If you have a dog....

[Amapola]

My parents live above us (two-family home), so our spoiled-rotten 12 y/o terrier mix aw: spends the day there while we're at work, and of course moves in when we travel, which is several times a year. Even though she's totally used to staying there, has her own bed, bowls, etc., she still misses us a lot and is always listening for us when it's our usual time to come home. When we get back from trips she goes bonkers!

 

[Keebles]

I boarded my kids last time and they both came home with the flu. It took almost a week to get them straightened out...numerous trips back and forth to the vet for shots and medicines (luckily they didn't charge me). On my last medicine run, one of the little tech girls told me how much she loved Zander (my oldest, he's 8 now), then she proceeds to tell me how he didn't eat all week! Great! That's what I needed to hear. When all was said and done, he had lost 4lbs (he only weighs 14 to begin with). It took a few months to get him back to normal. Zachary (my baby, he'll be 5 in Oct), he's a super-chunk and he only lost 1lb (he's about 18lbs). That kid could eat during armageddon!

So, needless to say, no more vet boarding! Grandma is staying this time! Zander will be fine as long as he can "talk" to me on the phone. If I tell him to eat, he'll eat. They will be more comfortable in their own house with their own toys and it will make me feel better knowing exactly whats going on with them.

 

[ShuisFan584]

We just came back 20 minutes ago from dropping Misty (our golden retriever) and Choggy (our rabbit) off at my grandparents house. We're leaving tomorrow for Disney, yay! We've had Misty since 1994, and that first year we brought her to a kennel and hated it! She didn't get the attention she gets at home and it just wasn't fun for her. After that year, my dad's parents offered to take care of her. Ever since then, they've been taking our pets every year! My grandparents have a chihuahua, a cat and a guinea pig...and now for the next 10 days they have our dog and rabbit. They get treated like royalty there! My grandparents are complete animal lovers and don't work so they spend all day with them, and it's pretty much a fun vacation for our dog as well (although she hates the part where we leave). She just started her vacation today and I really miss her and the rabbit, but I'll soon be in Disney, which will make me happy again!

 

[KarenW]

I am a little nervous about leaving our babies this year. My DS18 is not going with us, so he will be responsible for taking care of them (3 dogs, 1 foster dog if I cant find him a home by then, 1 cat and a bird). This really scares me. I am leaving him a list, but who knows if he will even look at it! I am going to ask a friend to keep the bird, but the rest I will just have to pray hard for!!!!

 

[echodane99]

In the past my FIL has kept Echo (Great Dane) but he is slowing down and can't keep her any more. For our upcoming trip Echo will stay with a friend. We have kept her Dane while she was on vacation. Echo and Mahko love each other.

 

[malibuconlee]

We've always had friends or family to take care of our pug. (Where do you live? I'd keep your pug for you!!)

My brother and SIL are definitely dog people. She even spent the night at my SIL's sister's house. I'm lucky I get my dog back!!!

Dyna is very spoiled when she goes there.

Before we moved back, it was always friends who took care of her. The last time we went to WDW, we were gone 7 nights and we had two friends take her for different parts of the week. Half with a friend who had a lab. The other half to a pug-lover who "lost" his pug when he broke up with his girlfriend.

 

[MINNIEBOWSER]

I leave my pug with a pug breeder who lives fairly close by. She gets to play with this ladies 11 other pugs. She has a great time there. My llasa stays with my sister. She is my baby and I call my sister's house often while I am gone so I can talk to my dog and tell her mommy will be home soon and that I miss her.

 

[glawgirl]

Where do you leave him/her when you travel to Disney?

DH and I have a pug ug: and a lab, and are leaving the lab with a family friend, and the pug with my brother.

I am just slightly worried b/c my brother is just not an "animal" person...and my pug is my baby!!

I am sure she will be ok....was just curious what all of you do with your animals when you go to WDW?

Hi, I would def. recommend that you stay on site at Universal Studios. They have three hotels - the Portofino Bay, the Hard Rock Hotel and the Royal Pacific. We have stayed at the Portofino Bay but prefer the Hard Rock Hotel. All three of them are great and they allow you to bring your pets with you. My DH and I always stay there with out American Eskimo Dante. If your dog is not a big barker you can leave him in your room while you go to the parks. My dog doesn't bark so we leave him there with his blanket and his toys and he just naps and watches tv. Yes, he watches tv. Anyway, the hotel provides a place mat and water and food bowls and treats for your pet. They also have a special room service menu with great stuff that you can order for your cat or dog. The staff at the Hard Rock is really pet friendly and they all go out of their way to make your pet feel welcome.

 

[WHIT1]

i'm sure this is what our daughter thinks when she has to go stay at biggie brothers house. he doesn't spoil her like we do. no one does. she will have her own room and bed like at home but nothing more. but she does get to see her cousins taz the cat and banditta the ferret. as for the vet they cringe when i walk in the door with her. they call her the intimidator can't figure out why when we bring the suitcases out next month she knows this will be trouble and its boot camp time. the week before we tell her everyday she will be staying at biggie brothers for a week and that we will be back. only thing she sticks to us like glue like a hemaroid. i do get anxiety about going but once i get to disney everything will be ok.

 

[travelgoddess]

That stays at our home when we travel. I don't book anything until I know she is availible. She spoils our dogs as much as we do.

 

[chiconh]

We take Freckles, our beagle, to my mother-in-law's. She watches him whenever we are gone. He loves it and plays with her dog. Much better than a kennel and never stressed when we come home.

 

[AnninIowa]

My precious baby pug Max stays at the vet...since he needs a lot of attention and is prone to medical problems as most pugs are, I feel much safer knowing he is at the vets. Plus, they love him and spoil him, and he actually LOVES it there!!

 

[tink_n_pooh]

Champ ug: is going to be staying home with DBF parents. He is a 4 month old boxer, I wouldn't want to leave him at the doggy hotel at the vet's just yet but I'm sure he will be staying there on future family trips. Our vets office is an emergency hospital, its open 24 hours a day and they have a hotel there, I think you can even view the dogs on the internet if you miss them a little too much.

 

[justmitype]

I'm vacationing at Disney right now and boy did I understand how you feel about your pug! We have 2 pugs, who are the loves of our lives. We leave them boarded with our Vet, but I really, really hate it. They are always fine and well taken care of. I miss them so much and it's the worst part about going away from home.

 

[twoeeyy]

our Katy goes to my parents house.
I own a business on their property so she comes with me to work everyday, plus we have the invisible fence there so she is right at home. They even let her sleep with them !!!!!

 

[Aliki]

Since we travel quite often, our Border Collie Kade frequently stays at in-law's house. They also have a dog, and that dog frequently goes on "holidays" to our house where we pamper him and spoil him rotten!

 

[Muffy]

We leave our dog at a local kennel. He likes it there and is well taken care of with 2 walks daily. I think it is important to find a kennel you are comfortable with. They are not all the same...

 

[TiggerStac]

This is definately a board of pug families!!

We have 3 dogs, 1 black lab, 1 black lab border collie mix and our newest rescue a pug!!

We leave our pugs at the doggie spa, with the woman who helped me rescue my pug. She is part of an organization that does pug rescues, she has her own and fosters them as well. She had worked for a kennel that I went to, but then decided to open her own. When I found this out, I went to her new kennel...most of the times my dogs end up staying in the house with her and her pugs. ug: ug: ug:

 

[qtwns]

Our "Aimee",is a 3 yo Boxer/Pitt mix and she's VERY spoiled. Last mini trip we took,we left her at our home,and our neighbore came over 3 times a day,to feed her,and take her out. She was a wreck by the time we got home! Our neighbore did EVERYTHING right,but poor Aimee,thought we abandon her. Never again. Next trip,she'll go to the kennel,where she can be w/ other dogs,and there are people constantly around her. Poor thing had an upset stomach,and followed me around for 2 weeks after we got back.It was a tough lesson learned.She definetly had seperation anxiety.

A little off topic, but we have a precious year old female we adopted that could be a boxer/pitt (or boxer/pointer, or pitt/pointer or whatever else was walking down the street that day...) I'd love to see a picture of your dog to see if ours even remotely looks like yours.

We left our 2 dogs with friends. The dogs know them, they have a big fenced yard, kids, and they had a blast! My friend even called us one night to tell us how much fun everyone was having. We were lucky this worked out so well.

 

[AnninIowa]

We should have named this thread "How do you COPE with leaving your dog while you go to WDW?"!! When we went to Hawaii last year, I cried the entire night before leaving because I already missed my pug Max so much (he was staying at the vets AND being neutered while we were gone...the guilt!!). The second we got to the hotel - mind you this is after traveling through 7 time zones in 10 hours) the first thing I did was call the vet to check on him! We actually ended up cutting the trip 3 days short...and a big part of it was because I wanted to get home to him. I'm hoping now that he is older - 17 months when we go to WDW - it will be a little easier. However, I'm sure I'll have to buy him tons of toys at that new pet shop to make it up to him!!!