Kennel experiences?

[DoeWDW]

The good news....we're headed to WDW! The bad news...we have to put our beloved mini doxie in a kennel for 2 and a half weeks while we're gone. She has always stayed with family or friends but that's not possible this time, so we found a kennel that has a good reputation and is used by others that we know.

Why is it so hard for me to think of putting her in a kennel? I know she will be fed, sheltered and get her exercise. She'll have her own indoor/outdoor run. However, the indoor part is concrete and the outdoor part looks like crushed stone. It doesn't look very homey but it was very clean. Is this how most kennels are?

Has anyone had good or bad kennel experiences??

 

[peg2001]

We had good experiences boarding our miniature dachshund. Like you, we asked around to recommendations from friends and went to visit the kennel. It was very similar to the set-up you described. The folks running the place were very nice and answered all of our questions.

I think your dog will be fine. Our dog did have a few scruff marks around his muzzle, I suspect he was trying to get as close as possible to his neighbors for a sniff fest.

Good luck.
Peggy

 

[thinkerbell]

Have you checked around to see if there is anyone who will come to your home to take care of the dog? We have a lady that does this for a business in our town. She comes over, feeds our cat, fish, and bird and spends some time with the bird and cat so they get some human interaction while we are gone. We have found it to be pretty reasonable, not much more than a kennel and they get to stay at home.

 

[DoeWDW]

thinkerbell, thanks for the idea! I have some friends that do this but their dog is older and sleeps almost all the time. My mini doxie is not quite 2 years old and she REALLY needs people and/or animals around or she gets very anxious. If it were for just a long weekend, maybe she'd be okay but I thought 17 days would be too much for her.

peg2001, our little hounds just LOVE to sniff, don't they! Thanks for the encouraging words!

 

[TEENEE]

I think we all worry about putting our dogs in a kennel but I don't think we should. Sounds like you've done your homework and have found a good kennel. The one we use lets us bring some of the dogs personal belongings, like toys, blanket etc. I think your pooch will be fine.

 

[katerkat]

Take a shirt or blanket or something that smells like you! And some other comforts from home.
I really hated the one time I had to kennel my boys, but I think they enjoyed the new place and getting spoiled by someone new. And they had their beds and toys, and if they ever missed us, they had a shirt of mine and a sock of DH's.

 

[cgcw]

We had a not so pleasant experience with a kennel. Our American Eskimo came home with fleas. We have a terrible time overcoming them -- I was pregnant at the time so we were limited as to what we could do. We were not allowed into the back area of the kennel when we took him there -- maybe that should have been a red flag but we just accepted that it was the normal procedure. The kennel was recommended by a neighbor. Never again -- I have a friend dog sit now.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

We take both of our shelties to a kennel while we vacation and have never had a problem. They do require us to show up to date vaccine records and for the dogs to have the kennel cough vaccine. This makes me feel better knowing all the dogs are protected.

We also take the dogs regular food. They come home hoarse from all the good barking time they get in. When we arrive, they never pull back, like at the vet, but go in willfully. So, it must not be too bad.

 

[LindaR]

I had a bad experience 2 weeks ago at a kennel we (boss and I) have used for over 6 years.

I have 3 dogs. Large mutt and german shepherd share a large kennel because they spend ALL their time together. Toy poodle stays in a small run by herself. The owner was not there when we dropped off our dogs. A friend was filling in for her.

When we came back from WDW all 3 dogs were extremely stressed out and had temporary behavior problems. Kennel owner said she thought it was strange that I didn't want the large ones exercised.

OMG! They were in a cage for 1.5 weeks without exercise!!!

The person who was filling in made quite a few errors. I am not comfortable doing this again.

Lesson: Always call and check, double-check, and re-check on your pets.

 

[Gette88]

We never had a problem leaving our Cocker Spaniel in a kennel. We did however feel guilty and we cried. Atleast me & DD cried. We even paid for pizza nite so he wouldn't feel left out. Afterwards we joked saying we really paid for pizza nite for the employees not our dog. Who knows. He may of had pizza, he may of had crust, he may of had his dogfood. It doesn't matter because it made us feel good at the time. Treating him to the doggie pizza party. We did pass on the pool time.

 

[pumba]

I cried......but this place was approved by our vet even.......they went out in the play area and played with the dogs during a certain time too.......and Jasmine was our baby and of course I had her crying and missing us ....

 

[Sal]

We have the most spoiled, fat Cocker Spaniel alive. She sleeps in our bed. She loves to run loose in the yard with us, but if we are not outside, she just steps out the door to potty and wants right back in. We are sure she thinks she is a people. None of our friends or family want to keep her while we vacation because, for some odd reason, they do not want a dog in their bed.

We put her in a kennel for 10 days while we went to WDW. I figured when we picked her up, they would ask us never to bring her again. Not a chance! They said she was good as gold. Since then, we have used another kennel several times and she does great! The only time someone watched her in our home for us, she chewed through a sofa cushion.

As long as your checked out the kennel, I would NOT worry. She will do great and you will have such a great trip!

The advice about vacinations is good. One year, we drove around like crazy trying to locate the vaccine for kennel cough before the kennel would take her.