Well, I’ve been lucky so far. I never had to leave Max behind. Since we adopted him, my parents have always been our back-up caregivers. However, we’ve run into a scheduling snag. What to do with the dog when we leave town?
If you have a dog with severe separation anxiety, you know how limited your choices are when you’re not home. I can’t hire a petsitter unless they’re willing to stay with Max nearly 24/7. Maybe, just maybe, they could slip out late at night but otherwise, they’re stuck. With Max, he can’t be left for anything near 8 hours.
Cages freak him out. Plus, I know they won’t contain him; he’s broken out of padlocked cages. So most boarding options are out. However, I found a cageless doggie day care that offers cageless overnight boarding too.
Max tried his first day of doggie day care to see if the overnight care will work out. With his wonderful temperament, I wasn’t too worried. On his first day of doggie day care he followed the workers around with a big smile on his face. Plus, as a bonus, he came home really exhausted. He was too tired to be anxious at home. It was like a mini-vacation for me. I wasn’t tripping over an 80 pound dog for once.
One more doggie day care visit and then he can participate in the overnight program. Fingers crossed!
In a few days, I take my separation anxiety pooch back to his psychiatrist, er behavioralist. I’m eager to hear what she thinks about Max since it’s been quite a while since they have seen each other.
