Anyone else worry about leaving a very attached pet behind??

[Lizboo]

We love Disney and come every year, but for the last two years I have really worried about my very attached dog, Zoe (that is her in my avatar). In 2007, she was just 4 months old and did fine (I was worse than her I think). Last year, she did OK but the not eating was a big concern (when she got hungry enough, she did eat). Last year, the day after we got back from Disney, we got another 3 month old puppy (who is very shy and skittish).

I am happily planning our trip for this fall and as per usual, the little voice in the back of my head is worried about the girls. We have a great house sitter coming (so they will be in their own environment) but she is a stranger to them.

I wish Disney had accomodations where we could bring the girls like Universal does, but I love staying on the site too much. Anyone else think like I do??

 

[motofox4]

We just got a puppy a month ago, he is 3 months old now. We're not going to Disney until the end of November, however, I'm really stressing already about leaving him.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

Our 18 month old puppy, Griffin, has been surrendered to the pound twice in his short life. We rescued him Labor Day weekend. I was very concerned about leaving him in a kennel that might remind him of the pound. Luckily I found a wonderful new kennel in our town that has a large, fenced backyard on the river, and an option to get glassed-in "suites" in a living room-type setting, instead of your typical kennel runs. So, we are going to pay the extra $20 a night to have him in a suite, for his comfort. This kennel also does doggy daycare for $20 a day, so I plan on doing that maybe one day a month this summer so he can get used to the place and know that we will always come back for him. (It helps to have a doggy bakery next door, too, to take him for treats! )

I know you are getting a doggy sitter, so your situation is different from mine, but maybe she could come play with them in your yard, walk them, etc., so they get to know her.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

Totally understand.

Our girls (3 y.o. mini doxies) stay with the "grandparents" while we are away. We still call to check on them every day and we still worry like crazy.

I'm sure they'll do fine.

 

[Disneycrazy!!]

yes I worry about leaving my 4 dogs all the time in the kennels at the Vet's office. Especially my boxer who is 7, he is getting old. One of my shih tzu ALWAYS travels with us on vacations, I am blessed that I have a friend who lives in Orlando area that babysits her for me, while we are at Disney.

I hate leaving the dogs in boarding kennels, I worry about if they get enough exercise or bathroom breaks. The last time we boarded my boxer, when we picked him up his ear was ripped open and his eye had been puntured. They didn't have a clue how it happened but I am positive he was in a fight while in the exercise area with other dogs.

 

[LovinPooh]

Your not alone. I worry as well. Last time we went to WDW we left our dog with a house sitter with the occasional check in by a relative. The housesitter bailed and never told us. Thank god the relative checked in the next day to check on our 6 year old pup. I dont think we will ever trust a house sitter again. Next time the relative who saved the day will take care of her. Nothign like being 1200 miles from home and wanting to slap someone LOL!!

 

[becky23]

I Have a 13 yr old Sheltie who has been with us since a puppy. I know exactly the worry you are talking about. I drive my husband crazy when we go away. When my dog was a puppy the vet said she suffers with seperation anxiety. (I didn't know dogs could!) She has never been in a kennel or pound, so that is not an option.We usually pay someone to stay at the house or a nieghbor, so that she is in her surroundings. When we go away , she refuses to eat, sits by the front door waiting. It is so sad. When we get home she is so happy and forgets that she is 13. The love that our dog has for us is so beautiful. But , that being said, you have to go and enjoy your selves.

 

[disneysuncat]

Yes, I worry myself sick about our three cats, especially the oldest one, who is super attached to me. I've had her since before I had my daughter, she was my first "baby".

Our last trip to Disney, I called our vet looking for someone, and was directed to this one girl who worked there. (an assistant) When I asked her how much she charged, it was $30 a day, AND she wanted to stay in my house the whole trip. (two weeks.) Well I didn't want anyone actually sleeping in my house, and asked her if she could just come in daily and feed the kitties. She said no, she had to SLEEP here. I marked her off the list.

I called a different vet, who directed me to the mother of a former assistant there (the former assistant was now a vet herself.) I called this woman, and immediately felt comfortable. She came beforehand to meet the cats. She has a horsefarm and dogs, and usually keeps people's dogs on her own property. She took care of my kitties for $10 a day. (what a bargain, but I would have paid triple/quadruple for the right person!) I called every other day checking on my cats, and one morning I was even sitting there, in a Boardwalk Villa, crying because I missed my kitty! (yes yes, I am that sappy, I love my cats.) Anyway, I got home, the kitties were fine. I did find my older one hiding in the closet (as she is SO skittish around strangers), but the second she heard my voice she came running out meowing as loud as she could.

I'm using this same woman for our upcoming trip, she's SO nice and I trust her with my beloved pets. I fully understand your worries about leaving your animals behind, and I wish you all the luck!

 

[CathrynRose]

Yes!

My husband isn't going this trip, because we aren't comfortable leaving Charley (dog in signature) with anyone.

In a perfect world, he would be at WDW with us (the dog, that is).

 

[Deffenm]

Yep, we have a 7 month old black lab and she hates to be alone. I don't have to worry about what to do with her when we go to Disney because DH does not like Disney ( I have gotten him to go once) so he will stay home with her while we go next June however we are going away for our anniversary in Sept. My in-laws are watching the kids so we are hoping they will watch Bella. They have a dog as well and they get a long Ok, I just don't know if the in-laws will want the kids and dog.

 

[lauren5406]

It breaks my heart every time I leave my two dogs. It is a very emotional process for me but I have had to come to terms with it and I am happy to report I can leave them now without crying. I promise I'm not totally nuts I just worry that something is going to happen to them while they are out of my care, no one will look after them the way I do.

I have tried several different things. Petsitters that some several times a day, boarding in kennels at the vet, and bringing them with me to Orlando.

My favorite of the three is to bring them with me and use one of the facilities there (not Disney). There are several facilities in the area that for an extra price the dog can use the play area during the day and not be caged your whole vacation. Any facility with a Daycare also should do this. I have used two different Preppy Pets Suites in the area for this. The one in Longwood is my favorite but it is not close to Disney but it is on the route for our drive in. This option is inconvenient in that you must stick to the facilitys check-in/check-out schedule.

If you google facilities in the Orlando area there are some very nice places (according to their websites).

 

[Sleepy]

I like that Universal allows pets in their onsite hotels. It makes those hotels even more appealing to me.

I can assure you that if you find someone sensitive and very aware of your pets' needs, they will be fine. I watch small breed dogs (the ones that tend to be more babyish) in my home. They stay with me for appx 6 weeks while their newly arriving family searches for a place to live. One will be going home tonight. He is such a little snuggle blanket lap baby. You would think he was a cat. We will miss him.

 

[secretpantssam]

My old dog used to pull the old "I miss them so much I just can't eat" trick. We learned that if the person who was pet-sitting gave her special food and spoiled her, she forgot about her depression really fast. She usually just got dry food while we were home, so we had the pet-sitter give her canned once a day. Maybe you could try something like that.

 

[Fantasmic303]

So glad to know we're not the only ones!!

My sister has a mini-doxie (Belle) who will be two in August. We are all extremely attached to her, and she definitely thinks she's a person. It's like having a child to take care of - she doesn't like being home alone for more than a few hours (although I wonder if we're more anxious than she is!)!

Since she arrived, we've split our vacations up, leaving her with my dad for a night or two (she's too much work for him any longer than that...plus she misses her "girls"!). Usually my mom and oldest sister will travel first while my other sister and I pupsit, then we'll meet up with them for a few days while my dad watches her, and my mom and sister will return home while we enjoy the other half of vacation.

We miss her...I wish we could take a nice long trip as a family, but there's no way we would feel comfortable leaving her with anyone.

 

[codenamejack]

..

 

[KJ Luvs Pluto]

I have a 12 year old golden retriever who has severe separation anxiety. He was so bad that for the first 5 years that we had him (we got him from the Humane Society when he was 4) I couldn't walk the 30 yards to mail box, with the door open and leave him in the house so that he could see me - he would go crazy. He either had to be with me or be in his outdoor kennel/garage combo. I have slowly gotten him to the point where he can be alone in the house for short period of times but he is such a "velcro" dog. He just loves to lay in my lap or just sit with his head in my lap (a 100 lb lap dog ) while I'm working (thankfully I work at home 65 percent of the time). All that being said - it is very difficult to leave him and my heart just breaks when I get out the suitcase and he looks at me with those big, sad puppy eyes because he knows he's being left behind with a pet sitter. Then he really follows me around, so much so that I'm constantly tripping over him because he lays at my feet wherever I am. So when we're gone I do worry about him even though I know he's in good hands. So while I can't offer any advice - I just want you to know that you're not alone in worrying about your baby. There's many of us out there who leave a bit part of our hearts behind when we go away and when we come home we just kneel on the floor and open our arms hug away with a huge smile on our faces and the "baby" just melts into the hug as well. What a great feeling

 

[Sleepy]

My old dog used to pull the old "I miss them so much I just can't eat" trick. We learned that if the person who was pet-sitting gave her special food and spoiled her, she forgot about her depression really fast. She usually just got dry food while we were home, so we had the pet-sitter give her canned once a day. Maybe you could try something like that.

I can't stress this enough. As a dog sitter, I know that the first thing to do is give the dog a boiled piece of chicken. It lets them know that food is good here and we are not monsters. They start their stay eating as if they had always been with me. In the right environment, you would be surprised how little your dog misses you.....no matter how attached you think they are. The only time the dogs I watch cry or lay around depressed is when the owners have just left from a visit. Once out of sight out of mind, they are as if they have always been my dogs.

The only difficult situation I have encountered was when the owners said NO HUMAN FOOD! It was painfully obvious their very small children were giving this dog human food when they were not looking. It took this dog almost 3 weeks to start eating his dry food normally. He was always begging for table scraps and continuously snuck around trying to eat from my dog's bowl. We feed ours a special food made from salmon. So, his not eating was not due to depression, it had everything to do with the fact he was not getting human food and really did not prefer his own dry food.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Theme Parks Community board.

 

[Mom2Rae]

Oh - I feel your "pain".

We have four doggies...ranging in ages from 13 years to 2 years. My parents come over 4 to 5 times a day to check on them, play and feed them. I STILL WORRY! I like them to remain in their own environment, but I can only imagine what goes through their heads while we're gone.

I leave HUGE notes all over the house to remind my folks of certain habits they have, how they like their food, etc! My hardest time is right when we pull out of our driveway and on our way...I usually perk up around North Carolina!

Enjoy your trip...your babies will be just fine....Just a suggestion, maybe leave a shirt you've worn the day before you leave around their bedding so they have your scent close by

 

[Lizboo]

You guys are so great...so hapy to know that I am not the only one. Hubby loves the girls too, but doesn't worry like I do. He says "What do you want to so, stay here?" and I don't...I just worry. We don't have kids and these two little Maltese fluffs are family to us.

You all have given me such great tips. Thanks a million. Glad to know there are plenty of other owners of Disney pets!