BENGALURU: I have an Indie that I adopted a couple of years ago. While I was travelling, I had to leave her at a boarding place. I later got a call from them asking to take her back as she kept barking continuously for six hours and did not calm down until I reached to pick her back. She’s used to being with other people for hours together but I don't know what happened to her then. What can I do if I have make sudden unavoidable trips?
Hi,
I assume that the place you are referring to is a regular boarding place with other dogs as well in the premises.
This specific behaviour also classifies under separation anxiety. However, the trigger for this behaviour is his lack of or rather insufficient socialisation. If your dog has a stubborn trait in her, she is not going to give up that easily and hence the non stop barking.
A boarding will have other dogs of different personalities. Whereas she has learnt to live alone or with other people, she has still not learnt to be around other dogs, and your absence makes it worse.
In addition, if she was in a nervous state of mind even before she entered the boarding, the general atmosphere in the boarding place could have added to her anxiety.
First step is to choose the right kind of boarding for your pet. Ensure that the place is well lit, clean and well managed with knowledgeable and caring staff. Preferably, look for boarding places that has good open spaces. The boarding must be professional and should make sure the other dogs are social and wherever needed, they have provisioned separate enclosures for different temperaments. The caretaker has to be knowledgeable.
Once you have found such a place, work out a socialisation plan with their help. Start with short half hour to one hour sessions in the boarding place. You might have to linger around until she relaxes and explores the place. Once she is comfortable, you can eventually even leave her for a few hours. This will slowly graduate to her learning to stay for longer hours without you.
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