prepping anxious dog for dog sitters

[Bonnie and Kona]

I'm a little confused and worried. Our golden retriever died in September. Kona, our goldendoodle, was the easiest going dog in the world until then. He is 3 1/2. He became very anxious, not wanting to let us out of his sight, shaking like a leaf in the car, just fretful. We decided it would be best to get another dog. In late October we brought home his 7 1/2 week old half brother. He did not like the puppy at first. That didn't seem too surprising. He stopped being so upset about us leaving him at home though. Now he tolerates the puppy pretty well but continues to be anxious over "nothing". Yesterday our adult daughter stayed home with him because she was sick. My husband and I took the puppy with us. Kona was a wreck, shaking and frantic. My big worry is that we are all scheduled to visit my parents for a week in December. We have a pup and this anxious dog to leave in our home with paid dog-sitters. Any ideas how to help Kona get through this?

[Kyoko]

Would you be able to have the sitter come over for few minutes, and then may be an hour, 2 hours so on and so forth, to get Kona used to this person and feel secure with this person? I know it may not be realistic.... But if you can do that, I think Kona may feel somewhat secure and be OK while you are gone....I am sorry Kona is going through this since the loss of his pal.... :-(

[Bonnie and Kona]

Yes, I am hoping to have her spend some time here the weekend before we leave. Thank you.

[Lauria Orr]

Hello there! Will the pet sitter be staying the night each night? With our anxious little Melody, we introduced her to our pet sitter, Rachel, a couple of weeks before we were set to go out of town. Initially, we all went for a short walk together. That went well. When we got back to the house Melody ran away from Rachel and got on the bed, backing herself up against the wall. We had Rachel over again for a couple of hours the next week, and again, Melody was a little nervous. She did well with a walk. Once Rachel stayed the night, Melody snuggled up to her and they have never had a problem since. I was glad we spent time with Rachel in Melody's presence. Now, in addition, we do use the D.A.P. "pheromone" products, and that helps too. I think the house sitter being on site so much was really the answer.....

Did you have to put your Golden Retriever down, and if so, did Kona go with you? I understood from our vet that having the 2nd dog there actually helps them to know their companion will be not be coming home. I wonder if there is some stress and fear going on for Kona...perhaps a behaviorist can help? We went to a communicator at the humane society who was of help to us when we lost our first dog...

[Bonnie and Kona]

Yes we had to have Earle put down and Kona did not come along. Sad. The anxiety started right after that.

[Kyoko]

Ohhhh... So sad.... :*-(
Lauria, so, is it better the other dog come with you when you have to put one down? Do they get some idea to the fact the other one isn't coming back?
I dread the thoughts of this...... Understanding that, it is not avoidable......

[Lauria Orr]

Kyoko, We brought Lucy with us when we had to put Hershey to sleep last Feb. At the last minute I thought to bring Lucy along, and to ask the Vet her opinion when we got there. She said it would best to have Lucy come in with us. It was a beautiful setting and very calm. My husband held Hershey as she got her injections and Lucy came up to sniff and lick her. They had been together for 14 and a half years. We stayed an extra half hour or so, and I do think it helped Lucy realize Hershey had drifted away. Lucy had some anxiety issues throughout her life, so I was surprised when she handled this so well. The Vet said this would likely keep Lucy from looking for Hershey and that would help. I think it did help her. I don't know if Kona would have had the same benefit...I just don't know. I do imagine he misses Earle, and maybe he doesn't understand. I wish Bonnie could see the pet communicator we saw, and wonder if there is a behaviorist or counselor that could help Kona. This is so hard...animals do feel grief and sometimes, very deeply. We lost Lucy 3 months after Hershey. They had both become older dogs and had kidney issues. By then we had little Melody. We brought Melody with us when we had Lucy put down. Again, Melody went up to sniff and lick Lucy. They did not have a long history together, so I doubt if she would have had the kind of trouble we worried about for Lucy when Hershey was gone. So, yes, to answer your question, the Vet told us that the second dog would get a sense that the first dog was not coming back, and also that the end was peaceful, so all was okay. It kills me to even think about, as I miss them so much. I am very grateful we have this darling Melody. She does not replace Hershey and Lucy and she is like having a 3rd child. She has her won unique qualities. Now, we get her brother on Sunday. My heart goes out to Bonnie, Earle and Kona...... :o(

[Bonnie and Kona]

We decided last night that my daughter will not go on the trip with us but will stay home with the dogs instead. None of us felt good about leaving the dogs at this time.

[Kyoko]

Bonnie, I hope Kona feels better and get used to being with the new puppy.....and the puppy may cheer him up....

[Lauria Orr]

Bonnie, I hope your daughter doesn't mind staying back with the dogs. From the sounds of it, that sounds like a really good idea. I hope Kona gets to feeling less anxious. I think there is help to be gotten for him. Our local humane society had some really good resources for us...that is where we met the pet communicator. She meets with anxious dogs every Wed. at the humane society. Her usual job at the humane society is IT. Very interesting and helpful woman. She does phone consultations, I believe....just a thought.

[Kyoko]

Thanks for sharing the story.... It brought tears to my eyes..... Butter's 16th brithday ( estimated ) is coming up. I hope to have many more with him.....

[Lauria Orr]

Kyoko, I hope you have a lot more time with Butter as well. It seems so wrong that pets do not live longer than they do. I hope we do meet up with them again. I am counting on it!