Who would you trust with your doodle?

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I have been asked to go to Washington DC for a few days next week and am dreading the thought of leaving my doodle behind. She has been on a sleep over with a friend once while I recovered from laser eye surgery but I was mostly drugged up and unable to see so I wasn't in the right frame of mind to miss her too terribly. She was back before I knew it. The second time was when I had a wedding in Toronto. My friend (same as above, one of the few ppl I would trust with my doodle) had to bail on me at the last minute. I had no choice, Sophie had to go in a kennel. I felt so guilty I cried and worried and worried so much that I came home a day early, barreling down the highway in a rainstorm - "hang on SophieBear, Momma's comming home!!!". She barely noticed I was gone, but holy cow did I ever worry about her.

 

So now my dilema, this is going to be a really great opportunity for my career, but my doggy loving friend isn't available to sit. I have a friend from Toronto staying with me for a few weeks, a friend who is not all that fond of dogs, including my SophieBear (yes, in case you're wondering, she is crazy). She said she would look after her, but I know from her efforts over the past couple of weeks she is not quite up to the task (nothing too harmful, but skimping on walk times and forgetting to give her water in her dish, gets annoyed/intimidated when she gets hyper, etc...). She is certainly not going to be able to get Sophie to settle down to put the special drops in her ears, and she is afraid to take Sophie into the dog park. Then there's my cousin, but he once looked after his sisters cat and forgot to feed him for 3 days (!!). I have other friends in mind but they all seem to be busy. So I'm running out of options.

 

What should I do? if I put SB in the kennel again my heart will break, if I leave it to my friend I will worry so much, my cousin is out of the question, if I don't go on the trip my boss will be very angry with me and I will miss out on an important opportunity.

 

I know I'm being over protective, but I can't help it. I'm a first time dog mom and so I can be a bit of a nervous nelly.  Who would you trust with your doodle?

 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I hear that. She hasn't admitted it yet, but I think my visiting friend is getting a little bit attached :o)

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

A few days at a doggie day care would probably be your best bet. If Sophie really enjoys other dogs, she will have a ball. They certainly wouldn't forget to give her water and she'd definitely be getting plenty of exercise. I doubt the staff get annoyed and intimidated easily or they wouldn't be there is my guess. I agree with the suggestions. Try to find a place this week before you go and get your mind settled so you can go with the focus you need for your job.

I do feel your pain as I would be heartbroken to leave Murphy especially as he is such a big baby. But if I had to and felt I had checked it out throroughly, then I would just have to do it.

 Bella on the other hand would run into wherever I brought her and not look back, so she'd be a little easier to leave.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Sophie LOVES other dogs. I will have to find a good one that I trust. There's one my neighbour uses that has a webcam so you can watch your doggie! They don't do over nights though.

[Dot, Maggie and KoKo]

I'll be going on vacation for two weeks in early August and plan to send KoKo to a residency training program (puppy boot camp) which runs coincidentally two weeks.  She will not only be boarded there but trained.  It's expensive but worth every penny, both Maggie and Rosie attended.  Maggie will be going to my sister's house for the two weeks.  Maggie's half sister lives there so they should have a ball (not sure my sister will have as much fun).  In both cases, I am very comfortable leaving my two "babies".

[Joe R.]

Have you thought about one of the petsitting companies that come to your home? You can still have your friend there for emergencies and feedings, but have the service come by during the day to take Sophie out for walks or to the dogpark. This way you know she's getting excercise. And they can ensure your friend is keeping the water bowl full. Here's a link for a company that might be in your area. http://www.homesweethomepetsitters.ca/

P.S. Keep your eyes open when your here in DC. We got a pretty big doodle community in this area. Hope you have a nice time when you visit.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Thank you so much! I will definitely keep my eyes peeled but most of my time will be in boardrooms :(. If I can squeeze in the time for some sight seeing, I'm gonna stop by the White House to try and spot Bo... oh yea, and that other guy who lives there too.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

My mom, my DD and one couple in my neighborhood...they know who they are. Though my boss and wife love Daisy they don't "get" that they aren't self sufficient like cats. They offer all of the time. In an emergency I guess I would take her to Camp Bow Wow for an overnight...they take good care of the dogs there but she would be so confused. Can dogs tell time?

If Daisy can't go, and the 3 aforementioned aren't available we can't go either.

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

I am the worst of the lot.  I pretty much changed my life to accomodate my doodles!  I would only trust them with another doodle owner  (Nina watched them for me when I went to an event close to Atlanta) and once, Webber's breeder watched him when I had to go to California.  I know I should be able to leave them, but I wouldn't have any fun if I was worried.  I really need to get busy and find someone close by who "understands" about the doodle addict in the event that I had to make an emergency trip back to California.  How did I get this way about my dogs!!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

A ton of useful and very helpful advice. This is why I love DK! Thank you everyone so much. Because my trip is Sunday through Tuesday I don't really have enough time to do the necessary homework on finding a good boarding facility before I leave. So I thought it all through and have implemented a multi-phase plan of action :o)

First, I am taking Janes advice for now and went out to dinner with my friend and had a serious talk with her. She was very receptive and told me that she sometimes just doesn't know what to do. We went over everything and I told her I would write out a list of instructions, and that I would prepare all the meals in advance. So THANK YOU Jane! 

And duh, I can't believe I hadn't thought of it, but the lady who walks Sophie for me two days a week a lunch time is more than happy to help out Monday and Tuesday too. She will take her for extra long walks and be available to help out if my friend runs into any problems. I could also do like Nancy did, and give her my log in info for DK and get her to post a question if she has trouble :o)

 

Second, as soon as I'm back from Washington I will begin search for a proper sitting option that I can turn to in last minute situations, such as that pet sitting service which I had never heard of - (Thank you Joe R!)

 

Thirdly, I really need to make an effort to get more involved in the Ottawa doodle community. I was actually thinking of starting a doggie sitting co-op of some sort. I will have to put more thought into that when I'm back.

 

ok first things first. I'm off to write that instruction list!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Ok, now that all that is out of the way. Any sight seeing advice for the few hours of free time I'll have on Sunday afternoon?

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

Sherri, if you really think your visiting friend is beginning to get a little bit attached to SB why not keep SB home with her.  Maybe she really is coming for SB, too!  If she is a good friend, you should be able to talk to her about how she feels about taking care of SophieBear.  This could possibly resolve all your worries.

[Pam and Ginger Snap]

What about Georgetown or Old Town ALexandria, which is located about 6 miles south of DC and is acessible by the metro or water taxi