A friend has a dog who hates being left while they are out. And he hates the idea of leaving her in dog boarding kennels. His pet was abandoned into a charity kennels for adoption out and it took weeks before a new owner chose her when she was about eight months old. The dog was nervous for months after adoption and still hates it when both of the important people in her life have to leave her at the same time.

Dogs cannot expect to have company at all times and they will have to be left on occasion. In this case one of the owners has to go to work each day and the other has to go out shopping and have a social life. The dog is left alone several times each week.

However when it comes to leaving their dog in dog boarding kennels it feels like a different matter. It is a good idea for any owner of a dog like this to find some kennels they can be comfortable with. Your dog’s concern is that you will come and get them again and they should know that. For a dog who has been traumatised early in life this is especially important. Even having a couple of hours in such a kennel can be difficult and in such situations working with the kennel owner to acclimatise your dog can be useful. There are some owners of kennels who are helpful in this matter and will allow you to trial short periods prior to your leaving them overnight.

Regardless of whether you are able to desensitise your dog to being left at dog boarding kennels it can be helpful if you choose kennels where you are able to leave them with their favorite toys and bedding. If you ever had to leave them under emergency situations or to go on holiday it important that they have familiar objects and smells to comfort them in your absence.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 11:34 pm and is filed under Dog Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.