Boarding/Kennels/Pet Sitters

[Spuds Family]

I searched kennels, boarding and I could not find a forum on the topic, so I thought I would post one. 

Let me start with, I typically use a home Pet sitter, however she hurt herself. At the last minute, I was searching for boarding kennels for my 3 dogs for 3 days over the 4th of July holiday.  My vet/boarding was booked so I asked friends where they board there dogs, checked web reviews ect. I was frantically searching the kennels that I never looked for advice on DK until today.

Surprised that there was no advice on DK, i am thinking twice about my choice to board the dogs.

We picked the dogs up yesterday.  The Kennel said they all did great. In the car, as we were driving home, I noticed our mgd (mini golden doodle) had poop stuck around his butt....gross. When I got home I bathed all 3 dogs.  I called the boarding place to report the poopy mess. The Kennel apologized saying that they look over the dogs before they bring them out to the owners. They stated that the mgd and one of the other dogs had diarrhea and they cleaned everything up.  The kennel said I could bring the dogs back for a bath???  I questioned the kennel about my concerns about the dogs having diarrhea, and they  stated that it is not uncommon for dogs having diarrhea at times when they are left for the first time, stress. ect.

When i dropped off the dogs, i packed their own food and that is what they ate. The two little dogs stayed together, while the mgd dog had his own private suite.  The mgd was the dog that i splurged on extra playtime during his stay, and that is the same dog that was having the diarrhea.

The dog's first night home was last night. After a sleepless night of mgd doggy diarrhea, butt baths, and vomit every 2 hours, i can only imagine what my poor dog must have went through, after the kennel had closed in the evening and he was in there all alone.  Not to mention the smell.

I don't know if he caught something?  If this is just stress related?  If this is common?

The dogs have stayed at their groomers (a different facility) for one day in a kennel while being groomed, but never over night until this week.

Any advice? Is this typical stress related?

[a.k.a. Rodney]

Hate to be a Monday morning quarterback...but they should have bathed all dogs before they left..any kennel I have ever used..that was their requirement! Obviously, you'll never use them again. Sorry the pooch isn't feeling well...did they ask for proof of shots etc before they accepted the dogs?
Well, at least he is home now and in your own terrific care

[Spuds Family]

Proof of shots were needed.  The facility looked clean, smelled clean, and it was not cheap to board there.  If I have to board again, I will look for one with the online web cams.  I will also ask about the dogs being bathed before pick up too. Is the diarrhea common for dogs to get while boarding?   

[Willow and J]

I am sorry to hear your dog is not feeling well. The kennel should have been straight forward about how dogs did, and I understand your frustration. Is your doodle still young? My doodle used to have runny poo even while at home when one of the parents was away for overnight trips, so stress and runny poo could be related. Vomiting every 2 hours, however, doesn't sound right to me. I'd take him in to a vet if he doesn't spring back to normal on day 2. 

It seems like finding a kennel / doggy day care is much more difficult than I thought, but I hope you can find a place that would work for you and your dogs.

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

I am so thankful that Lori (Daphne & Lucy) and I have each other to watch our doodles when the other goes out of town!  We know they are taken care of as if they were our own...

 

[Deborah Brown]

It could definitely have been stress related but that doesn't mean they shouldn't have cleaned your doodles before you picked them up.  Geez...  

One of my dogs get stressed even when he's left at home with a sitter.  He doesn't eat and will vomit.  He's a bit of a drama queen.

We can't use kennels because we have a dog who is afraid of strangers and can't deal with a revolving door of caretakers.  Instead we found wonderful sitters through http://dogvacay.com/  The dogs stay in the homes with a family and are well cared for.  We carefully screened sitters with the intent of forming a long term relationship.  Perhaps you can find someone in your area that would work out for you.

[Heather & Brinkley]

This is why I have never boarded Brinkley. Once I made arrangements but I couldn't stop fretting about it leading up to our trip. I figured there was a reason for my uneasiness so I cancelled and paid a friend to stay at my house for the week. Brinkley is never crated and he's such an attached dog with a need to be around humans. I couldn't imagine how scared he'd be at night in a kennel run.

Brinkley does go to daycare at times but he's never in a run there. They do board in comfy rooms and they will let the dogs sleep in their apartment if the dogs seem scared. There is always a human on the premises; however I haven't been able to even bring myself to keep him there overnight and I trust them. Our friend that has always stayed at out house has just moved to California so when a time comes, I'll have to figure something out-- but I just don't think he's a kennel dog and your story confirms that. I'm so sorry they had such a bad experience.