Dog sitting question

[wishesuponastar]

What are your thoughts please? Our dog has never been boarded (he is 2)
and we are going away for 5 nights in August. We have the offer from someone to watch him at their home and they have 2 dogs also. We would pay these people.

Or, we can leave doggie home and our good friend and her daughters could come over every day and walk him several times a day and play with dog. We would also pay the friend.

I am leaning towards leaving dog home with friend bercause I think that would be less stressful than having dog go to new house for 5 days thinking we abandoned him.

 

[FredinFL]

Depends on your dog.

I dog sit and mostly have them stay at my house, they all seem to have a great time judging by the way they drag their owners up the steps to the front door. One even starts "talking" when she realizes where they are going, lol. I love having them here, they love having their own little "vacation" where they run around playing and sleeping all over the living room and watching TV with us.

My suggestion would be to see if a dry run of a couple hours is possible. Let him meet the other two dogs and see if he has fun. It usually takes the dogs a day to settle down to normal behavior when they get here, they are a little wound up for a bit, but always settle back down eventually.

 

[BeenHereB4]

We've left our dog several times at a "camp" for dogs here that also does overnight boarding. It is called Camp Bow Wow and I know it is a chain but am not sure if it is national. Buyt, we LOVE it. There is a web cam so we can check up on our baby whenver we want. I was shocked to see that traditional boarding involved your dog in a crate all day and then just taken out for walks. That would not work with our spoiled pup.

As for a friend coming in, that is also a great idea but I'd worry they would wait too long between visits. What if doggy has an accident, will they clean it up? I guess if you have plenty of rules and what ifs written out it could work out fine.

Leaving him with some doggy playmates at your other friend's home sounds good too though. Then he probably wouldn't ever be left alone.

I hope you find something you are comfortable with. Iknow how hard it is for me to leave mine anywhere for a long time so I was so happy we found the place that works for us.

Good luck!

 

[FredinFL]

It may be a chain, I have two dogs that attended a Camp Bow Wow, one came out with a huge scratch on her side that should have been stitched. By the time the owners picked her up, it was too late to stitch it. The second one got kennel cough there. I'm not complaining, I got two great dogs from them , but I wouldn't recommend them.

 

[JessicaR]

Like Fred said, it depends on your dog. My dogs are happier staying at home. Does your dog get along with the other two dogs?

My dogs are huge and creatures of habit and really do prefer having a pet-sitter - they told me. I like having someone take in my mail and water my plants too. I feel better knowing the house is OK also.

I have a problem for the first time in 9 years, my sitter is not available and I have to decide what we're gonna do.

 

[BeenHereB4]

It may be a chain, I have two dogs that attended a Camp Bow Wow, one came out with a huge scratch on her side that should have been stitched. By the time the owners picked her up, it was too late to stitch it. The second one got kennel cough there. I'm not complaining, I got two great dogs from them , but I wouldn't recommend them.

Oh wow, those are terrible stories, that stinks. I guess it depends on how each franchise is run. So far, we've had wonderful luck and you can tell the people that work there really love pets. There is always someone (or 2 people) with the dogs. I am admittedly happy though that ours still passes for the small dog section. Some of those others are HUGE.

OP, if you don't send your pup to the friend's house, just get some reviews of the places you are considering. I'm more and more liking the friend's house though. JMO.

 

[FredinFL]

It's sad isn't it? You trust someone with your dog and they don't carry thru.

It's nice when a place has a good reputation and the clients are happy. I like that doggie video idea!

 

[Swalphin]

My 2 dogs are both "cat people", they would be miserable with other dogs.
It really depends on your dog and his personality. As well as the dogs that they will be staying with, have they met yet? I would make sure they get along before leaving your pooch with them. My 2 are happy at home with their stuff, KWIM.

 

[BeenHereB4]

It's sad isn't it? You trust someone with your dog and they don't carry thru.

It's nice when a place has a good reputation and the clients are happy. I like that doggie video idea!

I think only other dog people would understand just how difficult it is to trust a place and leave your dog there. That web cam is huge for us. Although my DH does get a little ticked about how often I check it.

Whoever leaves their pets with you is very lucky.

 

[Disney Doll]

Some thoughts:

What if he doesn't get along with the other dogs at the other house?

Even with someone coming in to walk and feed him frequently, he'll still be alone a lot during the day.

 

[Pakey]

I have a dog with social issues so I always have a pet sitter come to our home. I have a doggie door but the sitter comes twice a day to feed them.

My last resort would be having my dogs go into someone else's home. I would think that would be very stressful on my dogs.

 

[Katy Belle]

My dog is very timid and not a big fan of other dogs. We have a doggie door and a pet nanny comes twice a day to walk, play with, and feed our doggie.

 

[marie1203]

We get someone to stay at home with them. We have tried boarding and they hate it. My pomeranian refuse to eat lost 2 pounds. We have 5 dogs and they do not like to be separated. Because they are already their own pack leaving them at places that do not use kennels more than a couple of hours doesn't work their pack structure gets all weird. They do very good when someone comes and stays with them at home.

 

[goofy4tink]

My last golden loved being at 'puppy camp'....but he was happy sitting outside in his pen as well. We never found him to be a hugely 'family' dog. So, kenneling him was easy...he loved it. Never had a problem and the kennels loved having him because he wasn't a barker or any problem.
My present golden??? Oh dear God....he won't eat if he is kenneled. He literally pines away. Just lies there, head down, looking mournful according to the kennel people. He has to be at home. If I am the only one to leave, he still mopes around...dopey dog.

But, we can't really leave him here, with his two cat buddies. He just likes having someone around. So, we would have to take him someplace that had someone around. I would recommend letting your dog spend an hour at a time at your friend's house, with the other dogs. See how that goes. He may think it's the best thing in the world. Let him try it a few times before making a final decision. IF it all goes well, let him spend the 5 nights there.
Otherwise, have the other friend come over during the day. But be sure they completely understand the timing. Whatever your dog's regular routine is should be kept to.

 

[FredinFL]

I have a dog with social issues so I always have a pet sitter come to our home. I have a doggie door but the sitter comes twice a day to feed them.

My last resort would be having my dogs go into someone else's home. I would think that would be very stressful on my dogs.

Again, the best thing is to know your dog. Some dogs are more than happy to stay home, have a friend come in and feed them, let them out, love them up and then go back for a snooze till it happens again in 5 hours or so.

Others stress because they are left alone and benefit from sleep overs. I've had a couple ocassions where I've had to tell someone that their pet wasn't going to work out at my house, my boy rules, he's good at it and more importantly it's HIS house. They have to be spayed/neutered.

Once the intitial meetngreet is over, they are welcome to drink out of his bowl, snack on his food, enjoy a hoofie, even sleep in his bed. He doesn't care. He does prefer one chair tho, and the other dogs always seem to leave that spot alone.

Oh, and the cat! LMBO...he sits in the middle of the carpet and stares the dogs down. None bother him, tho one desperately wants him to be her baby.

 

[wishesuponastar]

OP here, I think we will go with having the friend come to our house. Don't want any problems with the other dogs at other house. I would be worried. Plus, our dog is the type to sleep all day so he won't even miss us that much

 

[minkydog]

Again, the best thing is to know your dog. Some dogs are more than happy to stay home, have a friend come in and feed them, let them out, love them up and then go back for a snooze till it happens again in 5 hours or so.

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I agree, you have to know your dog. Has he ever been left before? My DD18 pet sits quite frequently. In her experience, pets do better if they've had some experience staying home alone, especially for those pets whose parents work full-time. She took care of a dog last week who had never been left before. She was hesitant, but it was for a good friend, so she did it. OMG. This poor dog peed and pooped everywhere, every day. On the 3rd morning she called the family to let them know and one of them came home a little early. I think the dog was just super anxious. DD did her best to help him, but he just wasn't having it.

On the other hand, she took care of a little 12yo Westie at our home last week. This dog had also never been left, but his mom felt he would do okay with us. And he did. He mostly slept but he seemed relaxed and had no accidents or feedng problems. We kept him for 12 days and he was perfectly behaved. She has cared for a couple other elderly dogs at their homes with intermittent visits and all have done very well. I think it is directly dependant on the dogs' personalities.