Who else hates putting their dogs in kennels??

[pooky_uk]

Hi all - took Freddy n Jess (our 2 MAD Jack Russells) up the vets today for their kennel cough nose squirty thing (they hate it!)....and just makes me feel like a bad mummy sending them to kennels for 2 weeks! (and the thought of the cost!).....

I absolutely hate leaving them there.......*sniff*....and in February too......hope they get extra blankets!

My neices are housesitting for us....to look after the 4 cats, 1 HUGE french lop rabbit and the fish in the pond.....the 2 dogs on top of that would have been too much for them.....

Actually, we usually have to board all the animals when we go away and costs us a small fortune so we are so lucky that Carly (23) and Charlotte (19) have volunteered to house sit .....OK, now having nightmares about the parties, phone bill etc....hmmm.......I'm sure they'll be good (?!) Nah, they're good girls and my sisters & Mum will keep a keen eye on them!

Will have to plan lots of long walks across the moors when we are back so the dogs forgive us for leaving them for 2 weeks! (we have only ever boarded them for 6 days before).......

 

[Ware Bears]

I can sympathise with you totally, pooky, I just booked our two dogs in to their kennels today for 11 days in August and 10 days at ChristmasI feel REALLY bad about the Christmas one).

Ours have to have the kennel cough thing too and as soon as they've been squirted they know the suitcases will be coming down from the loft!

Our kennels are fantastic and the dogs love going in there, never had a problem with them being upset at being left there but I still always feel guilty! You're lucky that your nieces are able to stay to look after the rest of your animals, my mum has offered to stay to look after ours but she is quite elderly and doesn't drive, so if either of them was ill, she'd be a bit stuck. I just feel happier knowing they are safe and well looked after (can you hear I'm desperately trying to convince myself here!!!lol)

Bet you're getting really excited about your holiday! only 25 days to go!

Elaine

 

[pooky_uk]

Ware bears - too say I am excited is an understatement!!! I keep getting that feeling in my tummy when you go on a roller coaster...it's mad!!

The kennels the dogs go too are really good too.....although Feddy does get kennel proud and growls and the ppl when they come to get him for his walk - he soons warms to them though!

Luckily my sisters and mum all live in the same area as me so they will be close on hand for our 2 house sitters ...hmm....gonna have to stock the fridge up etc. before we go! LOL

 

[KayleeUK]

I hate putting my cats in the cattery - I feel very guilty

 

[Goofyish]

We put our Barney into kennels for the first time last October. We were very apprehensive about it and took him to a kennels that was recommended by a friend at work. They insist that all vaccinations including kennel cough are up to date etc.

When we took Barney to get his kennel cough vaccine I had to hold his head while the vet squirted it up his nose - I thiink he miss-aimed a bit and I got most of it LOL At least I won't get kennel cough

We were worried how he would be when we came home, after hearing stories that dogs' personalities changed after being kennelled. But when we picked him up he seemed fine. Almost as if we hadn't been away!

 

[florida sun]

I have a small Yorkshire terrier called Spike who has be going to the kennels for 2 weeks a year every year for the last 7 years and he absoultly loves it. So much so that when I am driving him there he is very quiet until we reach the small lane where the kennels are and then bounds around the car like he is a born again puppy. No backwards glance or a whimpering cry from him as he merrily trots off with one of the kennel girls as I am stood there waving my goodbyes with tissues in hand.

When after two weeks I arrive back to my little pooch, does he come running to mummy licking me all over, showing me how much he has missed me, does he hell, not on your life, he stubbonly parks his rear end on the steps of the kennels where I have to bribe him back into the car with a dog treat and the promise that we will be back soon.

Oh well I'm sure he loves me really.

Sue

 

[Goofyish]

I did read somewhere that as long as they are fed and looked after dogs forget you after a few days

 

[Ware Bears]

My mutts always come back looking much better than they went in!!!......makes me feel doubly guilty, not only did I "abandon" them but someone grooms them better than me!

Elaine

 

[Duggas]

I wouldn't worry about putting your dogs in kennels they'll be fine. I've always worried more if there is someone at home looking after them. I worried about the dogs being okay and I worried if the person looking after them was coping alright. Kennels staff are experianced people who know how to handle dogs and what to do in a crisis.
We've always put our dogs into kennels and they love it. We got them used to it at a very early age as soon as they had their first jabs. We left them for an hour to start with, then a morning, then a day, then overnight and we just kept building it up until they will quite happily go in for 2 weeks. Its really important to have a good kennels, ours is brilliant. I still miss them but I don't worry about them as I know they are warm (centrally heated kennels!) well fed on the same as I feed them at home, get plenty of exercise and they can bark as much as they want. And they get spoilt rotten when we pick them up as I've usually picked up the odd doggy treat on our travels!

 

[Ware Bears]

We got them used to it at a very early age as soon as they had their first jabs.

You're quite right, Duggas. When I lost my first dog aged 12 two years ago, I was going to wait until after our Florida holiday to get another puppy but our second dog, who was 4 at the time, got so depressed that the vet said not to wait. I checked with our kennels who said the best time to introduce a dog to kennels was at 4 to 6 months, so our little Skye went in (with Shadow) for a day at 4 months, an overnight at 5 months (all free) and then her proper holiday of 19 days at 6 months (unfortunately I had to pay for that one! lol). She shares a kennel with Shadow and they really do have the best care and are always happy to go back there again.

BUT......I still feel guilty!

Elaine

 

[Mike Jones]

Just wouldn't do it, not even for a night. In the course of my work I once visited a respected boarding kennels and spent a few hours there. All the dogs looked miserable to say the least... every time a car arrived they all thought their owners had returned, and then fell back into depression when they realised it wasn't for them... two weks of that? No thanks.

Most of our UK hols are doggy friendly. When we go to Florida my parents have Meg at their house (which she visits every week anyway, and treats as a second home) and on the two occasions they've been out with us, a dog loving workmate had her.

Kennels? No... I'd not be able to leave her.

Mike

 

[squitty]

We have to put our dogs into Kennels when we go away as nobody ever wants to look after 3 labs.
We are lucky as the Kennels were we board them is actually run by a lab breeder and she loves them, so they are fine. They love it there, they get to go 'walkies' without collars and leads as its a farm, something they are never allowed to do here.
I do feel terribly sad when I have to leave them, but would feel the same no matter where they were.

 

[KissMeKenley]

Don't believe in putting my pooch anywhere. He stays with my parents or my in-laws.

 

[luvtinkerbell]

I feel for you i just could not leave my dog in kennels but then if you always have left them they probably enjoy it it must feel like a holiday to them i have never had to leave my i have a west highland white very spoilt called archie