Afraid to (or refuse to) kennel animals for vacation? UPDATE Post 1

[jaminmd]

Ok, afraid isn't the right word.

We were supposed to leave for Disney tomorrow. I had back up kennel reservations "just in case" but didn't want to use them.

Well, the people that were supposed to watch the dog couldn't handle him, so we just cancelled our trip. The airfare is non-refundable - oh well, it's only money.

We had to kennel our dog a few months ago & we hated it. DD & I couldn't wait to get home. The poor dog sat by the door practically the whole time looking for our return (we had a webcam). I felt terrible but we were in Denver & he was in Maryland. My Disney trip was planned before the Denver trip & I thought I'd be ok with kenneling it but I wasn't.

Anyway, our dog is part of our family. He is the best dog ever & we hate leaving him behind. I'm ok with day kenneling but that's about it. He'll be day kenneled on the next Disney trip but we're staying at the HRH, so he'll be in bed with us at night. I know I'm nuts, so no point in debating that.

Am I alone in my craziness for my dog? He is a devoted & loyal pet & I can't just leave him behind with strangers.

Update: Haven't read since this morning but I see there are several pages of posts. I'll read them all when I come back from my vacation. FYI it was a family decision to cancel, not just mine.

We have all decided to go since it's all paid for anyway. To all of you who were sympathetic, thanks for making me know I'm not alone in my love & devotion to my dog. To the rest, well, I'll read that when I come back. No sense it getting aggravated before my trip.

 

[holycow]

double post

 

[holycow]

Ok, afraid isn't the right word.

We were supposed to leave for Disney tomorrow. I had back up kennel reservations "just in case" but didn't want to use them.

Well, the people that were supposed to watch the dog couldn't handle him, so we just cancelled our trip. The airfare is non-refundable - oh well, it's only money.

We had to kennel our dog a few months ago & we hated it. DD & I couldn't wait to get home. The poor dog sat by the door practically the whole time looking for our return (we had a webcam). I felt terrible but we were in Denver & he was in Maryland. My Disney trip was planned before the Denver trip & I thought I'd be ok with kenneling it but I wasn't.

Anyway, our dog is part of our family. He is the best dog ever & we hate leaving him behind. I'm ok with day kenneling but that's about it. He'll be day kenneled on the next Disney trip but we're staying at the HRH, so he'll be in bed with us at night. I know I'm nuts, so no point in debating that.

Am I alone in my craziness for my dog? He is a devoted & loyal pet & I can't just leave him behind with strangers.

Sorry I wouldn't have cancelled my vacation because of my pet.

 

[java]

Yes you are crazy. personally I would't cancel a trip, but I would have backup boarding options. Heck I'd watch your dog. What do mean they couldn't handle your dog? That stinks so last minute.

 

[jaminmd]

Yes you are crazy. personally I would't cancel a trip, but I would have backup boarding options. Heck I'd watch your dog. What do mean they couldn't handle your dog? That stinks so last minute.

I know I am crazy. DH insisted that his parents could watch him but they were letting my dog walk them (he even pulled DFIL down), MIL leaves pot handles hanging off the stove while she's cooking, etc. They just weren't careful and I would have worried about him the whole time. (ETA: He's a GSD & noses everything)

We did decide as a family that we'd cancel. The kennel was my back up plan but I can't do it. I feel bad for causing stress to the dog.

I know most people wouldn't cancel a trip for their dog, so this post is not about my stupidity, etc., holycow. I just want to commiserate with other nuts such as myself. I know you're out there.

 

[Cindy B]

I would not have cancelled a trip for a dog either. I would have just gone on the trip and had a great time.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We board our dogs all the time.

There are other options, like pet sitters and home places.

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

I feel so bad for you! I would have probably considered doing what you did (cancelling) but honestly, my husband probably would not have allowed it.

I always said the "next dog" I get, I would start boarding it here and there throughout it's life, just for a day or two, so it would be "used to it" but of course that is ridiculous.

I, personally, could not board my dog, but I am actually envious of people that CAN and DO.

I have a 9 year old chihuahua and my parents always watch her when we go away. We take our dog to them (they live 2 hours away.) We recently got a 2 year old lab mix at the Humane Society and I feel kind of bad asking them to watch her also, she sounds like your GSD in that she is into everything and a little bit of a handful. We are looking into finding a reliable person to stay at our house while we are gone. I think you need to do the same. It will cost a little more but I think it will be worth the price. My friend gets a vet tech at her vet's office to stay at her house, I think that is a great idea. She said she only charges $30 a day, she is a college age girl that is happy to have a place to hang out other than her parents house! I don't expect to find someone that cheap, but I am going to try.

BTW, what is "HRH" that you are staying at at WDW that you can take your dog? We are thinking about camping at FW just so we can take ours to WDW w/us!

 

[ICF]

I would not have cancelled a trip for a dog either. I would have just gone on the trip and had a great time.

yeah, that's crazy....especially given the lost money due to airfare!

 

[design_mom]

You haven't found the right kennel yet.

We used to board ours at a kennel that was pretty far away from our house (about an hour and 15 minutes). Several neighbors recommended one that was much closer, so we booked our dog into it. I hated it and it totally ruined our trip.

Now we're back at the old place. The dogs run to see the kennel-owner when we arrive and they only see her once or twice a year so it's not like she's super familiar with them. I feel okay about leaving them there while we're on vacation. I don't love the thought of a kennel, but I can handle it.

My recommendation is to look around for a new place to kennel... or look into a pet-sitting service that comes to your home (my dogs need more human interaction than twice-a-day visits, but...).

Sorry about your trip.

 

[MM27]

I board my dog at the vet. They have someone there 24 hours with the boarded animals and depending on the package that you get they have everything from basic boarding, to (I kid you not) a bedtime story.

I know someone that had their neighbor watching their dog and cat while they were on vacation. The neighbor would drop in a few times a day, feed, walk, etc. Well, when we had our big snowstorm, the neighbor decided that it was too much for them to have to get over to the house, so they stopped going

Luckily the animals were okay, but I would've been po'd if someone did that to my animals without notifiying me.

 

[Pembo]

Keep looking for a great kennel. We found a great place that socializes the dogs 7 times a day. Our golden retriever is very active and this is the perfect place for him. He gets to play outside, alot, with other dogs. When he comes home, he's tired yet happy. It's more expensive than most places but it's worth every penny.

 

[LaughingSphinx]

We don't board our cats anymore. We tried once, kennel had a good reputation but it was awful. Cats were disgruntled and stressed, we sent along a carrier, toys, and treats because they are brothers and would be in one larger cage. Toys and treats mysteriously disappeared and the carrier had feces smeared on it when we picked them up.

If we can, we take them with us (they are beautifully behaved on 13-hr car trips) or we make arrangements for someone to take care of them at home. Dunno if I'd cancel my vacation, but I'd definitely be on the phone for hours trying to find someone to take care of the cats.

and Design_Mom, sometimes there *isnt'* a 'right kennel.' That's the only one near us.

 

[Mermaid02]

Our dog stayed in our home last trip (bad kennel experience the trip before). A friend of ours came over a couple of times daily- Maddy loves her- she tried to take her home at night to sleep at her house, but Maddy was restless so she just brought her home.

It worked out great.

 

[kaytieeldr]

BTW, what is "HRH" that you are staying at at WDW that you can take your dog?

Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios.

 

[onelilspark]

I think kenneling our pets is more difficult on us than it is on them. Board your dog, know that he's SAFE and enjoy your vacation.

 

[gillep]

We leave our dog with his doggy daycare family when we have to go on vacation, they do both 12h and 24h daycare and someone is with the dogs 24/7, they are also trainers. When we rescued Riley he was very fearful of other dogs as he had no exposure to them. The trainers at our daycare were able to socialize him properly and now he loves to play with other dogs. We take him to 12h daycare every Wednesday so that he continues to get the socialization, and so that he is comfortable with the place and people when we have to leave him longer. They post pictures and videos for us and we know that Riley has a good time and is safe and in good professional hands. I would not cancel a vacation because I worried about him, then again I spent a lot of time looking for a place that he liked and I trusted before we had to leave him for the first time. I actually was looking into places for him before we ever brought him home because I knew that I could not kennel him as he had been caged the first 9 months of his life exclusively and I could not put him in that situation again.

My advice start now looking for places. Figure out what you want (caged, daycare, vet, inside outside etc.) visit these places and do trial runs until you find one that fits. Riley is a huge part of my family but sometimes DH and I need a little vacation.

 

[MichelleVW]

Sorry I wouldn't have cancelled my vacation because of my pet.

Same here, and I have 2 horses, 4 cats and 3 dogs. I don't like kenneling my dogs, and I'm sure they don't like it, but I know they are safe so we all deal with it. I honestly don't trust pet sitters, been burned too many times to ever trust someone again.

 

[MinnieFan]

You may not be aware of it, but there is a beautiful kennel right on Disney property. We used it last month. The facility is immaculate, they took excellent care of our dog. And you can visit your pet any time you want during your trip.

 

[kellydizfan]

I wouldn't have cancelled a trip, the animal would have went to the kennel. We are lucky - my Brother-in-law comes and stays if we go away to take care of our 3 dogs and 2 cats. He lives in DE and we are in NY and this is his vacation away from everything with no stress. He visits with my family while he is here. They absolutely love him. He has even come to stay with the kids if my DH and I go away. Last time we did that was in 2007 to Hawaii. Our last Disney trip he stayed here with the animals while we were away and then last year he did also when we went to VA. He is really good like that. I can't afford to kennel now with that many animals. But one - I would do it in a heartbeat - they get over it.