Pets and vacation

[samshane]

If you own pets, what do you do with them while on vacation (at Disney or another location)?

We used to kennel - by my 10yr old dog has huge issues with the kennel. She refuses to eat when there and literally becomes depressed (she is my DH's "baby" we have had her since she was a puppy). So we discovered a great in-home pet sitting service. So the whole crew gets to stay here while someone comes to the house... they are licensed and bonded and they sleep here overnight. We have used them for 2 yrs now with great results. And Honey (the dog with the issues) is totally happy.

We tried a friend once and that failed miserably... the person skipped coming days (thankfully we just had cats when they did this - the cats had plenty of food and water when they missed a couple days, and the trip was short). It was a disaster - never again will I trust a friend to do that. If I am paying someone and they send me daily updates, then I know it is being taken care of.

 

[puffkin]

My Dad or my brother take my dog. Secretly I think he prefers being with them than us anyways....he is always a bit depressed for a few days when we come home

We pay the neighbor boy to take care of the cats. I leave him very specific instructions. His parents are very involved in this as he is rather young, but they think it is great to teach him responsibilty, etc. Plus, they have always had dogs, but just adore our cats (who act more like dogs than cats). They will come over just to play with them some nights, even if they don't have to. We are usually gone 8 days and pay him $50 to scoop the box daily, leave fresh water and dry food, and give them wet food once a day. He also brings in the mail/paper. Not a lot of money, but for a 11 year old it is a lot and he does a great job and gives me piece of mind.

 

[james'mommy]

We use a kennel. The dogs love it. As soon as we get near there they start freaking out. They run right in and try to go straight back to the runs, without even saying goodbye. My boxer used to have problems with eating. She lost 10 pounds when we took a 2 week vacation to Europe. Eventually she gets over it and eats.

 

[Goofy'slady]

Mostly we use my adult niece who is just a few years younger than I am so she's more like my younger sister. However, we feel bad asking her all the time because we travel quite a bit for a family of four - this year alone we've used her 6 times. She's only 26 and is single and we don't think it's fair to have her feel like she's got to stay with the dog so much instead of out with her friends and so forth.

So for our New Year's trip this year we've decided to use a Kennel and see how that goes. All goes well we'll use it again in Feb when we go skiing. However, in April we'll probably ask my niece again when we go to Disney only because we'll be gone for 2 weeks and the Kennel cost will kill us. My mom will also drop by from time to time to check on our dog during the day while my niece works and to let our Cup-Cup so a familiar face - she does loves her gam-ma.

T.

 

[bas71873]

My Dad or my brother take my dog. Secretly I think he prefers being with them than us anyways....he is always a bit depressed for a few days when we come home

My dog too. I pretty much know Scarlett loved PapPap more than us. She LIVES to sit by his leg anytime he's eating and funny enough, she never does that to us here at home because she knows it gets her nowhere!

 

[WantToGoNow]

My dd25's best friend will be coming by on her way to work and on her way home to take out our dog and play with him (and also clean up after him as he's not used to being alone all day). She will also feed the hampsters if needed but I plan to leave them enough food and water that they will be fine. We will offer her payment as well as bring back some "stuff" from WDW - she collects shot glasses.

 

[pixiewings71]

We have a trusted kennel that we use sometimes. Other times (like our next 3 trips) we use a family friend. I have known this young lady for years, she's DD21s BFF, since they were 9 they've been BFFs. So Ashlee comes and stays at our house while we are gone. We either give her cash or we give her some Thank You gifts, she says she doesn't want our money but we would feel bad if we didn't leave her something.

 

[Zookeeperof4]

This trip we will be taking our two dogs to a boarder. We have done this once before with our first dog and she did fine. Its not tpo expensive where we take them and its easier than thinking one of our friends will help. And my mom will have to check on my cat....GASP....its not like I am asking her to clean out the litter box but she hates cats....should be interesting

 

[dizneechic]

We only have 3 hermit crabs so they are much easier to deal with than your typical furry friends. Ours will either be spending the week with one of my ds's friends, or my mom will swing by a few times to change their food/water.

 

[Momma2dakidz]

I hire a local college kid to take care of my crew. Its not an easy job at all! I have 5 special needs dogs. some days its easy peasy money then the other days when bridget seizes and makes tons of messes its grueling and he earns every bit of the money. I pay him what i would pay a kennel. 15 a dog a day, minimum of $50 a day. He stays here to do his homework, and sleep. Other than that i dont care what he does, he could even have a party, as long as my dogs are taken care of and the house is clean its all peachy with me. Now i will say i know his mom well, he is a high honors student and all about the school work rather than the parties. He was warned last time though that if he does a repeat of last sitting job he will be fired. (he played with the 2 puppies so much that he failed a test!!!!!)

My recomendation, look into someone with show or therapy dogs and see if they can recomend someone, chances are someone will know someone absolutely wonderfull!

oh and sometimes when i just need a break from my high needs dog i take her to her aunt janets.....its an in home boarding facility that only takes in 1-2 dogs at a time and treats them like her own. for that i pay $20 a day and dont have to worry an ounce.

 

[peemagg]

I have a friend from work who is single that we hire to come in and stay with my two "fur babies". She spoils them unmercfully. It has even turned into a second job for her, since she now has others who have her come and sit for them.

If we are only going away for a weekend they go to one of their "aunts" houses to stay. Again spoiled horribly.

 

[Swmr359]

We used to have a neighboor kid take care of the dogs,but they are growing up and are too busy. So this year we discovered PetsMart boarding. Our dog loves it. She gets to play all day, and there is a human in the building 24hrs a day (one of our fears was putting her somewhere where there was no human at night and then something horrible happening to the building). Our dog loves interaction and wouldn't do well in a typical boarding facility, where the dogs stay in the run all day and are let out only to do their business.

 

[MinnieVanMom]

I ask my neighbor to either take my horse or come over and feed. Usually they just have me walk her down to their place so they can feed all the stock at once.

 

[RSADP]

We used to have a neighboor kid take care of the dogs,but they are growing up and are too busy. So this year we discovered PetsMart boarding. Our dog loves it. She gets to play all day, and there is a human in the building 24hrs a day (one of our fears was putting her somewhere where there was no human at night and then something horrible happening to the building). Our dog loves interaction and wouldn't do well in a typical boarding facility, where the dogs stay in the run all day and are let out only to do their business.

PetsHotel @ PetSmart is the way to go! It's really nice and homey. You can even schedule them to groom your baby the day of pick up. They take them on as many potty walks as needed...but I like to put mine in day camp (where she gets to play with the other dogs) a couple time. I even take her to day camp a few times a month. She loves it!! There is ALWAYS a human there and there is always a vet on call. Worth every penny for you knowing your furbaby will get the best care!

 

[henry72]

We use a neighbor - usually our next door neighbor who does animals rescues. She is very reliable. My parents hire a pet sitter to come in twice a day for their cats. I have never kenneled any of my animals. If a neighbor was unreliable, I would look into a pet sitter. My MIL actually owns her own pet sitting service.

 

[terri01p]

We also have a dog that we dearly love and he will not eat or drink whenever we leave the house, not only that but he will sit at the window and watch for us until our return.
So we have a travel trailer that we use for travel so we can take him with us. We went to WDW in April and stayed at FW, and he waited by the window for us until our return everyday, so we spent 4 hours and would go back and check on him, he was always fine but at the window watching for us, he wouldn't even chew a bone or eat his treats until our return.
I would love to stay at the Poly one time but it will never happen right now, we just can't bare to leave him behind.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Last year we took our dog with us to WDW and Hilton Head.

It worked out great! The first week he stayed at Animal Kingdom kennel because we waited too late and all the full service WDW kennels were booked solid. We had to walk him twice a day, but it was really a nice time for DS and I to spend together (his dog) AK was very clean, very nice staff and the dog seemed to enjoy it. Would definitely return.

2nd week we drove to HHI and we used a kennel. Again great experience and they gave him an exit bath and Capstar before and after (flea pill).

He did much better seeing us than he did this past summer when we went on the cruise and kennelled him for 2 weeks. He acted out something fierce and they would not groom him because he was snappy

Back to WDW this holiday and already have reservations at Fort Wilderness! We drive so it's nice to take him with us and we can visit him.

 

[tinkerfan1]

On our upcoming trip, we are using a kennel which will have a large indoor/outdoor run both of our dogs can share. I am hoping that they we will happy. We have never kennelled them before. I have always had a friend keep one and had our neighbor watch the other one. However, this year the friend has to go out of town. We didn't want to kennel just the one and hoped that by kennelling them together, this would help. It's certainly more expensive but I hope it works out. I'm going to worry about them. The one pooch sleeps on our bed every night!!! Poor thing! At least he'll have his buddy.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We take our 2 bunnies to my parent's house when we leave town. We put their cages right next to the kitchen table and my dad sits there and talks to them and slips them veggies treats which keeps them happy. Bunnies don't like to travel and they get a little freaked out when we first get there. They are sensitive to new sounds and smells and will stay on alert for a few hours. But once they realize they're at Grandma and Grandpa's house and are about to spend a week of being spoiled rotten, they relax and settle down.

 

[disykat]

We trade petsitting with a good family friend. Their dogs become part of our family when they go on vacation and they do the same for our dog. Since we both got dogs at around the same time, the dogs have known each other since they were puppies and are great friends.