Vacation and Separation Anxiety
By Lorelei Hunt

It’s summer and many of us will be heading out to the beach or other destinations for a well-deserved vacation. I’ve had many calls lately from folks worried about how their animals will feel while they are away. I hope the following tips will help you and your animals relax while you are gone.

Remember that your animals understand much more than you think they do. Just talk to them. When you talk, the words make pictures in your mind and the animals read these pictures. You can tell them where you are going, who will take care of them, when you are leaving and when you will be back. When you talk in terms of time, some animals understand hours and minutes. I prefer to let my animals know how many nights I will be gone; others use the number of mealtimes. Repetition is also key. As you are running around getting ready, your animals may get anxious. Continue to reassure them that everything is OK.

You can also give them a special job to do while you are gone. If their normal job is to guard the house, you can ask them to protect the house while you are gone. If they are staying with someone else, ask them to guard that house. Pick any job which seems suitable: purge any negative energy from the house, help the pet sitter take care of the house and other animals, keep the other animals company, bark at anyone coming to the door, etc. When you return home, make sure to praise them for the good job that they did.

You can also use flower essences to help ease the stress. I recommend "Rescue Remedy" by Bach (usually found at health food stores or bachflower.com.) A special "Missing You" formula made specifically for separation anxiety, can be found at anaflora.com. Just put a few drops in the animal’s water several days before, during, and after your trip. You can also take the essences with your animal so that a resonance is created between the two of you. This greatly facilitates the leave-taking process.

While you are on the road and are thinking of your pets, send them love and comforting thoughts. Let them know how well you are doing and how long before you will come home. Hopefully both of you will enjoy your time away.