When your escape becomes a guilt trip, get ready for the doghouse (cos it's gonna get ruff)

It is 3 am and I’m moving down the front steps with stealth.

The luggage I’m carrying weighs a tonne, but I can’t risk allowing squeaky wheels to touch the ground before I reach the safety of the garage to hide the evidence of an impending holiday before the airport shuttle bus arrives.

I’m taking advantage of Olive the whippet’s deep-sleep REM cycle to avoid adding to her growing conviction that something sinister is afoot.

This cloak-and-dagger routine is a modern-day problem for many pet owners who suffer guilt trips at the hands of disgruntled pets, often as early as the planning stages weeks before the actual holiday starts.

It’s especially hard when you have a wily sight hound who can almost read your airline ticket from the next room.

Her detective skills are honed to the point where a toothbrush missing from its usual spot will set her off, which is why I now have a designated travel toothbrush tucked in the toiletries bag.

I’ve even started spelling out certain words during phone conversations to arrange travel insurance.

Still, these measures are no match for Olive’s primal pack instincts that can smell a rat from two suburbs away, and she brazenly trumpets this ability with furtive knowing glances as she passes me in the hall.

The whole charade, however, falls apart on departure day when the dog minder arrives at our house and Olive looks at her, then me, before plodding away in disgust lamenting the sorry, selfish owner she has been lumped with.

I follow the recommended rule of parting with little fuss, hoping the time apart will douse her disappointment and my guilt.

Still, it usually takes a few days to truly relax waiting for those happy snaps to ping on the phone revealing a playful and contented whippet frolicking and cavorting in the backyard with her new and improved surrogate mother.

Returning, however, is almost as bad as leaving because pets have a knack of rubbing in the fact you betrayed their trust.

Regardless of how much fun she’s had while I’ve been away, Olive has perfected that punishing “you’re dead to me” gaze that lasts a good 24 hours before she returns to her old self.

Can all this angst and bad blood be avoided, I ask Georgi Bamfield from Gerringong Pet Accommodation.

Georgi, a former teacher who has run pet accommodation for nine years on her sprawling property, says she has many tricks up her sleeve when dealing with anxious dogs and owners.

“Dogs are like children starting school – they are all different and react to separation in different ways depending on their nature and background,” she says.

“Anxious dogs are often mirror images of anxious owners who come in with dogs held tightly on a leash and who are worried about what the other dogs will do.

“We deal with this issue all the time and I always recommend that after a pre-assessment, the owner should book a few playdates to allay fears for both themselves and their animals because it allows them to familiarise themselves with the facility.

“And when we do get an anxious dog, we don’t just abandon them after the owner is gone – we put them on a lead and walk them around the property to sniff and explore. We also try to keep other dogs from getting into their face as soon as they arrive.

“We take a modern approach with emphasis on well-being, which is all about helping pets to settle in at their own pace and making them feel comfortable, relaxed and safe.”

And Georgi has a stern word for dog owners like me.

“Yes, owners have to prepare for holidays but do it in a timely fashion, so as not to drag it out,” she says.

Olive would like her.