1st time boarding

[Eileen Ross and Cody]

Ok so I am a bit anxious as Cody is going to be Boarded for the first time.  Usually he stays with friends.  He will spend all day at day camp and then after dinner will go into a giant crate (cage) with his bed from home.  Will he wonder why Mommy is not picking him up when all the other "kids" go home.  Plus he is not crate trained.  He probably won't miss me but I still feel guilty.

 

[DeeDee and Sheila]

Has he gone to day care at this location before? If not, I would send him to daycare a couple of times so it is not all foreign territory for him. And I hope the first time isn't like for a week or something. I was "held hostage" by my 1st lab, because we always put her with friends. Then she wouldn't eat at the kennel and would really stress out (like her hair would start falling out). Once she ripped her bag of food open in the back and ate so fast I had to stop the car to get her away from it. That is when I vowed Never Again!! I started my next lab going to day care a couple days a week and then boarding her for weekends. Then we finally did a week. The difference was startling. She was fine and I never had to worry or feel guilty when we did have to board her. Can he take your bath towel in with him or a favorite toy? I also took alot of bone chews.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

When is this scheduled? I agree you should try to take him to a doggy daycare a few times so he is used to it.
We put Peri in daycare 1x/week. We trade off boarding her (for short weekends) and leaving her with family. She LOVES her friends at daycare, so boarding isn't much different. I would also get Cody used to the crate again if you have time. Peri does not sleep in her crate at night, but she is crated while we are gone. It is always helpful to have the option to crate if Cody will tolerate it (I do know some pups do not). Like today I had some workers at the condo and Peri was going bananas - I told her she needed to go to her crate...she went in...I gave her a treat and she was quiet.

Also, the bed being in the crate should help. We always send her favorite toy and blanket with our scent also. But honestly, he might have so much fun at daycare, he will be EXHAUSTED at bed time. Peri is.

[katherine willis]

Last spring I sent a similar message because I, too, was panicked about leaving Sandy. He had never slept away from me although he had been in doggy camp for a day many times. I needed to board him for two weeks. What I learned:

Cody will do just fine as long as you have checked out the boarding facility and it is clean and caring.

I talked with the staff to explain that this was his first time and I was really worried. They placed him in a kennel/crate beside another dog who was experience at boarding and mellow. I think that really helped.

I called several times and they told me he was doing really well. I had no way of checking, of course, but it really relieved my anxiety.

The boarding facility had extra exercise and play as an option and I willingly paid for that.

I brought his food with me so he had the same diet as at home. They assured me they were very willing to feed him any food I brought so you may want to check. My kennel has a refrig/freezer.

I left a letter with them that indicated that if there was an emergency, I wanted Sandy to receive vet care and I would certainly pay for this.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I completely understand your concern, but it sounds like this is the best possible boarding scenario. If he's used to this Day Camp, it should be especially easy for him. I'm sure he'll miss you, but probably not as much as you'll miss him. I think guilt just goes with the territory. Our Daycare also has a similar boarding facility, and I think it's the best possible environment (next to home of family), because it's not totally unfamiliar. Also, from his large cage (they call it a suite so they can charge more) he can see other dogs. I'm guessing it's the same with your facility.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

do they have licensed in-home dogsitters where you live? That is a great alternative to boarding your pup... no crates involved but lots of love from humans and other dogs alike. That said, if the place gets good recommendations and is clean and safe, your dog will most likely be just fine :)

[Natasha]

We boarded our dog when he was 6 months for 10 days! At the time, it seemed like an impossible thing to do.

We were going out of the country so we decided to board him in a training program. He had not been to the facility prior to being boarded, but we had viewed it and talked to the trainer and we really felt good about it.

When we came back, he was really excited to see us (and he had stopped laying down when walking which was a huge improvement). We started going to the facility each week for training after that and he always seemed happy to be going there. A few times a month, I take him there for doggy day camp and he LOVES it. He also loves everyone who works there. Last week, I took him to camp on Friday and then we had class on Saturday. In the middle of class, a man that I had never met before (who was wearing the camp uniform) came up to ask the trainer a question, and as soon as Rouser spotted him, his tail started wagging so fast that it was hitting his shoulders! Clearly he was happy to see him.

I would say, watch your dog for signs, but take him to camp one day before boarding him and see how he comes back. I suspect he will love it. However, you absolutely MUST get rid of your guilt and anxiousness - he will pick up on that and it won't help the situation.