What to do with my dog while on vacation?

[Dentam]

But, despite my desire to humanize them, they are not humans. And they do not grasp time the way humans do. There is absolutely nothing wrong with kenneling your dog at a reputable facility while you are away. We prefer to leave ours with family, and they are always very eager to see us when we return, but people tend to make a bigger deal out of this than the animals do.

My point with kennels was the serious illnesses your dog can pick up from them. I know mine did - cost me quite a bit in frequent vet bills. I don't care how "reputable" the place is, they cannot protect all of their dogs from one sick dog that isn't showing many symptoms if any. I was simply warning people that dog flu is going around the country right now and kennel cough is another common issue. Do what you will - it's your dog. Mine won't be going to a kennel.

 

[maxiesmom]

I have a dog that is very much in love with me. She doesn't destroy the house while I'm gone, or anything like that, but she is very attached to me. She cries a lot whenever I go to work, and acts like I was gone for 10 years when I get home. She's also a very timid dog, in general.

My husband and I want to visit Disney, but I'm not sure what to do with her. I was going to put her in a kennel for a week, but I'm afraid that she's going to think we abandoned her. I guess I could hire someone to watch her while we're gone, but that would mean that they would have to be here 3ish times a day to walk her, feed her, let her out, etc.

Any suggestions?

Do you know someone who would move in to your house for the time you are gone? That is what I do. I have a friend move in. That way I know my dogs are happy and cared for.

 

[pryncess527]

My point with kennels was the serious illnesses your dog can pick up from them. I know mine did - cost me quite a bit in frequent vet bills. I don't care how "reputable" the place is, they cannot protect all of their dogs from one sick dog that isn't showing many symptoms if any. I was simply warning people that dog flu is going around the country right now and kennel cough is another common issue. Do what you will - it's your dog. Mine won't be going to a kennel.

I understand how your personal experience has informed you on this issue, and why that might lead you to feel the way you do -- but of all the hundreds of times that me, or my friends, have boarded our dogs over decades of dog ownership, I have never known a single person whose dog got sick from being at a kennel where proof of vaccines, including bordatella, were required. Without seeing some scientific study on this particular danger, it's hard for me to think this occurrence is widespread enough to cause serious concern. Saying, "guessing/hoping you don't own dogs" to someone who is fine with kenneling, strikes me as pretty passive aggressive, and a drastic overreaction to a very normal practice. YMMV.

I'm also sorry that your dog's illness was expensive, but kennel cough is often rather mild and resolves itself without treatment.

 

[luvsJack]

We have 3 dogs. They stay with the vet when we go out of town. Our dogs are VERY attached to us, always at my or dd's side. The pommie sleeps with me and the other small one sleeps with dd. When we come home in the afternoons, they are practically tearing the door down to get to us. They have never had any issues staying at the vet's office. They are fed well, played with, bathed and pampered and always happy to see us when we get back. I like not having to worry about them when we are gone. My fear with hiring someone is that they would forget to make sure they have water or wouldn't feed them right or whatever. At the vet's office, I know that is all taken care of and then some and if they show any signs of illness, its taken care of on the spot but we have never had that issue. They require that the shots be up to date when they take them including the one for kennel cough.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

I actually asked the same question on this forum and a dis-er changed our life for the better (or at least our dog's life!) That person recommended checking out dogvacay.com and I have since also discovered rover.com. Both sites link people who take care of dogs (in their homes) with people looking for alternatives to kennels. We've used both sites now several times and have left our dog with great caring dog lovers. Even though our dog isn't in his own home, he is in a home with people who ask things like "is it ok if he sleeps on our bed?" We haven't had a bad experience yet, and we are very fussy when it comes to our dog's well-being.

 

[AlohaNow]

Highly recommend dogvacay. We just booked our pup’s second stay with the same host. Our dog is not a fan of other dogs, and the nice thing is you can search for homes that do not have dogs. Some hosts are dog lovers that are not in a position to own a dog at the moment. There is automatic insurance involved, so you are covered if your dog randomly goes wild and destroys stuff in the host’s home. There is also ‘emergency respite’ through the network if your hosts had to go out of town suddenly and couldn’t take care of your pup. We just love the service. We could board her at our vet, but like knowing she is in a loving home!

 

[Dentam]

I understand how your personal experience has informed you on this issue, and why that might lead you to feel the way you do -- but of all the hundreds of times that me, or my friends, have boarded our dogs over decades of dog ownership, I have never known a single person whose dog got sick from being at a kennel where proof of vaccines, including bordatella, were required. Without seeing some scientific study on this particular danger, it's hard for me to think this occurrence is widespread enough to cause serious concern. Saying, "guessing/hoping you don't own dogs" to someone who is fine with kenneling, strikes me as pretty passive aggressive, and a drastic overreaction to a very normal practice. YMMV.

For what it's worth, as I mentioned in an earlier post, my dog did have the bordetella vaccine as did all of the dogs in the daycare facility. She still got it. The vaccines are not 100% effective. Here is an article warning people about the current dog flu that started in the midwest and is currently spreading. I don't know where the OP lives or anyone reading this thread for that matter and I do think people should be aware of the risks before taking their dogs to these places. And I was not saying that I hoped he didn't have dogs because he said he kenneled his dogs, I was responding to his attitude which was implying that they are "just" dogs so don't worry about it. For some people their dogs are family not "just" animals. The people who treat them without a second thought are often the ones who also end up dropping them off at the pound when they're tired of them. And no, I am not saying anyone here would do that, I just have an issue with flippant comments about animals not deserving the same care and considerations just because they aren't people.

Best of luck to the OP. I'm done with this thread.

 

[Annadesu]

You can leave the dog at the vet? Hmm... might have to look into that. They ADORE her at my vet (she loves everyone and everything, lol).

Thanks for all the tips, everyone!

 

[luvsJack]

You can leave the dog at the vet? Hmm... might have to look into that. They ADORE her at my vet (she loves everyone and everything, lol).

Thanks for all the tips, everyone!

Not sure if they all board pets but almost all the vets around here do it. Its a load off my mind when we go out of town to know they are taken care of by someone who can take care of them in any situation.

 

[Jennasis]

For what it's worth, as I mentioned in an earlier post, my dog did have the bordetella vaccine as did all of the dogs in the daycare facility. She still got it. The vaccines are not 100% effective. Here is an article warning people about the current dog flu that started in the midwest and is currently spreading. I don't know where the OP lives or anyone reading this thread for that matter and I do think people should be aware of the risks before taking their dogs to these places. And I was not saying that I hoped he didn't have dogs because he said he kenneled his dogs, I was responding to his attitude which was implying that they are "just" dogs so don't worry about it. For some people their dogs are family not "just" animals. The people who treat them without a second thought are often the ones who also end up dropping them off at the pound when they're tired of them. And no, I am not saying anyone here would do that, I just have an issue with flippant comments about animals not deserving the same care and considerations just because they aren't people.

Best of luck to the OP. I'm done with this thread.

The reason we are boarding our dog at a kennel (Best Friends, on WDW property) on our upcoming vacation IS because we love her so much and she IS family...not "just a dog".

 

[PelletierBears]

I have a dog that is very much in love with me. She doesn't destroy the house while I'm gone, or anything like that, but she is very attached to me. She cries a lot whenever I go to work, and acts like I was gone for 10 years when I get home. She's also a very timid dog, in general.

My husband and I want to visit Disney, but I'm not sure what to do with her. I was going to put her in a kennel for a week, but I'm afraid that she's going to think we abandoned her. I guess I could hire someone to watch her while we're gone, but that would mean that they would have to be here 3ish times a day to walk her, feed her, let her out, etc.

Any suggestions?

My older dog is the same way except I work from home so he's always by my side. From the time he was a puppy he would stay up with me while I worked late even though everyone else had gone to bed. He's too strong to leave with just anyone and I'm not at all comfortable having someone in our home so we board him and our newest dog. We used the kennel at PetSmart the first time based on a great recommendation from a co-worker. He did fine there but because he's part American Bulldog (concidered a bully breed) he wasn't allowed in the group play so decided to try my local Best Friends Pet Care. Bosco has stayed 4 times and Amber twice. I love that they have live video streaming in the play groups! We're able to check on them daily and its so reassuring to see them playing with the other dogs. The staff is great and they encourage you to call daily for a report if you need to. I just picked them up yesterday after an 11 night stay while we were in Disney. Both dogs are happy to be home and are a little clingy but are just fine. I'll admit to always crying a little when I first drop them off but I know they're safe and that's most important to me.

Good luck with whatever you decide

 

[Colleen27]

I'd start with your social network - friends, neighbors, relatives. Our older dog has never dealt well with being kenneled and we've always been able to find a SAHM friend or neighbor or teenager in a family we know/trust to keep an eye on her at our home rather than boarding her. Now we have two dogs, a cat, and three rabbits so it is MUCH easier and cheaper to find someone to come to our home than to make boarding arrangements for the menagerie.

At our current home we really lucked out - our next door neighbor has become a close friend and he is happy to watch our animals when we travel. He won't even accept pay. We just leave a 6 pack of his brand of beer in the fridge and he's happy to come over, watch a little TV (he lives with his elderly mother who doesn't have cable!), walk & play with the dogs, and make sure the other animals have food & water. And when he's away on hunting trips, we check in on his mother, run her to the store if she needs it since she doesn't drive at night or in bad weather any more, and generally keep her company.

 

[NikiM20]

We used Sittercity to find our petsitter 2 1/2 years ago. She is a local college student. We were able to run a background check on her and check her references. She comes during the day to let the dogs out in the middle of the day and when we go out of town she moves into the house. She has become a member of the family. She takes excellent care of the dogs and treats them like her own. My dogs are happy, they are at home with someone they know and love. She posts pictures on Instagram and texts me daily while we are gone.

 

[3Gsandme]

We found a great kennel and our dog loves it. She gets excited when we pull up. They know her by name. It's great.

Honestly, I don't know a dog that is bonded with their humans that don't act like you've been gone for ten years every time you leave the house. That's kind of a dog thing. I just think it's important to remember that's its a fairly typical dog behavior and not indicative of your dog being overly anxious that you're gone.

 

[Lisaloo]

Another vote for dogvacay.com.

 

[Jaime4004]

My older dog is the same way except I work from home so he's always by my side. From the time he was a puppy he would stay up with me while I worked late even though everyone else had gone to bed. He's too strong to leave with just anyone and I'm not at all comfortable having someone in our home so we board him and our newest dog. We used the kennel at PetSmart the first time based on a great recommendation from a co-worker. He did fine there but because he's part American Bulldog (concidered a bully breed) he wasn't allowed in the group play so decided to try my local Best Friends Pet Care. Bosco has stayed 4 times and Amber twice. I love that they have live video streaming in the play groups! We're able to check on them daily and its so reassuring to see them playing with the other dogs. The staff is great and they encourage you to call daily for a report if you need to. I just picked them up yesterday after an 11 night stay while we were in Disney. Both dogs are happy to be home and are a little clingy but are just fine. I'll admit to always crying a little when I first drop them off but I know they're safe and that's most important to me.

Good luck with whatever you decide

I'm home all day too and my 2 dogs are very clingy. They follow me around the house, DH always laughs watching them follow me around when he's home. Even into the bathroom. They are worse than toddlers. I call them my little baby ducklings. We had a kennel that was owned by one women, attached to her house. They started going there as puppies, both are now 14. We moved about 7 yrs ago and tried a few places around here but it was too stressful on me and the dogs. So for years, i've been driving them 45 mins back to their original kennel (1.5hr round trip) because I know they love it there. When walk in with tails wagging (after the whole body shaking during the car ride, probably worried they're going to the vet). When I pick them up they run over to me all happy, but then run back to the lady who runs it. I have a much better vacation knowing they're having a good time