Apartment Fire - BNew House (s) Dog Trauma?

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I live in the UAE and I have a Saluki that is a just a lovely dog with a lot of energy. She was a stray and it took her nearly a year to really settle with us. We have been in our apartment for only 6 mos but we have a routine of walking each morning and playing with the other dogs in the neighborhood.  We had a fire in our building, and our dog, kira was rescued after 2 hours in the smoke by the firemen.  We were forced to go to a hotel and they would not allow her to stay with us. Our friends with a villa took her but she had difficulty adjusting to cats living in the garden and barked at them and woke up the baby. Now she is in another person's house (so, this is all in the last 2 weeks) with another dog.  My daughter and I miss her terribly - so we meet them at the beach and walk with them.  Today, she did not want to leave me, and wouldn't get out of my arms.  We had the thought that maybe it is not such a good idea to see her every day, that it is confusign to her why we don't take her home like we normally do.  Should we wait to see her until we get back in our apartment? Should we let her stay in the apartment, even though we can't live there, and go walk her like we normally do? There is notobyd i can ask these questions here. Thanks for responding. it may be as much as another month until our aparrtment is ready and we can take her back.

ANSWER: I think it might be a good idea to let her stay in the apartment,if you are allowed to do that and go in and feed her and walk her-that way it isn't that much different from what she is used to

But if you can't do that,it would be easier not to see her until you can have her at home-I work in a dog kennel and we tell people the same thing,every time the dog sees you,she thinks you are leaving her again and might lead to separation anxiety

So either keep her at the apartment or don't see her until you can have her back-my first choice would be to leave her at the apartment if you are able to get her out and feed her

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QUESTION: Thank you for your speedy response.  This is what i thought.  I guess i thought the companionshiop of the other dog would be better than staying alone all day until we come to get her.  But, we are her people so that does make sense.

Will she suffer any kind of post traumatic stress from the fire? She was in the smoke and when the firemen came to get her out she was really out of her mind and bit the firemen.  What kind of triggers should I be aware of that could upset her?

ANSWER: Well one thing to watch is to see if she is afraid of new things,or is more jumpy ect in some cases dogs have to take medication for a bit,to help them calm down

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QUESTION: I have just heard that house  #2 cannot keep her anymore.  She barks at everything and is clearly traumatized at noises, dark skinned people dressed in bright colors (maybe like firemen) and any unusual sound sets her off and neighbors have complained.  I will be fordced to put her in my apartment - or i could try the kennel,  (new place #3 post fire) but i do think she needs some medication.  Not just barking, but visibly shaking and refusing to go outside when there is a noise. The other problem is in my house they are tearing down a building and there will also be noise. I plan to get a hepa filter for the white noise before i leave her there.

Answer
Well a boarding kennel is a good idea(as I work at one)but that too may cause added trauma if there are a lot of barking dogs,it will also be noisy in the house-but if the kennel is small(always good to visit first)and quiet(as it is the off season)that may be a better option but also don't want to move her around too much,so if you decide to keep her at the house make sure she can stay there instead of being bounced around again-if you are unsure a kennel might be better for you

You might want to talk to your vet about medicating her,as well as her possibly seeing a pet behaviorist that can work one on one with you and they often watch the dog,so they can help figure out the best medications/treatment that works best with that dog