Expert: Charlotte Sherrell, DVM - 7/14/2008

Question
my 2 year old golden retriever has been panting constantly since we took my husband to the airport.  He travels alot for business and recently came home for about 2 weeks. Since then she has been almost on top of him and has slept above his head even at night.  She has also been scratching alot and her flea dose is due tommorow so I gave her that and her monthly heartworm med.  

Is it possible that she is anxious because he has left again, or am I the only one who has been anxious today (he he)?  She doesn't appear to be in any other distress or drinking excessively.

Answer
Susan -

It seems as though your Golden may be experiencing stress because your husband is traveling so often.  In my experience, Goldens do tend to bond with certain people and perhaps she has bonded with your husband and misses him when he leaves.  

You may want to try aromatherapy to make her feel at ease when he is not there.  DAP or dog appeasing pheromone is a plug in that has pheromone - like scents that mimic canine pheromones and can play a role in easing her stress.  You simply plug it into an outlet in a room she frequents and it emits a scent that may help her to relax.  The initial set up also comes with behavior modification techniques that you can use to help her adjust to the stress she feel when your husband travels.

If the DAP is not effective, you want to enlist the help of a trainer that can give you techniques to help her adjust.  The good news is that Goldens are extremely smart dogs, and training her can be most rewarding,

Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM