PepitoVFR Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 Though my 18 y/o Maltese cross Katie is in remarkable health and vigour for any dog, let alone one of her age, her separation anxiety gets a little worse each day. I can hardly walk to the end of the driveway before she'll start barking and fretting. If I'm in the bathroom for more than a minute she'll be wandering in and out to make sure I haven't left her home alone. So I pretty much need to take her everywhere with me, including work, where luckily my clients adore Katie and have no problem with her wandering around their offices when she's not sleeping quietly in a corner. She's also had an Anterior Cuciate Ligament (ACL) operation on one of her knees 9 years ago so I may need to be prepared for the day she has trouble walking, though there's absolutely no sign of that yet, she trots along nicely with my two other dogs and often jumps a step a little higher than she is, to get into the house when she doesn't wait for me to lift her. So I've recently gone and bought one of these: www.k9sportsack.com I haven't tried it out yet, I want to carefully plan how to introduce it to her and I realise I may end up having to give up on the idea. But I'd like to give it a try. So wondering if anybody here has any experience with these, especially with smaller, older dogs, and who may have some tips for me. The last couple of days I've just left the dog pack lying in and around her basket so she gets used to the look and smell of it. Yes I'm prepared to take things very slowly Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 (edited) Edited. Sorry, looked up the pack. I misread it as thinking you were intending to strap a backpack on her for extra exercise as a ‘cure’ for separation anxiety. Have you been to a behaviour-savvy vet? Could be cognitive dysfunction at that age perhaps, in which case treatment is available. Ditto for separation anxiety. But lovely you can take her with you too. Edited October 26, 2017 by Papillon Kisses 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PepitoVFR Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 >Edited. Sorry, looked up the pack. I misread it as thinking you were intending to strap a backpack on her for extra exercise as a ‘cure’ for separation anxiety LOL !! Katie just looked up from her basket when I burst out laughing reading that :-D I would love to read what you wrote initially ;-) Haven't taken her to a specialist vet but regular vets have agreed it's well ingrained in her since she used to my parent's dog (both passed away now) and she was *never* left alone. So now she only has me and always needs to know where I am or she frets. >But lovely you can take her with you too. I figure at this stage of her life for her remaining years I don't want to put her through anything stressful. She brought so much joy into the lives of my parents and later she did the same when she was a star pet therapy dog at various hospitals and aged care homes. Dog therapy trainers have told me she is a 1 in a million dog with her gentle and incredibly forgiving nature even when inadvertently handled roughly by patients. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 oh ..you've already spent yr money ... I like the look of this one for an older small dog .. dog can lie normally .. there is excellent air flow - with Summer coming up!https://www.preferpets.net/products/328-pet-backpack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PepitoVFR Posted October 27, 2017 Author Share Posted October 27, 2017 4 hours ago, persephone said: oh ..you've already spent yr money ... I like the look of this one for an older small dog .. dog can lie normally .. there is excellent air flow - with Summer coming up!https://www.preferpets.net/products/328-pet-backpack Hmm, I like the look of that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PepitoVFR Posted November 5, 2017 Author Share Posted November 5, 2017 Also found this one which looks even more versatile: http://petego.com/Carriers/JetSetFormaFrame?color=65&size=195 Unfortunately so far I can't find anybody locally selling either of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossumCorner Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 On 26/10/2017 at 10:20 PM, PepitoVFR said: .... Haven't taken her to a specialist vet but regular vets have agreed it's well ingrained in her since she used to my parent's dog (both passed away now) and she was *never* left alone. So now she only has me and always needs to know where I am or she frets. .... Becoming extremely clingy seems to be part of the process when they are becoming really old doggies. It's like a change in them that has no connection with their previous life. Same with becoming fretful at 'thresholds' and reluctant to step through a doorway or from carpet to lino, or from the path onto the lawn. Frodo's quick transition to clinginess surprised me, he'd always been so happy to charge about, just touch in passing and off again. Suddenly I couldn't take a step and he was under my feet constantly, fretting for touch or acknowledgement. I sort of linked it to sight and hearing becoming compromised, as a confidence issue, but it seems to be part of the progress even with oldies whose sight is still pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaque Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 I recently introduced a backpack also due to my dogs frequent need to take breaks on walks and my bad back. I also want to stop tying him up outside shops so with the backpack he can come in with me. My dog has no problem going in there. To start off with I put some treats in there and a soft toy and tried him in there. He was fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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