Feeling Guilty For Traveling Without Your Furry Friend?

Guest post!

Separation can be a terrible thing, especially for pets when they’ve gotten used to having their owners around all the time. However, these situations cannot be avoided.

Whether the cause is work or personal, owners will have to leave their pets for longer periods of time – and that is okay. A little time off can be good for everyone and can help make the bond even stronger.

Set the groundwork

When taking in a pet, we take on a huge responsibility. However, it is important to remind ourselves that both we and our furry friends can function without one another.

To alleviate the heartache of leaving them behind, make sure that they have everything they need. From toys to a safe space within the house, make sure that they have everything, and more importantly, are aware of where everything is.

This knowledge will go a long way in letting us overcome the guilt after locking that door behind us and will assure us that they will still be alright when we return.

Get them used to the idea

After we’ve taken care of our end, it is important to prepare the pet. Start out slow, hourly walks without them should do it, then ramp up from there.

If employed then they’re used to the notion of being left alone for a couple of hours and only need to be gotten used to other people.

However sweet and caring they might be around us, it can take some time for them to start trusting other people. Stay social, introduce your cat or dog to friends and such and you will see their openness rise with time.

Check-in every now and then

With everything taken care of, it can be a good idea to check in once in a while. If your time away is for an extended period of time, it will help you stay in the loop and keep your heart at bay.

With everyone connected online, it can literally be squeezed into any part of our day – after all, what’s a couple of minutes for some peace of mind? The whole experience can actually be healthy for owner-pet relationships, giving both parties ample time to miss each other, thereby making the reunion even sweeter.

Leave them with someone you can trust

Expanding on the idea of getting our pets used to friends and the like, choosing the right person can make a huge difference in what you’ll find when you return. However close some of your friends maybe, if they have no experience with pets, it’s better to leave them out of it.

Ideally, you want someone who has had a number of pets and won’t mind taking on the responsibility for prolonged periods of time. This does not mean that inexperienced friends aren’t capable or don’t care, experience just helps them to better deal with unplanned situations as they’ve almost certainly been there before.

If friends aren’t an option, the next best thing is to put our pets into daycare. These usually end up being a holiday for the pet, the majority of these establishments have huge areas for them to run around, climb, dig, etc.

The best thing about these places can be the social aspect, a number of daycares like i.e. Cooltre pet kennels deliberately socialize their “tenants” and make sure they get along.

This helps your pet overcome any sense of abandonment they might have and also provides them with new friends and chances to have their fun while we have ours.

They will be fine

This cannot be stressed enough – they will be fine. With all the groundwork set and enough trust in the people, we leave them with, there is absolutely no reason to feel any shred of guilt.

After a couple of checks to see how they’re doing, it will become easier and easier to focus more on ourselves and less on them.

This is some time off from each other and, although it may feel painful, it is healthy for both parties involved. Just like in any relationship, a bit of space can help down the line and will make time actually spent together all the more valuable.

This guest post is submitted by Leila Dorari.

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DISCLAIMER: DogExpress does not endorse or take responsibility for the content in the guest post.

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