Post traumatic stress or something

[Claire Owen]

Ok me and hubby got back off holiday two weeks ago and since getting back Bailey has been very quiet when one of us goes out. He'll just mope around the house, very often in a different room if I let him, he wont play (much) or eat until the other one of us is back and the whole pack is together again. I wouldnt mind if this was normal for him but its not. Before we went away if one of us went out he'd sulk for 5 mins maybe and then go back to wanting to play. I'm worried that he isnt getting enough stimulation because he's lounging around so much and I just cant keep his interest in anything until hubby gets home. Is it because we went away?

 

Claire

[sandra s.]

Yes, I think it is. Losing one's pack is just about the worst thing a puppy could do in the wild. It's understandable if he tries hard not to make the same "mistake" again.

 

Hope he forgets about it soon, as Kessie can be a major pain in the a*** that way. Sometimes we take family hikes together - Kessie, me, and my mum/Kessie's "grandma". On some of these hikes we split up after a while, my mum goes back down and Kessie and I go to the mountaintop. Kessie can't accept that at all. "Nooo, you ******* ****, we must turn around! We have lost Grandma! We must go back! I do know better! We have to go back and look for her!" etc.

 

The good news is that if we do that a couple of times without too much time in between, she gets used to it, or realizes that we do meet up in the end every time. So Bailey will hopefully also realize that his daddy does come back every time.

[Claire Owen]

Hope so... or I'm NEVER leaving him again... it was hard enough to leave in the first place. Poor boy