There are a few types of dog owners: Those that would never leave their dogs at a kennel and those that would never trust a professional pet sitter in their homes. That means a lot of dogs get pawned off to friends and family members.
Sound like you?
OK, so some of us don’t quite fit into that category. We trust certain kennels, certain pet sitters and certain friends and family members to watch our dogs. That’s the smart way to go about it.
There are really good kennels out there as well as really bad kennels, so ask questions before boarding your dog. Some in-home pet sitters take care of pets as their full-time jobs and are fully prepared to handle anything. Others can barely call themselves dog lovers. So, if you hire a pet sitter, it’s a good idea to ask for references and know what to ask a pet sitter. And even though family members are trustworthy, they won’t necessarily take the best care of your dog while you’re away. They probably don’t want your dog there to begin with!
Plan ahead for who will take care of your dog.
Do your research before leaving your dog anywhere or with anyone. You don’t want to leave your dog at the one kennel that has an opening. There’s a reason all the other kennels were booked first.
A plus side to boarding your dog is she gets to interact with other dogs. The facilities are secure and you don’t have to worry about her getting away. Many kennels have “daycare” where the dogs get to play for several hours a day. On the negative side, fights can break out during daycare, especially when there are more dogs than the staff can properly manage.
Kennels also have strict drop-off and pick-up hours that aren’t always convenient. I’m usually running behind schedule before traveling. In this case, hiring a pet sitter is more convenient because he or she will be flexible and visit my dog on my dog’s schedule. My dog will also get more one-on-one time with a pet sitter and won’t have to deal with the noise and stress of a kennel.
When you leave your dog with friends, you run the risk of testing those relationships.
Most friends will watch your dog if you ask, but probably reluctantly. Just because you trust your friend and she “loves dogs” doesn’t mean she is capable of handling your 120-pound, out-of-control rottweiler.
Dog lovers don’t necessarily understand dogs. Usually, they don’t.
You’re better off hiring a professional pet sitter who will walk or run your dog and play with her while reinforcing training you’ve already worked on. Dogs are usually on their worst behavior when they’re in a different setting and can be more of a burden than the friend originally thought.
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Good words of advice. My wife and I are extremely picky and careful when taking care of our two dogs, for the sake of the dogs, and we also don’t want to put unreasonable stress on family or friends.
We’ve used the same kennel for about 8 years, since our dog Emma was young. It’s Country Club Kennels in Catlett, VA (http://www.countryclubkennels.com), a wonderful kennel and dog rescue (the rescue side is called the Chance Foundation). We know the owner and her crew well, and trust them. We also know from experience that Emma LOVES to visit ‘Aunt Carla’ (the owner’s name is Carla), and thinks of it as a vacation. We’re stress free because we know our kids our well taken care of, and family and friends are stress free as well.
We’ve been asked by neighbors and family to ‘let their dogs out’ while they’re on vacation. It always stresses us out, as we feel strongly that people need to plan ahead and budget for vacations, to include putting their dogs in a top notch, trusted kennel (or as you say, use a pro pet sitter who’s well vetted). Too often, pets are treated as an afterthought. Not at our house. It’s the first thing on our minds when we are leaving town. And whenever possible, they travel with us.
Merry Christmas!
So far every time we’ve traveled, we’ve taken the dogs with us. Of course, it’s not like we go a whole lot of places. However, I’m sure this is something we’ll have to think about in the future….
Yeah, we’ve recently had this dilemma for a trip we are taking in January. Since Gus is a really big guy and a bit on the high-maintenance side we can’t just leave him anywhere. I could not stand the thought of him locked in a kennel laying on concrete all day. I also could not afford to have one of those home-sitting services take care of him. Luckily, his foster people that I adopted him from in the first place are more than happy to take him! For me, this was important because we know that in his short life of about 3 years, he’s already lived with at least 5 families and spend endless months at a cold shelter. I can now relax on my vacation. If I was going on a driving-distance trip, he would be coming with me!
Because my dog is a trained protection dog I can’t really leave him at a kennel as I couldn’t trust them to handle him. I also couldn’t hire a pet sitter for the same reason. There are only a couple family members that we can rely on to do exactly what I tell them with my dog while we are away.
Makes travel difficult but the trade off is worth it.
I am always last minute about finding a place for my dog to stay when i go out of town. i have friends that chose the board and care ‘hotels’ for their dogs, but i always opt for people friends to be the sitter. I’m never gone more than 5 days, so my little one doesn’t seem to wear out his welcome. Although, when i was the sitter for a friend once, her little one destroyed a couple pair of my shoes
I dont travel… I am actually home alone for xmas this year because I dont trust anyone to watch the dogs… I worry they could get out. I would NEVER put them in kennels.. I seen alot of them around here and it would be like putting them in the pound. So we usually just take separate vacations.
ya good things to think about. I fall into the category where I trust some kennels and some friends. I have never done the house-sitter thing though. And with six dogs, it’s too expensive to board them either way. We just go camping and take them with.
I travel with my dog almost all the time. He comes everywhere I drive. But it is so nice to be able to take a vacation without him once or twice a year. I would never give up a vacation with my boyfriend or friends because I had nowhere to leave my dog. There are options.