Boarding

[Deb Reed]

Hi All,  I've learned a lot thru these boards.  Thanks to all of you.  I am considering boarding Annie for a long weekend.  Thurs-Mon in October

She is one year old now and has never been boarded.  I have checked out a few facilities and found one that seems really good (clean, good staff, etc.).  I brought her with me to both facilities that I looked at and she was shaking like a leaf both times the minute we walked into the place.  She is normally not a nervous dog at all, so I was surprised by her reaction.

Now I feel like it would be heartless of me to ever leave her at one of these places. 

Thoughts?

[Amy and Annabelle]

Other than obedience training class, Annabelle is not around other dogs. But I will be boarding her next summer for a few days. I hope she will have fun but who knows. I would feel awful if she was scared the whole time. She seems to be picky about who she wants to socialize with at class. I would imagine it would be like that at boarding. I also worry about the ones that let the dogs run free. I know I would worry about her being in a situation that made her afraid. She is a mini and is usually one of the smallest if not the smallest in a group. She just had a bad experience at training class and am not sure if it has affected her any. She wasn't attacked but I am sure she felt like she was going to be. She was so scared. Annabelle will be a year old on August 8th.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd look into pet sitter options. There are people who will come to your home, and people who will watch your dogs in their homes. 

I have never boarded a dog, and I've owned dogs since 1977. I've left my dogs with family members or friends, both in my home or theirs, and it's worked out beautifully. I once used a couple who did pet sitting in their home, who came highly recommended by friends who'd used them, and that worked out well, too. 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Hi Deb ~ Have you considered looking for other doodle owners in your area that are willing to pet sit.  You could do a search under Members to see if there are other doodle owners near you.  I hesitate to say anything regarding boarding because I am totally biased against it since I had a very bad experience years ago with our standard poodle at a boarding place.  I really think it depends on the dog whether they do well in a boarding facility.  If you have a dog that is not a "dog park dog", or one that is not used to being left with others, I believe it is very scary.  Also, just curious how many dogs facility has at one time and whether they have individual kennels for those that do not do well in a huge group setting.  Who is with them at night (or are they put in a kennel and then let out in the a.m).  Neither of my doodles like the dog park, and I do not feel comfortable leaving them in a kennel (even the ones at the vet clinics).  When we moved to Richland, I was lucky to find an older lady that does pet sitting and stays in your home.  When we have to travel without the doods, she is here 24/7.  She brings her little cocker spaniel too and also waters my plants.  It is really the best choice for us as I know they are getting the best of care.  Good luck to you - I hope you find the perfect situation for your little girl.  If you lived here - I would take care of her for you.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I have my dogs watched by Luca's trainer's assistant and friend. She has them in her home and although they may spend more time in crates than at home they get out in the backyard together. They know her and her home. I feel very comfortable about their care when I am away.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Another thing I dislike about most boarding facilities is that nobody's there overnight. For a good 10-12 hours, the dogs are all alone. 

A lot of vet techs seem to also do pet sitting, at least in my area. The rehab technicians at the specialty clinic I use always seem to be watching somebody's dog. Often, they even bring them to work with them. You might ask at your vet's office. 

[dal]

Does the boarding place also have daycare?  You could try a half day of daycare before boarding to see how she does.  We did that with ours before we boarded him.  Good luck!

[Deb Reed]

Thanks for all your replies.  Good information.  I'm going to keep looking for in home care.  Has anyone had experience with www.dogvacay.com?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I just saw a commercial on TV for rover.com, an in-home pet sitting company. You might look into them, also. 

[Jenny and Cooper]

Hi Deb, I tried Dogvacay but ended up not using them. We went to two homes for meet and greet, one was not good and the other was ok. We just recently went on a 2 night vacation and had to find Cooper a dogsitter for the first time. We used Rover.com as Karen had mentioned. We were able to find a great dogsitter for Cooper and he didn't even want to go home when we picked him up! You can try a few and compare.

[Marni and Hanna]

One other place to check for pet-sitting might be your local groomer or dog food store.. The "mom & pop" type stores that are more familiar with the locals might be able to give some recommendations...Good Luck!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

When we're away (only a few times a year) we board our dogs at their Daycare.  They know the other dogs and the staff, and they get to play all day.  They also know that we leave them there once a week and we always come to get them, so I think that helps.  They are not in crates...they have large suites where they have plenty of room to walk around.  You might want to see if there are any similar situations in your area where they could go a few times just to play before boarding. 

[Bonnie and Kona]

I also only have pet sitters for my dogs. I have never boarded a dog. If you belong to a church or community organization you might post this job there. I used to find some sitters where I worked.  I've never even had my dogs stay at someone else's house. I have the people come to my house, but I've never used a stranger.

Right now I am dog sitting a friend's doodle for a week. He is getting all of the love that my doodles get. She brought him over several times before they left town so he is used to us, our dogs and the house and yard. It's going beautifully.