Granny's dog

[AwesomeBadger]

Hello everyone,

My poor Granny has unfortunately taken a fall and fractured her hip quite badly. Her ancient old pug is coming to live with us while she recovers in hospital over the next few weeks.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any tips to make the transition for her as easy as possible? Luckily our house is pretty quiet, and is a very similar environment to my Granny's house, but I'm sure the separation anxiety will be pretty bad. I work from home so she won't be alone, but just want to make it as easy and relaxing as possible. The dog has never been away from my Granny for more than a few hours before but does know me well.

Any tips would be most gratefully received

Bring an item or two of your Granny's unwashed clothing so the wee dog can smell her, maybe even let her sleep on it if it's not too precious.

Don't comfort the dog if she's stressing, try to distract her with something fun (she might not be into fun if she's very old but hopefully there'll be something she enjoys).

Hope your poor Granny makes a speedy recovery and that the wee dog is not too put out at having an unforseen holiday.

Great ideas, thanks Golden

Hi, I'm back for more advice please if possible.

The dog is now with us and isn't doing too badly bless her. She's still a bit insecure and isn't entirely comfortable unless she has physical contact with a human at all time. It's a bit frustrating to have such a close shadow all the time, but I completely understand it and imagine it will calm down in a few days. I've taken Golden's advice about not comforting her when she's stressing.

The only major problem we have is the whining over night. We are allowing her into the bedroom currently because that's what she's used to, but because she can't reach us in bed she's whining constantly.

I think she may well be a bit blind and deaf and so not be entirely sure where we are unless she is directly connected to us.

Please could I ask whether you think that I should:

A) let her up on the bed (I am extremely reluctant to set this as a precedent but equally would love some sleep)

B) just keep persevering with her on the floor

C) remove her from the bedroom entirely?

We are currently on night three if that makes a difference. Sorry this post is so long and thanks for any help

Did she sleep on your grandmother's bed?

Let her in the bed! Pugs are Velcro dogs anyway so that plus separation anxiety will be very stressful for her. You might want to put a blanket or old towel underneath her though. In my experience pugs (especially old ones) don't move much at night however they do have a tendency to be a bit whiffy!

Pic please

No Bertrand she just slept on the floor with Granny. And I don't want to make it more difficult for her when she does eventually go back.

MrsQuim you are definitely not wrong about the whiffy part! Thanks for your advice

Could you prop her up on some cushions or an old duvet so she is still on the floor but a bit higher up so feels closer to you?

"No Bertrand she just slept on the floor with Granny. And I don't want to make it more difficult for her when she does eventually go back."

Ah, right. Don't let her on the bed, then. I think you just have to put up with the whining-she'll stop eventually! Does she have a comfortable bed of her own? Is she used to there being a light on at night?

That's a good idea Bitey, thanks.

She has a lovely snuggly bed which she completely ignores. I believe she was in it from about 4am this morning but certainly not before. Sadly she's never been trained at all, so would have no response to my telling her to go to bed.

I might try working on that when it's less stressful during the day and maybe even try to teach her some basic commands but she is pretty old and stubborn! Shall see what can be done.

I'm not entirely sure about the light, might check that with Granny when I visit. I do have a small night light that we could potentially leave on. That's a good thought, thank you.

I would let her on the bed for now. It's very early days, she's had a huge upheaval and you can always move her to where you want her long term once she's settled in with you a bit.

It's also perfectly fine to give her some comfort when she's upset, it's not going to make her more worried. This blog post is well worth a read on the subject.

I would just worry that it would make life difficult for her owner when she goes back home, particularly if she's a bit frail.(the owner, not the dog!)

I speak as the person who "fostered" my niece's dog and, as she put it "completely broke her"

Pugs are needy dogs so not sure she will ever stop being your shadow. If she slept with your gran I'd let her on the bed but I'm soft

I completely caved after the first three hours of whining and let her on the bed. We slept back to back for nearly four hours. Most sleep I've had in days and so I'm not even sorry! Bertrand it seems that I too will be the relative ruining the dog!!

Needy is the word NewBrian! She's more like a limpet than a dog.