Dog Boarding

[Kim]

A few weeks ago we had to attend an out of state funeral, so we had to find a place for Allie to stay overnight.  I wanted to take her with us and find an overnight place for her to stay so we weren't 5 hours away from her, we called the place that we normally have Allie attend Doggie Daycare when we are there.  They told us it would be too late to drop her off for the night we planned on arriving (around 7pm), then told us that no one is there with the dogs overnight!  We ended up finding a hotel that was dog friendly, so she was able to stay overnight with us and she attended doggie daycare during the day.  There is always someone in each daycare room during the day (you can watch on the webcam).  My Husband was very surprised to learn that there isn't anyone at the site overnight, and says Allie will never stay at a boarding facility overnight (what if there were a fire).  Is this practice normal?   I plan on going on vacation eventually, just the two of us (LOL) and would hate for this to become a big issue.  I guess if we had to, we could find someone to take care of her, but I was under the assumption that she would be better taken care of at a boarding facility.  Any thoughts?

[Amy & Bernie]

I didn't know there was a group for it either! Thank you!

[Frannie & Callie]

When I have to board Callie, I use a private boarding facility. It is essentially a home on a lot of property and there is a single woman who watches the dogs. She also runs a doggie day care out of her place. She boards only a few dogs at a time and she does a mutual interview. There are dogs she doesn't take on. Callie LOVES going there (she doesn't go often - it is EXPENSIVE).Not only is Callie not ever left alone for extended periods of time, I have a feeling that Callie gets to sleep in bed with the woman who runs the place (I didn't want to ask though!). I mention this option only because I'm SURE there are people in every city who do something similar.

Second option would be the in-home dog sitter. My sister always uses this as an option. Then the dog gets to stay on its normal routine in its own space.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I think leaving them alone all night is cruel. My dogs are used to having someone around during the night. I have to go to a midweek wedding in NYC later in the month and it's hard to get into the city from late afternoon until the dinner/theater etc. traffic winds down. So I begged my son to come out and stay over so I could leave before the crowd since I'll probably be quite late getting home.

[Robyn, Greg and Snickers]

Boarding overnight is a personal choice. It is the only real choice we have. We love our dog very much and sought the best solution for us. So far we have been pleased and have had very happy dog each time we pick him up. 

[Diana Erhart]

After reading all of these comments, I realize how lucky I am. I found a lady who is a petsitter but also will keep smaller, gentler dogs in her home (must be approved by her at a trial overnight). She treats them just as you would at your home...feeds them at the same time you would, same food, lets them sleep how they usually do (in Charlie's case it is on her bed), walks him twice a day and he gets to be with the other dogs in her home all day...and she only charges me $15 a day. I think I have a true gem!!

Perhaps you can ask some petsitters in your area if they also watch dogs out of their home. It took alot of searching for me to find my lady but keep looking and don't give up!!

[Kim]

great idea! I'm sure one of the doggie daycare ladies will take her overnight if I had to. We were just floored when learning that they aren't there overnight. Apparently it isn't uncommon. I could never leave her overnight alone in a building unfamiliar to her without someone there. I think she would be a complete wreck when we picked her up if we did end up boarding her!!! I would worry my vacation away (not as bad as my Hubby would though)!!! I guess we either find someone to take care of her - or bring her with us =)

You are very lucky!!! Charlie is lucky as well!!!!

[Diana Erhart]

You know your Allie best and what is best for her. Some dogs are fine being left alone all night, others not. Charlie is a people person and has some quirks about him. He is deathly afraid of crates. He doesn't like to be alone. Even when we leave the house to just run errands or go out for an evening, we have to follow a certain routine to keep him calm or he howls and is anxious the whole time we are gone. There is no way he could spend the night in a kennel without a human around. That is just how he is. And we love him just the way he is.

[BG and Gavin]

My position on this may not be popular, but here goes:
I LOVE my dog. However, he is a dog. We board him at a safe, secure, clean facility with a experienced owner who is also a trainer. They are in regular kennels, with an outside run. No TVs or cameras (but she does keep the radio on for them). Each dog gets three individual times outside the kennel (I always hope she sneaks in some training). The dogs are not allowed to play together for safety reason. I am sure after an evening check, the lights go out and she goes to her house (on the property) for the night. The cost is $17 per day. We started taking our guy for a day or two, then a bit longer just so him and I could get used to the idea. I miss him like crazy when he is boarded, but I know he is safe and he adapts easily. And he is a dog.

[Amy & Bernie]

Thank you, I I may lose friends saying so, but I totally agree.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I have always had someone come stay at my house and then I have them go to my dog sitter's house during the day so they are getting plenty of exercise. My aunt and uncle drive all the way from Indiana (we are in PA) to stay the week when we go on vacation. I still worry even though I know they are being well taken care of at our home.

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

We use Camp Bow Wow for Dex and Kirby. Overall we are very happy with it. They have places all around the country and when we visit my brother and SIL in MA we take the doodles up there and board them at that branch of Camp Bow Wow.

It is not cheap - it costs us ~$80/night for the 2 of them which really adds up.

They have a webcam so we can check in on them during the day which I like. They do not have someone there overnight which concerned me at first. However the workers explained to me that they have alarm systems that are linked directly into the police and fire dept. It is not ideal, but we have nobody to watch them and it's our best option. I'll typically call once or twice to check on them and the workers really seem to love the dogs and we are happy there. The doodles come home happy and very very tired from all the play time.

Like someone else said earlier...it's not that much different than leaving them to go to work or to a store. A tragedy could happen even if you leave them for an hour...I try to not think of the bad things that could happen.

Good luck - I hate leaving them so I feel your pain.

[Kim]

That is where we take Allie when we go to Portland, ME (which happens to be where we were for the funeral). We do send Allie to daycare there during the day when we are visiting. I do love it there during the day. Daycare around where we live isn't close to as extravagant as Camp Bow Wow. In the future it will not be a problem for us to have her stay overnight with us in the hotel and do daycare when we are there. I just don't trust not having someone with her at night for 12 hours. I was just wondering if the practice of boarding kennels keeping dogs left unattended overnight was normal. It is more common than I thought so I will just have to make other arrangements. Glad I have time though - we don't even have a vacation scheduled!!!! I can start doing my homework now!