How's the dog thing going?

[GusGusTheMouse]

We love our dogs so much but understand, that in so many different ways, they are not the same as a child.

However, my family did bring our dog down to Orlando many years ago. If Disney had this policy then, we would have been able to stay on Disney property, instead of having to rent a home in Kissimmee. Our dog was close to 10 years old then and unfortunately had a degenerative back disease which made him paralyzed from the waist down. This made it impossible for anyone else to properly take care of him other than ourselves. We also wanted to go to Disney and Universal because we knew we wouldn't be able to go again for many, many years due to other family issues. After Disney, we transferred over to Universal and stayed at one of their hotels. They were wonderful in accommodating him. Most of the guests we ran into (which were not many) loved seeing him and kids always asked about his wheelchair! This is probably not the norm for why many people bring their dogs on vacation to Disney... but we knew he was incredibly well behaved and my family knew his bathroom schedule by the minute because of his other medical issues.

He is no longer with us now, but some of our favorite memories are of him on that trip and how happy he was with the long car ride down and being so close with our family the entire time! Just wanted to share a different story on why these dog policies may be a welcome addition to some!

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

We did that exactly when we had a 14-16 yr old blind dog with back & heart problems. We would only travel for very short trips b/c boarding him was so hard on him. With this policy we would have just taken him. Now I have a 1 yr old dog & 6 mo dog. We would just board them b/c they be fine.

Same. While this policy may be primarily for families who like to bring their dogs on vacation with them, it is also a huge help to those families that have furry loved ones who have special needs!

 

[cruiser21]

I have & DS & still treat my dogs like children. Of course, my DS comes first, but I still think of my dogs as my other kids.

Yes, but would you take your dog to Disney World. I would love to hear from someone who is planning on taking their dog and why. What their strategy is for enjoying the parks while their dog is left at the resort. It sounds like a nightmare planning the parks around a dogs potty breaks or worrying they are going to bark while your gone. Maybe someone can convince me otherwise.

 

[LSUmiss]

We love our dogs so much but understand, that in so many different ways, they are not the same as a child.

However, my family did bring our dog down to Orlando many years ago. If Disney had this policy then, we would have been able to stay on Disney property, instead of having to rent a home in Kissimmee. Our dog was close to 10 years old then and unfortunately had a degenerative back disease which made him paralyzed from the waist down. This made it impossible for anyone else to properly take care of him other than ourselves. We also wanted to go to Disney and Universal because we knew we wouldn't be able to go again for many, many years due to other family issues. After Disney, we transferred over to Universal and stayed at one of their hotels. They were wonderful in accommodating him. Most of the guests we ran into (which were not many) loved seeing him and kids always asked about his wheelchair! This is probably not the norm for why many people bring their dogs on vacation to Disney... but we knew he was incredibly well behaved and my family knew his bathroom schedule by the minute because of his other medical issues.

He is no longer with us now, but some of our favorite memories are of him on that trip and how happy he was with the long car ride down and being so close with our family the entire time! Just wanted to share a different story on why these dog policies may be a welcome addition to some!

That’s the exact thing our dog had with his back. He never ended up paralyzed though. thankfully, but we had to be really careful with him. He couldn’t be allowed to jump at all. So, we didn’t trust pretty much anyone to be a vigilant as we were. He started with these back problems age 8. He lived to be 16 & died from something else. But we had 8 years of being vigilant with him. What kind of dog was yours? Mine was a dachshund.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

Yes, but would you take your dog to Disney World. I would love to hear from someone who is planning on taking their dog and why. What their strategy is for enjoying the parks while their dog is left at the resort. It sounds like a nightmare planning the parks around a dogs potty breaks or worrying they are going to bark while your gone. Maybe someone can convince me otherwise.

We did bring our dog to Disney and we did not even stay at a Disney resort (because the policy was not in place at the time)! It was difficult, and we had to leave the property many times for potty breaks. But it was well worth it because we were able to be at Disney while also knowing our disabled dog was with the only people that could properly take care of him. I personally think each family knows what their dog is capable of, we knew our dog rarely barked so we were not worried about him being a pain to others!

 

[LSUmiss]

Yes, but would you take your dog to Disney World. I would love to hear from someone who is planning on taking their dog and why. What their strategy is for enjoying the parks while their dog is left at the resort. It sounds like a nightmare planning the parks around a dogs potty breaks or worrying they are going to bark while your gone. Maybe someone can convince me otherwise.

Yeah we would, but only if there was a reason. Like I said in a pp, we had a dach that was blind that had heart & back problems. After about age 13 boarding him was very hard on him. And we didn’t trust anyone to be as vigilant as us. One wrong jump could have paralyzed him. So we stopped going on long trips. We would have definitely taken him. As far as potty breaks, he was used to going 8 hours while we were at work. We would have gotten him acquainted before leaving him for the day. He would have adjusted easily as long as we brought his kennel & bed. He was very laid back at 13-16 so he would have just slept all day til we got back. I have young dogs now so I wouldn’t bring them as long as their healthy, although the little one doesn’t eat much when we board him. But, I agree I would never bring them for fun. It would be hard. But, I would bring them if necessary & just make the necessary sacfrices.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

That’s the exact thing our dog had with his back. He never ended up paralyzed though. thankfully, but we had to be really careful with him. He couldn’t be allowed to jump at all. So, we didn’t trust pretty much anyone to be a vigilant as we were. He started with these back problems age 8. He lived to be 16 & died from something else. But we had 8 years of being vigilant with him. What kind of dog was yours? Mine was a dachshund.

Corgi! They are both little ones that have long backs with short legs, so it's never easy for them!

 

[LSUmiss]

Corgi! They are both little ones that have long backs with short legs, so it's never easy for them!

Yeah, I know same thing I love Corgis. We thought about getting one this time but ended up with a dach again. Couldn’t stand not having one.

 

[chiisai]

Yes, but would you take your dog to Disney World. I would love to hear from someone who is planning on taking their dog and why. What their strategy is for enjoying the parks while their dog is left at the resort. It sounds like a nightmare planning the parks around a dogs potty breaks or worrying they are going to bark while your gone. Maybe someone can convince me otherwise.

I would be stressed that my doggo was barking or being stressed himself, being in a new place. I feel better having a housesitter when we are gone.

I think, though, if we had extended family with us who go to the parks late, it might work out if the dog was only alone for maybe 2 hours. We generally seem to be done with parks at noon/1pm.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

Yeah, I know same thing I love Corgis. We thought about getting one this time but ended up with a dach again. Couldn’t stand not having one.

We considered getting another corgi, but after seeing how difficult a time our little guy had with his medical issues, we just couldn't do it again. Others have also told us he was the most domicile corgi they had ever met, so we decided he would be our one and only corgi (making him even more special to us)! We just got a golden retriever puppy, and as of right now, we would NEVER bring him to Disney. He drives us nuts constantly, so we will leave the little devil up here if we come down to Disney again any time soon!

 

[LSUmiss]

We considered getting another corgi, but after seeing how difficult a time our little guy had with his medical issues, we just couldn't do it again. Others have also told us he was the most domicile corgi they had ever met, so we decided he would be our one and only corgi (making him even more special to us)! We just got a golden retriever puppy, and as of right now, we would NEVER bring him to Disney. He drives us nuts constantly, so we will leave the little devil up here if we come down to Disney again any time soon!

I can understand that. Since our dach never actually ended up paralyzed & died of pancreatitis at 16 we decided to take our chances. But, we also lost a 6 yr old beagle the same yr to pancreatic cancer of all things. Not b/c of health problems, but b/c beagles can be challenging (to put it nicely), we didn’t get another beagle. But, now we also have a golden retriever puppy. He’s 6 mos! We had goldens before the beagle so we knew that was a breed we liked. But, I agree, he will never come to WDW!! How old is yours?

 

[nighttowll]

Yes, but would you take your dog to Disney World. I would love to hear from someone who is planning on taking their dog and why. What their strategy is for enjoying the parks while their dog is left at the resort. It sounds like a nightmare planning the parks around a dogs potty breaks or worrying they are going to bark while your gone. Maybe someone can convince me otherwise.

We have taken our dog on trips to Orlando before, but we always try to get a house with a fenced backyard if we do bring the dog. He tends to bark if he gets scared, so I don’t feel comfortable leaving him alone in a hotel room all day if he may bark at all and disturb others. We do stay in dog friendly hotels with him for short overnight stops which has never been an issue.

We have taken him on many trips to different parts of the US. We have stayed with him in many different hotels. He is a well behaved house dog and doesn’t bark if we are with him. He is used to easily holding it for 8 to 12 hours during the day if we are all at work, so potty breaks aren’t an issue. He likes riding in the car and enjoys coming with us. Since he is used to being home alone during the day for some amount of time while we work, being alone while we go to a park or something isn’t really any different for him.

We have a collapsible dog playpen we use when we travel. He loves it. It is his safe familiar place. We put his bed, food and water, toys, and a potty pad in it for him. He has room to run around and play some, and if he has an accident it is confined to the pen (which has a detachable bottom part). If we leave him alone, this is where he stays. This way we don’t have to keep him kenneled up in a small space for long hours, but aren’t letting him have free range of a hotel or someone’s house either.

It really isn’t the huge deal people are making it out to be. We walk him in the morning, bathroom break in designated area, clean up afterwards. Give him food and water, put him in his playpen and head out the door. Come back at night, walk him again, play with him. Pretty much the same schedule we do at home before and after work.

If we have days we don’t go anywhere, he gets to run free. We also try to plan a few dog friendly activities one or two days like going to a dog beach or some other dog friendly place, so he doesn’t have to be alone for days on end. He isn’t alone all 5 work days a week at home, so we try not to leave him alone more than he normally is. If we have a large group on different schedules, it makes it even easier, as it seems like someone is usually with him in the house or hotel at most all times.

My biggest worry taking him to Florida is that something is going to eat him.

If he didn’t get scared of noises so easily, we could very easily leave him in a Disney hotel with no concerns. I can see how others with quiet well trained dogs, would have few issues as well.

We don’t bring him because we see him as our child as others have implied might be the case. We usually bring him because we have no other option. I usually get family or neighbors to keep him, but sometimes no one is available, so he has to come. I refuse to kennel him. The ones near us are not very good, and I don’t feel confining him to a tiny space day after day is ok. He also tends to freak out if you try to leave him with strangers or in a strange place he isn’t familiar with. If he is going to be stuck confined somewhere no matter what, I’d rather it be in his playpen where he feels comfortable with me taking care of him, then with some stranger he’s afraid of in a strange tiny kennel, let out only a few hours a day. That just seems like a much worse option to me.

 

[LSUmiss]

We have taken our dog on trips to Orlando before, but we always try to get a house with a fenced backyard if we do bring the dog. He tends to bark if he gets scared, so I don’t feel comfortable leaving him alone in a hotel room all day if he may bark at all and disturb others. We do stay in dog friendly hotels with him for short overnight stops which has never been an issue.

We have taken him on many trips to different parts of the US. We have stayed with him in many different hotels. He is a well behaved house dog and doesn’t bark if we are with him. He is used to easily holding it for 8 to 12 hours during the day if we are all at work, so potty breaks aren’t an issue. He likes riding in the car and enjoys coming with us. Since he is used to being home alone during the day for some amount of time while we work, being alone while we go to a park or something isn’t really any different for him.

We have a collapsible dog playpen we use when we travel. He loves it. It is his safe familiar place. We put his bed, food and water, toys, and a potty pad in it for him. He has room to run around and play some, and if he has an accident it is confined to the pen (which has a detachable bottom part). If we leave him alone, this is where he stays. This way we don’t have to keep him kenneled up in a small space for long hours, but aren’t letting him have free range of a hotel or someone’s house either.

It really isn’t the huge deal people are making it out to be. We walk him in the morning, bathroom break in designated area, clean up afterwards. Give him food and water, put him in his playpen and head out the door. Come back at night, walk him again, play with him. Pretty much the same schedule we do at home before and after work.

If we have days we don’t go anywhere, he gets to run free. We also try to plan a few dog friendly activities one or two days like going to a dog beach or some other dog friendly place, so he doesn’t have to be alone for days on end. He isn’t alone all 5 work days a week at home, so we try not to leave him alone more than he normally is. If we have a large group on different schedules, it makes it even easier, as it seems like someone is usually with him in the house or hotel at most all times.

My biggest worry taking him to Florida is that something is going to eat him.

If he didn’t get scared of noises so easily, we could very easily leave him in a Disney hotel with no concerns. I can see how others with quiet well trained dogs, would have few issues as well.

We don’t bring him because we see him as our child as others have implied might be the case. We usually bring him because we have no other option. I usually get family or neighbors to keep him, but sometimes no one is available, so he has to come. I refuse to kennel him. The ones near us are not very good, and I don’t feel confining him to a tiny space day after day is ok. He also tends to freak out if you try to leave him with strangers or in a strange place he isn’t familiar with. If he is going to be stuck confined somewhere no matter what, I’d rather it be in his playpen where he feels comfortable with me taking care of him, then with some stranger he’s afraid of in a strange tiny kennel, let out only a few hours a day. That just seems like a much worse option to me.

I think you make a good point with saying that’s it’s not the huge deal ppl make it out to be. If you’re the type to make sacrifices for your dogs on a daily basis, then it’s really no different. My entire life pretty much revolves around caring for my DS & dogs so there is no difference for me. I don’t need to take my current dogs, but if that changed I definitely would & would make whatever sacrifices needed to do that successfully.

 

[nighttowll]

I think you make a good point with saying that’s it’s not the huge deal ppl make it out to be. If you’re the type to make sacrifices for your dogs on a daily basis, then it’s really no different. My entire life pretty much revolves around caring for my DS & dogs so there is no difference for me. I don’t need to take my current dogs, but if that changed I definitely would & would make whatever sacrifices needed to do that successfully.

Exactly. I mean of course, having no dog is easier. The same as having no kids or no husband on the trip is easier. Anytime you have one less thing to pack for and babysit, it is easier.

But overall, I’m not doing anything differently than what I’d do if we were at home. Also, people seem to think the dog is alone more because you are leaving them in a room somewhere. But we’ve found we are able to spend more time with our dog on a trip then we do when we are all at home. I work long hours, pretty much some amount of overtime everyday, so the dog usually gets let out earlier on vacation then he would waiting for me to come home at night.

I just don’t see how leaving him alone in a kennel somewhere is supposed to be so much better than leaving him alone in a house or a hotel. At least he gets to be with me at night this way. In a kennel, he’s alone 24/7.

Now, when we lived in Houston years ago, there was a “kennel” service that matched your pet to a home stay family. Kind of like a foster family for pets. They had to go through a selection process to be part of the program and were trained to handle animals. Then the company worked hard to match the right family to the right pet depending on the needs and personality of the pet. This option worked well for our old beagle. He was very friendly, full of energy, lived to play, and got along with everyone. He was perfectly happy being left with a strange family for a week. They had two kids who gave him lots of attention. He was in heaven. I could see how that is a better option, but I’ve never seen another program like this since.

 

[cruiser21]

Exactly. I mean of course, having no dog is easier. The same as having no kids or no husband on the trip is easier. Anytime you have one less thing to pack for and babysit, it is easier.

But overall, I’m not doing anything differently than what I’d do if we were at home. Also, people seem to think the dog is alone more because you are leaving them in a room somewhere. But we’ve found we are able to spend more time with our dog on a trip then we do when we are all at home. I work long hours, pretty much some amount of overtime everyday, so the dog usually gets let out earlier on vacation then he would waiting for me to come home at night.

I just don’t see how leaving him alone in a kennel somewhere is supposed to be so much better than leaving him alone in a house or a hotel. At least he gets to be with me at night this way. In a kennel, he’s alone 24/7.

Now, when we lived in Houston years ago, there was a “kennel” service that matched your pet to a home stay family. Kind of like a foster family for pets. They had to go through a selection process to be part of the program and were trained to handle animals. Then the company worked hard to match the right family to the right pet depending on the needs and personality of the pet. This option worked well for our old beagle. He was very friendly, full of energy, lived to play, and got along with everyone. He was perfectly happy being left with a strange family for a week. They had two kids who gave him lots of attention. He was in heaven. I could see how that is a better option, but I’ve never seen another program like this since.

Some of the dog hotels now a days are actually pretty nice. They get a lot of social time with other dogs. Our primary choice of vacation is cruising. We always fly and we like to take cruises in Europe. Taking our dog is not an option for us. We found a good dog hotel. He's been a regular there since we got him. The staff love him and he's well taken care of. The best option for me would be not having a dog, but we found this dog out in the desert and the kids fell in love with him. I can't see having another dog after this it adds so much to the cost of a vacation.

I sometimes wonder if Disney is allowing this because it's another way for them to make money. 75.00 bucks a night is a lot for a dog.

 

[BraveLittleToaster2]

Are all disney resorts now pet friendly? We are planning a stay at Kidani, wondering if pets will be allowed there or not because of the wildlife involved at the resort.

 

[dansdad]

Are all disney resorts now pet friendly?

No. Only Art of Animation, Port Orleans Riverside, Yacht Club and Ft. Wilderness.

 

[millie]

Yes, but would you take your dog to Disney World. I would love to hear from someone who is planning on taking their dog and why. What their strategy is for enjoying the parks while their dog is left at the resort. It sounds like a nightmare planning the parks around a dogs potty breaks or worrying they are going to bark while your gone. Maybe someone can convince me otherwise.

We are bringing our dog and booked this trip specifically because of the new policy. We spend a lot of time with our dog and know that it will be a fun trip for all of us. Driving from Philadelphia with 2 nights at dog friendly hotels, en route. Will spend some time at the beach in South Carolina and Daytona Beach. We are booked at Fort Wilderness cabins and Penny is booked for doggie day care.

Our plan is to take her to day care every morning and then pick her up around dinner time. There will be 3 adults on the trip so every evening one of us will stay in the cabin with Penny and the other 2 will go back out for a few hours.

We have been to Disney many times so and are generally early risers and early to bed so this plan will work well for us. I have booked lunches instead of dinners and other activities during the day. Our son works at a doggie day car and Penny goes with him a couple of times a week and loves “to play with the doggies” so we know she will be happy and tired at the end of each day.

We took our previous dog to stay at Universal two times a few years ago and went on a dolphin watching cruise in St. Augustine and a ghost tour in Charleston on the way down. We have socialized our dogs to be around people and activity and we all love it. We wouldn’t put our dog in a situation where she wouldn’t be happy.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

We stayed BC. I will say, it was a surprise seeing so many dogs walking around. I forgot for a moment and was really confused. None were a problem during our recent stay. I think the main question is—do you really wanna keep your dog cooped up in a room all day while you tour the parks?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Are all disney resorts now pet friendly? We are planning a stay at Kidani, wondering if pets will be allowed there or not because of the wildlife involved at the resort.

None of the DVC resorts are pet friendly at this time.