him his dose of cbd and my mom got up to cook so the other pets got up and woke him up. I left for around 2 hours.

It depends on the dog but for mine at least, a schedule that indicates I'm leaving actually helps him more than trying to make it random. Whereas some dogs need randomness and a lack of pattern to feel better. I'd definitely ask your vet for advice if her separation anxiety is so bad she screams for hours at a time. Separation anxiety can be severe and having some meds that can help calm them down is the best option as that can speed up training.