Next week is the Association for Pet Dog Trainers 2009 Annual Conference in Oakland, CA!
The good news: I’m attending—for the first time! I’m excited to meet the many dog trainers, scholars, tweeps, and bloggers that I admire.
The bad news: Sadie, my dog, will not be with me. (Actually, from Sadie’s point of view, I’m sure this is great news. Remember, this is about my separation anxiety, not hers, from which she suffers little, thankfully.)
The other, bad news: Sadie’s usual schedule when I’m out-of-town, which reads like an itinerary from Club Med for Dogs, will be way, way, way, scaled back. This is what’s causing my anxiety to peak because although I know she’ll be safe and comfortable, she won’t be having her usual fun. I love for Sadie to have fun.
Here’s Sadie’s typical schedule when I travel:
She lives with Mama Kitty, Papa Carl, Moses (8 year old miniature poodle), and Dudley (10 year old standard poodle) in their fabulous house with access to all human furniture as well as numerous doggie beds, and a large fenced in yard and garden teeming with squirrels.
Morning:
- Cuddle in bed with Mama Kitty (Yes, Sadie loves cuddles in bed with Mama Kitty. With me? Not so much–as you might recall from My Dog is Just Not That into Me.)
- Crunch through the fallen leaves tracking squirrels with Moses and Dudley in Kitty’s beautiful yard.
- Enjoy a breakfast of fresh whole food prepared by Mama Kitty to the letter according to my ridiculously detailed instructions.
- Post-breakfast squirrel chase followed by a nap.
Late morning:
- Two or three times a week hike in the foothills or walk to downtown Boulder and visit favorite shops with Gigi! (Gigi is our dog trainer and Sadie is totally, completely in love with her. Gigi collects Sadie from Kitty’s whose house is within five minutes walking distance of downtown and across the street from two of the best off-leash hiking trails for dogs in Boulder. Not bad!)
Early Afternoon:
- Kitty chauffeurs Sadie to Romeo’s house for an afternoon play-date. Romeo, aka Nutty, is a silver standard poodle and Sadie’s best friend.
- Paige, Romeo’s mom who works from her home office, takes the poohs for a walk, or for a run at the dog park, or with her on errands to the post office and bank where they are given treats.
Mid-afternoon:
- Nap with Romeo in Paige’s office.
- Eat cookies gently given by Sterling, Romeo’s 2-year-old human sister, when she wakes from her nap. (Sadie has known Sterling from the time she was born. What a wonderful situation for socializing Sadie to toddlers! Without Sterling, there would be zero children in Sadie’s life.)
- Play hide-and-seek with Romeo around the spruce tree in his big fenced yard
Late-afternoon:
- Mama Kitty chauffeurs Sadie back to her house.
- Dinner is served.
- Post-dinner sniff around the garden.
Evening
- Nap. Occasionally wake for cuddles and a round of musical beds with Moses and Dudley.
- Bark, if there is something that merits the effort.
- 10:00pm bedtime cookie.
- Toilet.
- Bed.
We are so fortunate, Sadie and I. It takes a village, as the saying goes, and we have one. I am grateful everyday to the Doggie Gods for smiling upon us. I propitiate them often with offerings of sacrificial milk bones and bullysticks.
So what’s worrying me about next week? Sadie will be staying at Mama Kitty’s and Papa Carl’s, but the village will be nearly deserted!
No Gigi. Gigi will be at the APDT conference also.
No Romeo.
No Paige. Paige will be traveling and Romeo will be spending the week with another family.
No Mama Kitty. She’ll be attending her own conference.
So Papa Carl, Moses and Dudley and Sadie will be buddies. Sadie is crazy for Papa Carl and he’s great with her. The thing is that Carl works all day. So while the dogs will be safely tucked away in the house, Sadie, accustomed to her active social life, will not have as many happy moments as she is used to.
Sadie sparkles when she revels in her friends and family. Hiking and ear wrestling with Romeo brings a hop and a skip to her gait. And shopping? Sadie loves retail! (I think it’s the cookies the shopkeepers hand out!) But, all those things that bring Sadie joy won’t be happening for her next week. So, I worry about my girl.
NOTE: Special thanks to Casey Lomonaco of Reward Based Dog Training for sharing her anticipated separation anxiety on Twitter. She too will be attending the APDT Conference. To follow Casey on Twitter click here.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Deborah Flick and Kelly Gorman Dunbar, PawPurrry. PawPurrry said: @boulderdog1 "People Suffer Separation Anxiety Too!" New Post http://bit.ly/4iU5Dg ~ I know I am anxious when I leave my pooches! […]
First of all, I want to whine that I am soooo sad that I won’t be at APDT this year. I had such a great time and learned so much last year when I was researching my book. People were extremely welcoming, even to a non trainer; I never felt the clique-yness that one so often feels at such conferences (and as a recovering academic I went to a lot).
APDT rocks!
And Sadie is one lucky dog, both to have Deborah as her oh-so-loving owner and to have such great support as a backup. So this time it won’t be Club Med; it’ll still be a doggie resort, not Motel 6!
Have a great time! And be assured that Sadie will be fine. Of course that’s easy for me to say: I’ve had to declare my blog a guilt free zone for good dog owners because I’m in a constant state of guilt about Frankie!
Have a great time.