Boarding Pets - How much do you spend?

[dakotix]

One hurdle for us is boarding our two dogs which are like our kids to us. The only way we can stomach doing it is by boarding them at a rather expensive but completely amazing doggy hotel. They get their own room with a flat screen TV playing animal planet. They go out in groups every 45 minutes. They also have in-room web cams so we can spy on them on our trip to put our minds at ease. For both of them it is $45/night. At the end they are washed and groomed. I know it sounds like over kill but it makes it easy knowing they are being well taken care of!

 

[natfrac]

That sounds like a bargain. Where we live, it would cost close to $75 per night, per pet for luxury accommodations. We pay my cousin $50 per night to watch our furry baby. She takes him to work with her, he sleeps on her bed, so we feel the money's well spent.

 

[stsomewhere]

My vet charges $25 per night per dog. Grooming is extra.

We have 2 dogs. It gets expensive.

 

[disney212]

That is a bargain. The pet resorts around me was $100+ a night for 2 small (Chihuahua & mini poodle) and we in a lower cost of living area.

 

[Marionnette]

A lot will depend on the size and species of your pet. Cats generally cost less to board because they are low-maintenance when compared to dogs. A 90-lb. lab is going to cost more than a 10-lb minpin.

We have a niece or nephew come to our home and take care of our dogs. We pay them $50/day plus give them free access to the fridge, freezer, and pantry. I can call whenever I want to find out how the dogs are doing and I get pictures and videos texted to me if my niece is watching them (my nephew isn't as keen on snapping photos of the dogs). But neither one of them bathes my dogs, so I get greeted by their doggy smell when I get home.

If you're paying $45/night for two dogs, they're probably small ones. My lab would cost me more than that just by himself. And that would be at a bare-bones facility where he would be crated a good portion of the day.

 

[damskipi13]

My boarder has tiered service. I pay $24 for night (after my 20% discount) just to have him crated. $24 pays for the crate, "upgraded bedding," and a picture daily. I also pay $16 per day for him to have all day play. He's a young, active boxer mix so he can't be kenneled for more than about 12 hours. I could pay about $3 less per night if I didn't get the upgraded bedding and picture, or about $8 more per night includes a report card and he gets an extra treat. I feel the tier I chose is just right. Overall, $40 for one dog running free from 6am-7pm and safely boarded at night. Luckily most of my coworkers are dog lovers so we are almost always able to trade off dog watching responsibilities. For instance, I watched two dogs this weekend, another starting tomorrow, and someone is watching my fur baby for my upcoming trip. We travel a lot!

 

[marmalade]

If I didn't have family/neighbors to watch my pets, I would do something similar as the OP. If we are gone for more than a week, I have plenty of 20 something nieces that would love to stay in my house for the week and feed my cats for lots of free food and some extra cash. If we're only going to be gone for the weekend, the kid up the street comes in and plays with and feeds my cats while we're gone and I throw him $5 a day. My dog either goes with us when we go camping, or he goes to my mom's and hangs out with her and her dog while we're gone.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

Normally my parents watch our 2 dogs and 3 cats when we go out of town and we watch their 2 dogs and 1 cat when they do.

One of our dogs died (bone cancer) in July and we got a puppy. My mom is unwilling to watch a puppy so a friend is going to watch her for a week (at her house) - we're paying her $100 for the week.

 

[reneaterry]

I guess we're getting a bargain. We board with our vet. $13/ day under 45 lbs and $15.75/ day over 45 lbs. we've used her for years and know that our pets are being treated well and taken care of.

 

[tvguy]

Vet charges $37.50 a night for a cat, pet resort $35 plus $10 extra if you want your cat to get 30 minutes of one on one play time with a person.

 

[Swimnoid]

Normally our neighbors would come feed our previous dog. We just adopted a new dog and have to go away this weekend. Our neighbors would be happy to watch this one but they will be with us. So I went with a place who is kind of deluxe. The price is not bad comparing to some of you though. They have separate prices for day and night; doggie day camp play and then the overnight fee. It will cost me about $40 for each 24 hour period.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

OP, that is a great price. We pay about $45 a day for two small dogs.

I could never board one of my dogs in a kennel where Animal Planet is playing. He watches tv and would spend the day barking at the animals on the tv! For most dogs, the tv is a waste; they don't pay any attention to it.

 

[niffer5150]

$85 a day for 2 extra large fixed dogs who don't take meds.

 

[luvsJack]

Wow, ya'll pay a LOT. We use our vet and they charge us $10 a night.

They have a great outdoor area and the dogs are out there with a tech 2 or 3 times a day (which is heaven for our two as they spend our work days inside), a play area inside for the dogs which is also supervised by a tech. And from what we have seen these techs play with the dogs and give them lots of attention.

The vet provides the food and bathes and grooms the dogs the day we are scheduled to pick them up.

Its really convenient because if any check ups or immunizations are due, we can just schedule it all for the first day of their stay and its all taken care of (of course that's not included in the $10 a night). And we feel comfortable knowing that the dogs are in capable hands and with someone that would recognize illness or injury right away.

 

[eliza61]

One hurdle for us is boarding our two dogs which are like our kids to us. The only way we can stomach doing it is by boarding them at a rather expensive but completely amazing doggy hotel. They get their own room with a flat screen TV playing animal planet. They go out in groups every 45 minutes. They also have in-room web cams so we can spy on them on our trip to put our minds at ease. For both of them it is $45/night. At the end they are washed and groomed. I know it sounds like over kill but it makes it easy knowing they are being well taken care of!

Peace of mind is worth a lot. LOL

My boarding tends to be expensive because my dog is diabetic so I have to have a border who can give him two insulin shots a day.

Our vet doesn't offer boarding so I'll pretty much pay our pet sitter whatever she asks

 

[jedijill]

I pay $23/night for my dachshund at a wonderful place outside of Denver. It's a drive out there but they will pick up or drop off in town for $15. I used to pay close to $50 a day but these guys were recommended and I love them! They raise championship dogs and the kennel business kind of grew out of that. You pay by the night (no checkin/check out times during the day) and the dogs gets lots of love and as much outside play time as they want. My dog comes home exhausted from playing with other dogs so much which is nice since she doesn't get any socialization any other time.

Jill in CO

 

[The Princess]

Ours is $25.00 a day grooming is extra.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

We're paying $26 per night for the basic service which includes 4 walks and 2 scheduled play times per day. Since we are leaving in a few days and our trip is in the "low" season the owner of the kennel says he will likely have our dog out playing all day with his "daycare" group. This is a great relief for us since our dog is only a year old and very energetic They also do daily pictures and updates via text!

I'm nervous about boarding her for the first time but I know he will take great care of her, he even upgraded her to one of the "doggie suites" for free since it is such a low season right now. (which normally costs $45)

 

[pigletto]

This is the biggest challenge for me for our upcoming trip.
I am going to check out several (there's 3 or 4 that look good online and were recommended by various other dog owners I know).
What will be a big deciding factor for me will be how much play/outdoor time he will get. We have a 85 pound Chocolate Lab who is just over a year old.
He is crate trained but our rule is, 4 hours max during the day (and that's only if we have to go do something and nobody can stay with him), and about 9-10 hours for sleep. He's extremely people oriented and he'd be miserable crated all day, especially given that we'll be away 11 days.

What I am seeing around here it is pretty much $30 a day and that includes group playtimes, a nightly kong treat, and two walks a day. There is one that is significantly more, but it's in the woman's house and my house is proofed for his chewing etc. His manners at someone else's house wouldn't be a good thing and I can only imagine coming home to hear he'd eaten the legs of their dining room table or something.

So our plan is to check out a few and do a tour, and then send him for a few "daycare" days while he gets used to it, and then a few weekends before the big trip. Hopefully then he, and I ,will both be comfortable.

 

[HopperFan]

After trying many "highly praised" places with not so good results we now take our fur baby to a "Pet Resort", that she loves.

She gets a standard suite, which is private with a cot and we opt for elite package which gives her two private activities each day. She has no clue she is a dog and prefers the one-on-one. She does the swimming (yes they have a bone shaped pool) and nature walk, which is a long walk through their wooded trails. We pay $46 per day and we provide the food. We also have to pay for her bath which is required prior to swimming but then they do another no charge before we pick her up.

The suite you are describing with two dogs here, with two private daily activities, would cost you $100-110 per day.