What to do with my doggies???

[mommy*RN]

Well, we aren't traveling until Oct, but I am worried about two important members of our family - our doggies ! DH wants to board them, and I am freaking out. Last summer a guy I worked with boarded his Greyhound for 4 or 5 days while he went to see his mom in FL. He returned late so his wife picked the dog up in the AM. The dog was happy to see her and jumped around a bit. Later that day she called him at work frantic because the dog was having trouble breathing and wouldn't get up. Sadly the dog passed away that night . The owner thinks it was a blood clot from long periods of inactivity (and unable to wander the house like he always did at home) that caused a pulmonary embolism (clot in the lung).

I have two doggies...a mix we rescued and a peek-a-poo . They will both be 5yrs old when we depart for our vacation.

Our family is unable to help out. My dad has pet allergies and severe asthma, my MIL and SIL both have cats. My "friend", who watched our doggies in the past, has a baby. My cousin who would have been an excellent choice has her plate full with two doggies of her own. We are not really close to any of our neighbors.

Soooooo, I guess what I am looking for is reassurance that my doggies won't necessarily die when we get back from our vacation. We have been given the name of a very highly recommended kennel. Postive dog kennel stories would be a big help to ease my troubled mind...

 

[GIGI&MIMI]

We always ask our vet for recommendations and then check them out for ourselves. Ask lots of questions, how often are they feed/exercised? Check out the cleanliness and how happy the other dogs are. Our dog has a great place to go on his own "vacation". He gets to swim and play with other dogs, he doesn't want to come home. Our problem is leaving our elderly cat that's on medication. The vet may also suggest some pet sitters that are reliable and that may be less stressful for your pups and you.
Good luck!

 

[minkydog]

I have a 6yo Standard Poodle who has severe lung disease(like COPD,in a human) and a collapsing trachea. We have no family here and given his special needs I feel most comfortable boarding him with our vet. I'm sure there are places that have more space, but I know the people at this place and they know Minky. When my father died suddenly during Spring Break and you couldn't get a dog in there edge-wise, one of the vet techs took him home with her and brought him to work each day. Once we got a call while we were in Florida--Minky had a seizure. The vet hopped right on it, took care of it, and everything turned out fine; we finished our vacation secure in the knowlege that our beloved dog had the best of care.. The vet techs adore Minky and take him out for walks and play time in the yard. We have never had a bad incident!

Good luck with your pups. I know it's hard to leave them. You have time to find the right place. Don't be afraid.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Have you considered a house sitter?

 

[Going Broke]

We found ourselves having the same problems about kenneling our dog. I just started asking EVERYONE I know if they know anyone who is interested in doing this. We are also going in Oct. and I have a couple of different options to work with other than a Kennel. My advice, just start asking relatives, friends, people at church, etc...

 

[PlutoPony]

We've boarded our assorted dogs many many times over the years and they've been fine. In fact our goofy lab LOVES to go to the kennel and can hardly contain himself when we pull up the driveway . Our geriatric rescue isn't at all happy about going but has come to accept her fate.... she doesn't like all the commotion there so they let her spend time in the office with them to give her some "quiet" time. Both dogs usually spend a day or two catching up on their sleep when they get home! Get recommendations from friends (that's your best approach) and visit the places you''re considering. Inquire about their requirements for shots and documentation - you want someplace that has firm rules in this area for your pet's protection. Consider taking your dogs' food for them to eat while you're gone (as opposed to going with whatever the kennel uses) so that's one less change for them to adapt to. Also look at the options for regular exercise for your pet - most kennels have something of an "ala carte" menu for this and while you'll pay more, it might be worth it for your dogs. I've never heard of the situation like the one with the Greyhound, that would seem to be quite an exceptional case IMHO. In the end your dogs will be fine and may "appreciate" you more when you get home! Have a good trip...!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Years ago we boarded our two dogs on several occasions without any problems. They kept them together and played with them. After that we built an in-law apt so they always had my mother here with them when we went away.

We have, however, had special circumstances where it was too much for my mother, like when our elderly dog was invalid and needed help getting outside; and also when we had a 5 month old puppy. In the first case, I hired a pet sitter who came in twice a day to help the dog out and give him his medicine. In the second, our dog trainer kept her for us at her house, and we paid her daily.

I would say your dogs will be fine at a good quality kennel, but I understand your worry - not just because of the greyhound incident, but in general. There are a lot more options in many areas now, like some of these new "pet hotels" which (at a cost) cater to pets and thier owners, some even having internet hook-ups so you can see what your dogs are doing whenever you want. What about your vet's office? Sometimes the staff there wouldn't mind making some extra cash and might keep your pets for you if you ask. The way I found the pet sitter was to ask at a local vet's office, not even my own. She was a godsend.

Good luck to you, hope you can find what you need.

 

[momto2girls]

We ended up boarding our dog at a highly recommended kennel two trips ago. Our dog did okay, but not great. She seemed really depressed when we picked her up. She also seemed stressed. And she had some stomach ailment that we had to have treated at the vet's office.

On our last trip, we decided not to board her again. It stressed me out too much to know that she was miserable there. So, we paid a pet sitter to come take care of her. It worked out much better and that is what we'll continue to do in the future!

 

[KristinU]

We have a boarding kennel that we love. Our dog is a 9 year old lab, and like a couple of PPs mentioned, she gets crazy when we get to the turnoff to get to her "camp". She gets to swim and play with other dogs (if we allow it, which we do) and they hand-pick the mix of dogs that plays at any given time...now that she is older she prefers to play with the smaller dogs, apparently the big dogs get a little too crazy for my older wall flower It's a little sad because she doesn't even look back for a "goodbye" once we get there...but that's a good thing.

I tend to shy away from friends and family pet-sitting because my aunt lost our family dog when she was pet-sitting for us when I was a kid. We did find her at the pound a couple of days later, but it was a horrible experience for me. That said, we have had a pet-sitter once and it worked out just fine - so I know the pet-sitter thing is my own issue.

I'd recommend checking out several kennels and really approach it like a child's daycare: go with your gut feeling, make sure you can drop by and get a full tour, etc. Our kennel required a (complimentary) get-to-know-you daycare session before booking an actual stay, I really like that they do that. I'd also recommend doing a one or two night stay before your actual trip - so your pups know that mom and dad will return after they're there, and you'll be assured yourself and not spen the whole week worrying. Oh, and I also call sometimes during the week just to see how she's doing. Not so much anymore, but the first couple of times we left her I'd call almost every day!

Good Luck!

 

[carone0318]

We board our dog at the kennel that is at the Vet's office. I know she isn't thrilled about it, but we have to do it. She requires too much care for me to rely on someone coming and doing everything that needs to be done. She has a thyroid problem and gets medicine 2x's a day and also her eyes don't produced tears so she has drops for her eyes and also an eye oitment that needs to be applied 2x's a day, if not more if they are not looking too good. She also has bad ears, so we put oitment in her ears to keep them from getting infected. She is high maintainence, but she is my geriatric puppy and I love her dearly.

The good thing with having her board at the Vet's place, they can draw the blood that I need them to do to check her thyroid level (timing issue) and she will also get groomed by the groomer the day we pick up.

I know it's hard to send them to "doggie camp" but sometimes it is the best option.

 

[spiceycat]

Spicey was a cat not a dog. but I took him with me to WDW and boarded him (when necessary) at WDW kennels.

I had him stay at vet kennels once - bad situation - he never went back.

had a couple of pet sitters, neighbors, friends, family - but being cats (Spicey went with me) they did better on their own.

any teens live around you? some teens are great - they take it very seriously and your animal will adore them.... other teens are so-so,.... which is why you need to know who you hire.

here is a list of kennels - just put in your state, city
http://www.abka.com/abka/findAFacility/default.aspx

 

[juligrl]

We are fortunate to have a great kennel in our area. It's called the Cozy Inn Pet Resort http://www.cozyinnpetresort.com/ and I reccommend it to anybody. I have a Jack Russell Terrier who is my little sidekick - she stresses when I'm away and even she does okay at this place. There is a pool she can swim in, they take them on doggie field trips in the great outdoors. And the get tons of playtime and TLC. I take her to the one in Stahlstown since it is more rural, but both are great facilities. Even my shy little girl comes back relaxed and happy.
Perhaps you could see if there are any similar kennels in your area. They can be a bit pricey, but I'd rather know my pup is having fun than think of her being miserable when I can't take her.
Hope this helps!

 

[BobsGirl]

I have not read through all the replies so if I repeat something someone already said then I apologize..

I always stress about leaving our 2 dogs as well at the kennel. I used to leave them at a nice place in town the had lots of room for them to walk around and they could go in and out as they please but it wasn't the cleanest for my liking and they had sooo many dogs that they kept at once that there wasn't any good contact treament for my liking either with my dogs. So last summer when we had a family emergency I ended up having to board my dogs with my vet and I am so happy I did. The kennels were not as big but it is very clean and they took them out on a regular bases to play and potty. Also 1 of my dogs is very high stress and always panics when we leave him. Because they were with my vet, they were familiar with my dogs and would give him extra special attention to keep him calm and happy. Plus if anything ever happens the vet is right there to take care of my babies. She knows what is best for them. SO I would highly suggest boarding them with your vet. I do not think you could go wrong.

 

[Karrie Davis]

We only board our dogs at the kind of place where they take them out playing or for walks 3 times a day and they have good space and a dog run while inside but it is $$$$. The last ime we did it for 2 dogs and 6 days it was $400-$500. Now we just get a pet sitter. We have done both house sitter who stay(the best) or last trip we had our vets assistant come 3 times a day. The vet has alway recomended the palces and people we use. I would say go visit a few places first and see what they offer. There are SO many nice boarding placed poping up every place.

House sitters are always nice. I look for older people that I can trust. We are having a freinds sister come stay at our house for November. SHe is living with her sisters family and loves the idea of hangin out in our house anone but with our pets. We will pay her a few hundred, let her eat our food, sit in our hot tub and pick throug out 1000s of movies to watch on our big screen We have also asked some of the young adults from our Church and had great luck. If they are younger just set firm ground rules and let them know what you expect and they you will have people around keemg an eye on everything

One of my dogs is a high stress dog too.... We found great herbs that help when we travel. Before even when I would just go for a biz trip my dog would bust open his rectum and it was horible, the vet bills cost so much too. That is why we took extra care in finding anyone to care for them and we have taken the time to find what is best for our dogs and that is what worked (and some drugs )

 

[java]

I'll start with a funny dog boarding story_well at least to me. We have an English Bulldog. Hated going to a kennel. Finally we found one that he liked.Actually he LOVED going would run in. We figured they were just stuffing him with treats but whatever... Well, then the place gets raided and it turns out they were filming porns upstairs from the kennel...... so who knows if my dog is a porn star? But he sure did love that place....
Now onto our more recent kennel experiences, He has been happy and healthy and is actually a very old bulldog. Never has a problem. So if the place comes highly recommended they should be fine...But so did the porno place
My Mom has had a lot of success with dog sitters that come to your home. Perhaps you would feel better with that?

 

[Goofy_4_WDW]

We always have someone stay at our house when we are away. It's a win win situation! The dog is happy at home where she belongs, and we don't have to worry about the house because someone is here. I believe dogs are happiest in their own environment. Best of all I worry about her less because I know she is happy. That makes a better vacation for you!
good luck.

 

[donna93]

If you really don't want to put them there than did you think of giving a member of your family the keys to your house and they can come 2 or 3x a day to feed them and let them play around outside?? Its very easy and they get to be in their own house! See we have 3 dogs and we HATE leaving them because their FAMILY! But since theres 3 they can comfort eachother and stuff! My sister who lives 3 houses down watches them! We do it every vacation and we are doing it for our vacation in July! I would NEVER leave my dogs there!!

 

[arminnie]

We've boarded our assorted dogs many many times over the years and they've been fine. In fact our goofy lab LOVES to go to the kennel and can hardly contain himself when we pull up the driveway.

I've boarded dogs for over 25 years in multiple cities across the country - PA to CA and lots of places in between.

When I moved to a new city the first thing I did was check out kennels. I did not like to leave my dog in a kennel that did cage boarding - although I have at the vet when it was medically necessary.

I did not call before coming but just dropped in places that had indoor and outdoor runs with a dog door so the dog could be either in or out. Inside should have heat and a/c. Some places are more into "pampering" than others. At some I got a report card that stated exactly when the dog ate and pooped!

A good kennel should be clean and have friendly staff. It is also important that they be vigilant about vacinations. One that I used all of the time made me show proof of vacinations for every visit even if my dog had been there two weeks earlier. Also it is best if very small shy dogs are not boarded next to very large aggressive dogs. Even if there is a strong fence in between the smaller dog could be very frightened.

I've had cocker spaniels, and they hate to be left at home even if someone comes in twice a day (and they had a dog door to go outside). Mine were much happier being boarded than being lonely at home.

At the last place I used in CA (for over a decade) my dogs LOVED to go inside. Not a backward glance to me. One time the owner asked me if it was okay if his grandson took him home at night to sleep with him. They loved him so much.

 

[alloyd1170]

We lost a Great Dane when I was little after boarding him. Normally my brother either takes our dog to his house, or comes here to take care of her. But when the entire family travels, Im stuck.

I quit boarding I (at the vet and one of those really nice pet lodges) my dog after I noticed she was not eating her food, and was not getting the activity shes used to in our huge backyard. Sitting in a concrete pen with a short run wasnt enough for her. I remember the last time I went and picked her up after a short stay. She looked so sad and lethargic. She hadnt touched her food either.

I found a great pet sitter through a friend. For a little more money than what boarding costs, I had someone who was licensed, bonded and certified in pet cpr come to my home 2x a day (fed and let the dog out in the am, came back at night to feed her again and bring her in). She brought in our mail and newspaper, took care of the dog, cat, fish, watered my plants, and made sure the house was secure. Had there been an emergency, she wouldve taken the pets to the vet. Every time weve come home, our pets are happy, healthy and even spoiled. She even left us notes about what they did together (go for walks, etc).

If you can swing it, go with a pet sitter. Your pet will be happier in their normal enviroment. To cut down on cost, I sometimes had our neighbor bring the dog in a night.

alison

 

[MinMouse]

][/QUOTE]
Soooooo, I guess what I am looking for is reassurance that my doggies won't necessarily die when we get back from our vacation. We have been given the name of a very highly recommended kennel. Postive dog kennel stories would be a big help to ease my troubled mind... [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

We usually kennel our dog with our vet. She's got an inflammatory bowel disease (equivalent of Crohn's) so needs meds, special food, etc. She doesn't especially like going there . . .she's really a family dog and just mopes when we're gone . . . but we prefer it this way. We don't really feel it necessary to call and check in on her all the time as we would if friends/family are watching her/house/etc. Vet will call if they need us (which in five years they never have). I would highly recommend a vet's kennel . . . the techs knew our dog and checked on her/talked with her in addition to the kennel staff. I would recommend having your dogs spend a night or two in the next few months in preparation for your October trip. It will make your drop off for your trip easier --- you and the dogs will know what to expect. I was a basketcase the first time I dropped my baby off (and it was for a weekend trip!) I would also think that they could be kenneled together which might really be great for them. Good luck!