We are new dog owners, so we've never used kennels anywhere. I have a few (ok a lot
of questions).
How do the kennels charge? I see daycare rates and overnight rates. We're staying at AKV. Do we just pay the overnight rate for each dog? Or do we pay for overnight and daycare for each dog? Are there multi-dog discounts?
Hello! There are no multi dog discounts, and you will pay the rate if you are staying at a WDW resort. I think it is just a base price of 21.00 for day and night. That is for EACH dog.
How far in advance do you make ressies for the kennels? And what are the cancellation policies if I decide to leave them with their vet?
Depends on when you are going. I always book mine about 2-3 months in advance, and 4-5 before a major holiday weekend. The policy is just to call and cancel in a timely manner, you dont pay for it until you get there and check in.
Which kennel would be the best for us? We are staying at AKV. We'll have a car so we can get to any of them easily. We want the full service (kennel walks them twice, etc.).
Your best bet is the TTC kennel (next to the MK and Epcot monorail station). That is the full service kennel. YOu can take car, or monorail to the TTC and walk right to the kennel.
We have a 5 year old rescue Malti-Tzu (11 pounds) and a 1 yr old Maltese (5 pounds). Would they be kenneled together or separately? If I requested they be together, but they needed to be separated, would the staff do that? Sometimes the older one can get snippy with the younger one and I'm not sure how kennel stress would effect them.
You can request a bigger "suite" for them if you want to keep them together. And just tell the staff to please keep an eye on their behavior and if they are bickering or whatever, if they can move one of them to another suite if they have one available.
And should we really be thinking about taking them with us? Or should we just find a kennel close to home? Facts to consider in your advice--Our car trip will be 9 hours each way so we can drive to Orlando and won't need to stop at a hotel along the way. The longest trip they've been on is 5 1/2 hours. They did fine; we stopped along the way at dog walks.
We want to take them because Malteses really bond to their people; don't know how they'd react if they didn't see us for a week.
Well, that is debateable really. IT really depends on what kind of services are available at your local kennels. Kenneling dogs are STRESSFUL no matter where you put them, remember that. But I know that some peoples circumstances are different. Like me and DH's situation...We have 2 vets in town and they have SUPER SMALL kennels and only ONE time will the employees walk the dogs. And on weekends, they could care less about going and walking dogs. Secondly, I have NO ONE i can trust in my home to care for my dogs. (my sister when she is available is all). My dogs have to be left inside when it rains or is super cold or super hot, so they need to be let out frequently and then at nite, they sleep inside the house (I know, they are spoiled!!) So, getting anyone to watch my dogs is a hassle. I did have one "friend" of mine watch them once, and her hethen kids ended up spilling chocolate on my new furniture, scratching my new tables, spilling RED kool aid on my new LIGHT BEIGE carpet and just totally destroying my house and one kid hit my little 4 pound yorkie in the head on purpose!! So no way in heck will she ever watch my dogs again and to boot i even paid her WELL for 3 days. So when we have to take our 3 boys, we do. They are MUCH better at home in their own environment I know, but when we take them, we go to the kennels about 5 times a day to walk them. (My oldest Pom DOES not do well with other people, so we HAVE to walk him!) SO ideally, if you could get someone YOU TRUST that could come to your house to pet sit, that would be best. Of course we all know that! But, if not and you have to take them, just make them as comfy as possible in their new environment. Bring something from home that they love and toys, etc. ALot of folks will tell you things like "why do you take your pets on vacation, and I would never kennel them...etc etc...but some folks situations are not ideal and you have to do what you have to do for your animals no matter what. So, (MAN, IM LONGWINDED! lol) just do what you have to do to make sure your dogs are safe, loved and well taken care of.
Our first long car trip, we knew where all the dogwalks were in advance. We travel that way often. I don't know where they are from ATL to ORL except at Priesters. Any advice how to locate them while we drive down? How do we locate
a hotel that takes dogs along the way just in case?
We drive from Southeast ALabama to Orlando and its a 6 hour drive.....all rest areas have a dog walking area, most stores or gas stations have grassy areas that you can walk them. You can google map the stops I believe. I really dont worry about where I walk my dogs, (I clean up their messes) UNLESS there is a sign that says NO PETS. Then I go elsewhere. If there are NO SIGNS, then I walk them. ANd Im courteous and clean my mess up and I stay away from cars, traffic, etc. Walking dogs will not hurt anything. 
So just go and walk them whereever (unless there is a no pets sign! LOL). And dont forget, all MOTEL 6 will let you have your dogs!
Any other advice for car trips?
My boys love car trips, but my middle Pom Max gets really queasy, so I take those puppy pads and spread them in the back of the blazer in case they have an accident. I always take their milkbones, and easy treats to give them. Also, I get those Rubbermaid containers for their water drinking while on the road. Open it up, let em drink, and close it again! Easy. I also let them lay on their own beds from home and we stop about every 2 hours and walk them to let em stretch their legs.
Love all the info above from bamatigger. Believe it or not (considering the length of this post
), it really answered a LOT of my questions.
but it is better to know now, than be surprised at the last moment.
That was cute! 
. Take extra blankets/potty pads just in case and you can even give your dog a bath there. I always take those disposable dog wipes with me in case my boys have an accident or whatever.
