Yet another question for dog owners

allwildgirl

allwildgirl

Cathlete
What do you do with your canine family members when (if) you go away and it's not somewhere they can go with you? Do you put them in a kennel? Do you have someone come in to look after them, or does some kind family member/friend take them for you?

I'm thinking more of a weekend away than a longer vacation.

Any input would be appreciated.
 
If it's longer than 3 or 4 days that I'm going to be away, I'll kennel them. But if it's less than that, I'll try my best to find someone to "dog/cat sit". If I'm lucky, one of my friends will actually take my dog for those days and the dog will have a "sleepover". :)

Allison
 
You know what I do. I send mine to my parents' house. If they weren't nearby, I'd have a problem though. I honestly don't think Brandy would make it in a kennel.

I think your dogs would be okay in a kennel though. They seem a bit more well-adjusted than my cute little dysfunctional dog.
 
Allison - if the dog doesn't have a sleepover (cute!), does the person come to your house at prescribed times and feed/exercise the dog?
 
My vet has room for boarding. My dog has been very happy there. He's well cared for and has his same happy disposition when he comes home. In fact, when he ran away last year, that's exactly where he was headed before someone rescued him. We kept him there for about 5 days each time. I used to have my parents watch him but now that they're older, they can't walk him like they used to.

Marcy
 
Depends on the dog. I have an outside dog that stays in the confines of our property. She's a large enough dog to make people think twice about approaching the house without one of us being outside and controlling her.

We bought a large feed/water container that we pour food in the top and she pushes a little door to get to the food inside. The water is a 5 gallon tank under the food that has a drinking opening to the side. We leave her to watch the house. She regulates her own food intake fairly well and is perfectly happy to greet us on our return.

If you're talking indoor dogs or those that gorge themselves on food (would eat a week's worth in 2 hours), then you have to find other solutions.

April
 
Kimo, our 12 year old American Eskimo stays home and our neighbor cares for her. She's very independent and is happy on her own.

Jimmy, who goes nuts without his people, goes to "DownTown Dogs" which is a doggie day care/boarding facility. He gets to play all day long with others dogs, then is kenneled at night in a nice room with toys and his own bed. He would not do well in a traditional kennel.

I used to do a trade off with friends for Tucker. When I went on vacations, Tucker would go stay with them and their dog Mojo. When they went on vacation, Mojo would stay with us. That worked well. But they moved. :(
 
I do the same as Allison--actually, even if I'm away for one day. But I've been very lucky in that we have a university in town & I have a great relationship w/its SGA president. She loves time away from the dorm & I trust her completely.

She graduates this year. I don't know what I'm gonna do without her!
 
>I used to do a trade off with friends for Tucker. When I went
>on vacations, Tucker would go stay with them and their dog
>Mojo. When they went on vacation, Mojo would stay with us.

When my dog has "sleepovers" this is how we do it. My friends and I trade off.

If that isn't happenening, sometimes I can con my sister to stay at my house for a weekend or so with the dog. Then if THAT isn't gonna work, then I'll have a friend or official "dog sitter" come to the house two or three times a day, feed and play with the dogs for a few hours each time and then go home. It really all depends on your dog.

When I kennel my dog, it's not a traditional kennel. Like Christine said, it's more like a "doggy day care" where my dog plays with other dogs all day and then sleeps at night in a comfy room with his own bed and toys (that I bring).

Allison
 
Our dog(s) usually stay with my in-laws at their house when we're away. They're dog people so it just works out well.

We did kennel Gunther and Chelsea once when we went away for three days, and it also worked out fine. I'm sure your vet could offer some recommendations about places to board if you decided to go that route. In our case, we chose the kennel that our vet used. She also told us of places that she advised against using and why.
 
Thanks, everyone! I guess when I take the dogs to the vet next, I'll ask them for recommendations for kennels. None of our friends/family are really dog people, so I guess that's out.
 
We're fortunate in that there is a great place to take our girls.It's a horse farm/kennel with acres and acres of land, the owner is a vet and lives on-site, and they even have a pool for the dogs! It's pretty cheap, too, but a little out of the way, but so worth it if we're going for an extended period. We just don't have to worry about them. We know they're taken care of. I know you won't need this Shelley, but folks in the Richmond and DC area might want to check them out:
www.wingmont.com
 
I can't take my dogs to a boarding kennel since they require yearly booster shots for Parvo/Distemper and Bordatella, which both my vet and I agree is overkill.

My vet recommended a Petsitting Company that offered overnight stays (most of them do). We had a lady stay with the dogs at our house, she took them for walks and to the dog park, which worked out great. She also watered the plants, picked up the mail, etc.

With the number of dogs I have, it turned out to be cheaper than boarding them anyway.

I don't like boarding kennels, no matter how nice they are, but it is a personal preference.

Just send them over to my house, Shelley :+
 
Shelley - My mother usually takes care of mine, but since I have three and feel bad for her having to take care of them, I am going to start kenneling mine. I found a place though that is more of a doggy day/care camp type place. Cheyenne and Dakota already have a reservation for their suit. They will be staying together in a room with a plasma tv on the wall, their own bed, and music piped in during the day. The kennel has a HUGE indoor playroom and outdoor fenced play area and as long as the dogs are well behaved, they are allowed to hang out most of the day. I went there and visited and it was the coolest place and only $20 a dog. Chey & Dakota seemed to really like it there. Montana is another story because he is TOTALLY dependent and unpredictable around other dogs. He will be sleeping at Granny's house for the week. I would never leave Chey & Dakota at a normal kennel though where they actually stay in cages like at my vet's office. It would permanently "traumatize" both of them and I would be worried about them the whole trip. I think they are going to have fun at this place though.
 
Our 12 year old dog has never been in a kennel with the exception of an overnight stay at the vet due to surgery. We have always had either a family member (when they lived close by) take care of them or a good family friend or neighbor that the dogs are comfortable with. It has to be someone special because Hero (the 12 year old) is very territorial over the house and won't let just anyone in the house. It is far more stressful for him to go somewhere else, though. At least this way he can stay at home and sleep on his furniture. We haven't had this issue come up with our new dog yet (just got him at the beginning of September) but none of our previous dogs had stayed in a kennel.

If your dog is okay with being home alone and you know someone that the dog really likes, go ahead and see if they will care for your dog. If your dog is very social with other dogs, you might want to consider a kennel type place to take him/her where they would have interaction and possible playtime with other dogs.
 
My sister lives near a women's prision that has a program for the inmates that allows those with "good behavior and completion of training" to board and train dogs in their cells. Her dogs LOVE it.

I use a great kennel where the owners are active in 4H and dog training. They also have a doggy day care that we use if we're gone for a large portion of the day. It's great because he comes home really tired!

Preview any place first - I've seen some really dirty and icky places out there. Your vet should be able to recommend someone good.

Have fun!
 
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