I had a tournament in the cities this weekend and I just got back tonight. I entrusted my brothers with the one thing in my house that I would grab if my house were to burst into flames. They were taking care of Charlie. Now my brothers are older then me and have graduated from highschool, but here's the thing. My oldest brother is, in my opinion, extremely irresponsible. If you ask him to do something he might half try and leave. Unfortunatly he is home all of the time. My middle brother is extremely responsible. He will not, in any situation say he will do something if there is the smallest chance he wont be able to do it. When he says he can do something, you can count on him to find a way no matter what. Unfortunatly he does not live at home. Fortunatly, he lives only a 5 minutes away.
So when I found out I was going to be gone for the weekend I immediatly went to my middle brother and asked him to take care of Charlie. He said exactly what he could and could not do and at what time. Fortunatly he could come home at the times I feed Charlie and he would be able to stay to let Charlie out 5-10 minutes later when Charlie has to fertilize the yard. My oldest brother would be letting Charlie out whenever he could... or would.
So Charlie survived the weekend. Sadly it was without walks, rollerblading, biking, running, and skateboarding, but he did get to play some fetch!
Usually this is how my weekends away go, but I always worry about longer trips or trips when my brothers can not stay home. What will I do with Charlie? I can't just drop him off at any kennel or doggie daycare. He might bite one of the workers, then what?
Charlie gets along okay with my grandparents and they can pet him but I don't think my grandparents see how much Charlie is more tolerating them, not really enjoying the company. They do not understand Charlie's body language and they laugh when he growls. I love my grandparents, but I definatly do not want to leave my dog with them. Not that I doubt he wont be well taken care of, I just don't want Charlie to bite my grandmother or grandpa.
I don't even know how Charlie reacts to strangers outside of our property when I am not there.
Another option would be to take Charlie with us, but honestly think this could only end terribly.
I do not see a trip in the near future that would require me to find a place for Charlie to stay, but I still worry about it more often then I should and I have yet to find an answer to this puzzle.
While I sit here, still pondering the question of what I will do with Charlie, here is the latest video of that very mutt. Charlie has tried for endless hours to catch this fly, at first jumping up to snatch him the second he saw the little black dot. In this video you can see the fly walking towards Charlie and Charlie just watches him (i'm not sure if you can see his eyes following the fly).
I haven't seen him try to catch any flies since this video.
P.S. The Taco Bell Chihuahua is a rescued dog named Gidget.
Boarding kennels can be a good place to leave dogs. They are professionals at handling dogs.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, at most kennels here you don't need any experience to apply. My friend is a 17 year old in highschool and she just applied to work at a kennel.
ReplyDeleteIt would have to be the right kennel where the staff is trained on how to handle fearful dogs. But I can see the anxiety you would feel, worrying about what he's up to the whole time. And worrying if the staff is treating him the way you advised.
ReplyDeleteYes, I would probably be stressed out the entire trip just wondering what is going on!
ReplyDeleteThis is a question I have not yet answered for myself either. Luckily, if it's just myself that needs to go somewhere, I can trust my husband to take good care of our dog. But if I was alone or if we both had to leave... I don't know. I've never used a kennel with Shiva before. With her separation anxiety I worry she would suffer a huge setback. We don't have friends we can really ask to take on such a big responsibility either.
ReplyDeleteSo, for now we just don't go anywhere the dog can't come with us. Not much of a solution, but it's all I've got!
There are lots of good pet sitters out there who would take Shiva in their home or go visit her at your house!
ReplyDeleteJessi, I would watch Charlie for you if you would trust me with him and him with me! :)
Kristine: At least it seems like Shiva warms up to people quickly, so if you do leave her with someone she's probably going to adjust alright if she is with the right person!
ReplyDeleteLindsay: Maybe.. I'd probably have to have you meet him multiple times before I left... and I don't even know then! He takes a very long time to accept someone. Even now, I'm afraid he'll bite my grandpa sometimes. He does seem to accept women better, though.