Boarding Your Anxious Dog: What You Can Do

Owning an anxious dog who gets nervous being out of your sight isn't that huge of an annoyance until you need to go out of town and have them boarded for a few days. Then you begin to worry about your poor pooch and how they are going to cope without you. When boarding an anxious pet, keep in mind that any reputable boarding facility has likely dealt with all kinds of animal behaviors, from chewers to barkers to anxious, panicky dogs. Here are things you can do to make boarding easier on your dog.

Pack familiar things

Pack your dog's favorite toys, food and water dish, and a blanket or large shirt that smells like you for when they are boarded. This helps keep them in familiar territory even when they are away from you. Dogs get a lot of security out of routine and familiar scents, which you can provide for your dog when you pack their personal belongings to be boarded with them.

Choose the right facility

You want to pick a pet boarding facility that can meet your dog's needs. Often, what can help calm down an anxious dog is lots of exercise and socialization with other dogs, so choose a facility that has an open play area and an exercise routine for the dogs they board. It may help to take your dog to the facility a few times prior to boarding them so they can become familiar with the sights, sounds, and people there so they aren't in so much of a shock when you finally drop them off.

Be calm at drop off

The last thing you want to do is excite or agitate your anxious dog when you drop them off at the boarding facility. Be as calm as possible, refraining from petting your dog too much or making a huge deal out of leaving them behind. The less you react to your dog's being boarded, the less likely they are to react as well. Even positive attention can be accidentally misconstrued by your dog and turned into nervous energy. Treat your dog the same way when leaving them at a boarding facility as you would at home.

You want your dog's experience at the boarding facility to be a positive one. Choose a facility where your dog can get plenty of interaction and socialization and pack your dog's favorite items for boarding, and you may find that your nervous dog has a much better time away from you than you thought they would. To learn more, contact a dog boarding facility like Park Ur Paws. 

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