Tag Archives: separation anxiety

Preparing Your Pup for Back to School

For most of us, the last thing on our minds during the busy back to school season is the family dog. As it turns out, Fido might need you to prepare him or her for the change as well. Unless everyone was out of the home all day during the summer, just like during the school year, your dog’s gotten extra summertime company. Thus it might experience some separation anxiety when everyone goes back to their school year schedules. Pet site ZooToo has some tips for how to gage if your dog will have separation anxiety problems during the school … Continue reading →

Four Pets, Four Reactions to Stress

Moving is stressful for humans AND pets. It’s been interesting to watch how the animals react as my roommates and I go through the moving process. I have two dogs: Moose (a shepherd mix) and Lally (a boxer mix). They have two cats: Kachiko (a snowshoe Siamese) and Shiro (a big grey fellow). Each of the animals has reacted differently to the disruption in the routine. Shiro has earned his nickname: “chicken boo”. The move has sent him into hiding — he spent his first day in the new apartment squished into the corner of the closet. Slowly he’s come … Continue reading →

Almost Six Years Old, or Only Five Years Here?–More Adoption Time Muddles

Mary Ann recently wrote a blog on Should You Hold Your Child Back a Year? This is really pertinent for me right now. I wrote a blog last month about my ambivalence about Regina starting school. She is a bit behind in speech and fine motor skills and is not big on sitting still. (Adopted kids often have a difference between their developmental age and their chronological age. This may be because attachment anxiety keeps them from concentrating their energy on development, or because adopted children often repeat developmental stages with their new family. For internationally adopted kids, less time … Continue reading →

Can You Miss Your Kids Too Much?

You’ve heard of carsickness, airsickness and homesickness, but how many of you are familiar with the term “kidsickness?” I had never heard of such a thing until my friend’s daughter returned from summer camp a few weeks ago. Apparently, “kidsickness” is the new “it” phrase these days. It describes the overwhelming feeling of distress a parent experiences when their child is gone for an extended amount of time. I have little doubt that the medical community doesn’t consider this condition a serious matter, but still it’s worth examining. According to the little pamphlet my friend’s daughter returned home with, more … Continue reading →

Lally’s Separation Anxiety

My poor little girl dog. Lally is my “Velcro dog” — she’s the one who’s usually at my side. When I’m home, she’s almost always in the room with me. (I’m doing my writing in my office today, and she’s in her spot between the desk and the wall. Meanwhile, Moose is out in the living room, watching the world through the patio door.) My fuzzy baby girl got quite spoiled when we lived with my grandmother — someone was almost always home. It was rare that both my grandmother and I were out of the house for too long. … Continue reading →

Diary of a Cat Care B&B: Sympathy with Pet Parents

Early last month, when I had my interview with the cats only boarding facility, one of the things they mentioned they were looking for was sympathy. Compassion. Not only for cats in all different states of mind, but for the owners, too. Often, the owners are dropping off their babies for the very first time. These pets have never been away from home, maybe never spent a night without someone from their human family. Part of my job is reassuring the human family that their feline friend will be safe and loved and attended to. And I can sympathize. Remember … Continue reading →

My Separation Anxiety

I haven’t been home to see my family in five months. Back in May, I took my dogs on a cross-country drive and relocated from New Jersey to Oregon. Now I’m going home. Some friends of mine are getting married, and I figured that was a good excuse to fly home for a long weekend. As my trip approaches, I find myself getting more and more nervous about leaving the dogs behind. This is the first time since I moved that Moose and Lally will be staying behind while I travel. When I still lived in New Jersey, I had … Continue reading →

Sleep Issues in Adopted Children, Part One

Adopted children can have all the sleep issues other do and then some. Parents use various methods to try to get their kids to sleep. Some of these methods may not be appropriate for adopted children depending on the circumstances. First let’s talk about sleep issues that apply to all children. Some children just seem to need less sleep (judge by how they are acting in the daytime, not whether they want to go to sleep!), some seem temperamentally more sensitive to separation from parents, some prefer to be swaddled and some dislike it, and many more normal differences. In … Continue reading →

Calming Pet Pheromones

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A writer friend of mine came home from a convention to find that his two cats had expressed great displeasure at his absence… all over his bed. Someone suggested using calming pheromones to help the cats relax when they’re left alone. It can be surprisingly easy for a pet to get stressed out. Some common causes for animal anxiety include: Moving Major changes in the daily routine of the household Addition or loss of a family member Addition or loss of another pet Noise phobia Separation anxiety After relocating to the west coast with my two dogs, I noticed a … Continue reading →

When Your Dog Is Home Alone

My friend Joe is a radio personality. When his dog Cassie was still alive, he would leave the radio on for her when he was going to be on the air. I don’t know if she was a classic rock lover (we worked at the same classic rock station in Vermont) but Cassie seemed to appreciate the company. The American Kennel Club website had a poll up a few weeks ago about leaving your dog home alone. The questions (and results) got me thinking. “When I leave my house for a few hours, which of the following am I sure … Continue reading →