Hi All

I have got an 18 month old westie called Hamish and i have had him since he was 8 weeks old, he has never been away from me for a night or even been left at somebody else's house for a day, the longest he has been away from me is for 4 hours when he goes for his clipping ever 6 weeks. At the moment i have got very bad eczema and have had tests done at the hospital and the specialist suspects that the cause is Hamish as he has done skin tests with his fur and there was a reaction on my skin, he has now told me that i have got to remove Hamish from the house for 1month and see if my skin condition settles down within that month, if it doesn't then it will rule Hamish out but he said that this is the only way of us knowing for sure. I am not keen on the idea as i don't know how he is going to take to the idea of being away from me for so long and if he will forget me in a month?
I have said that there is no way he is going into kennels, but my brothers in laws have kindly said that they will look after him for the month they have got a big garden no children and are home for most of the day so this will be perfect, they are used to dogs so hopefully he will be okay, i am taking him up on Wednesday so that he can meet them and i can see what their house and garden is like for him. They then said they will take him next weekend, can anybody give me any advice as to how i should try and handle this situation and how i can make it easier for him to settle with them for 1 month.
I am really worried for him as i don't want him to think i am abandoning him and that i don't love him anymore!!

Thanks
Helen

What happens if you find out you are allergic to him   what then.?

Perhaps, if it is an allergy to dogs, DESENSETISING treatment is available ;)  If this treatment isn't available then PETALCLEANSE used on the dog may help.

To help Hamish settle in his holiday home take his bedding and toys and make sure that you take all his water and food bowls.  Provide the food that he is used to and maybe some water in a bottle from your tap.

A really good way of helping him settle is to wear an old jumper/t-shirt in bed for a week before he goes (don't wash it - the smellier the better ;) ) and then put this in his bed when you get there, if he's missing you then he can snuggle up to it.  Write out his daily routine and feeding and a list of his favourite tidbits so that he can have a routine as close as possible to what he's used to at first.  I would think that he'll be fine, dogs usually cope better than their owners :)

As for forgetting you?  not a chance, he'll remember you don't worry :) dogs have very good memories :)

Good luck, I hope it proves that it isn't Hamish :)

Regards
Dill

I left Millie at my sister's for six nights last week while I was away.  The night we dropped her off, we went to leave and we all (humans) went out to the door and the dogs (millie and my sister's dog max) didn't even bother following us out even though they were aware we were leaving.  My brother-in-law jokingly rang me later at home to say he couldn't stop the tears flowing from Millie at the sadness we had left her...sarcastically of course, she hadn't even noticed we had gone!

She then proceeded to have the best week of her life, she woke my sister up at 5am every morning - by the sound of her wagging tail banging on the floor.  She would wake up and see Max and not be able to stop her tail wagging with glee (Millie that is, not my sister ;-) ).  She would then have everyone up from 5am every day as she was so excited at being there she wouldn't go back to sleep.  I had told my sister that Millie sleeps all day, rarely barks, is a good girl.  For six days, she ran around the house, barking her head off, chasing Max round the garden, and her mad half hour, was lasting several hours a day.  My sister was exhausted!

Now the thing to bear in mind is that I only leave Millie alone once or twice a week for about an hour, and she hates being seperated from me - whines if I leave the room, whines if I leave the house, follows me around everywhere, yet she didn't bat an eyelid at my being absent for 6 nights - that's because she was still with people, people that she loves.

I know a month is longer than six nights, and that all dogs are different, but I hope this might give you some confidence in doing what you have to do, because I know that if Millie had to go to my sister's for a month she would be fine and wouldn't miss me, as long as there were people she knew there to keep her company.  I think the one who will be worse of will be you, me and OH missied Millie terribly and couldn't wait to get home to her, whereas she probably would have preferred at least another week!

Awww, I know you love him etc but please don't flap.  Honestly he will be fine.  Just take him with a few of his things and then just say goodbye and walk off.  You'll be more upset than the dog I promise you!  Please don't take it the wrong way but you honestly just think the dog will pine and be miserable but he won't. 

I had to put my dog in the kennels and I was distraught (even although I was going on holiday!!) and I worried he would miss me and lose a stone in weight and just hate me when I picked him up.  Hah!  He had a ball and didn't even jump up when I went to collect him.  Hummm!

Your dog won't think you've abandoned him and he'll cope fine and he'll be really pleased do see you when you get there to pick him up.  He most definitely will not forget who you are. 

CG

HI All

Thanks for your replys, i know i am probably worrying over nothing but 1 month seems a long time for us to be parted from one another, he is such a sensitive little chap that i don't want him thinking that i don't love him anymore!! I took Hamish up to see my brother in laws that are going to look after him this morning and he seemed to be fine he had a good look around the house and then went out into the garden and thought it was brill as there garden is loads bigger than ours so he had a good look around, we decided to leave Hamish with them for an hour while we went off and did some shopping and when we came back they said he had been fine, he wandered around whining a bit when we first went but they said that they gave him a biscuit and then took him up the park for a walk and had just got back when we went to collect him, they are going to take him next Monday morning, i am going to make a list of all his likes and dislikes and the times he has his meals etc, so that they have got more or less his routine that he has here, and just hope for the best that he settles down for them, my only concern is at night when it is time to put him to bed as i am worried that he may bark and cry for the first night as he will be in a strange room to what he is used to, but they said that they will just have to see how he goes, i am going to take his bed and some toys that he likes but it is still a strange environment for him. I do hope that he will be fine, i will be so upset to leave him but i know that he has got to go for the month to see if my skin does settle, i just hope that it is not him as i cannot imagine life without him after all this time.
Any other tips would be very welcome.
Thanks
Helen And Hamish