has anybody ever used a 'sitter' before ?. we have a 5 month old border terrier and will be away for a couple of weeks in may). we are thinking about a sitter rather than kennels. what do you think ?. would appreciate comments.

Hi Eddy,
We have used sitters twice with our dogs (no kennels has room for four mediums in together and I won't have them separated!). I was terribly nervous at first...strangers in my house etc... but they were great. For my four dogs (and 2 guinea-pigs) we were charged about £30 per day, plus the sitters travelling expenses.

We went for a long weekend first, then last summer went for 12 days. And the dogs were fine, happy and healthy. I'd have no hesitation in using the sitters again.

There are several firms organising sitters, and I can't vouch for them all, but we chose Minders Keepers, and have no complaints.

Hope this helps.

thanks Jeangenie, i'll have a look to see if there is a minders keepers (or similar) in this area.

Hi Eddy,
Minders Keepers is a national service, if you like I'll email you with their central number? (I don't know if I'm allowed to put it on the Board!)

sorry, didn't get chance to reply sooner. thanks anyway, i found minders keepers but hadn't realised how expensive it could be. dog, cat and rabbits - will cost almost as much as our holiday !. i still like the idea, but may have to reconsider kennel for dog and parents for cat & rabbits !. they would love to have dog but i don't feel it's fair to expect them too. cat & rabbits are easy to care for.

Hi,
Yes I can see that for just one dog it would be pricey. With our 4, however, it works out £5 a day more expensive than kennels! I reckon it's worth it for us :)

i'm getting really worked up about putting him in kennels. we had planned to get a dog over a year ago but decided to wait until this coming summer as we already had our holiday booked (don't usually care about going abroad but both reach 40 april & may so decided to go on a cruise in may). however, he came along, advertised in the local vets and was just what we wanted. the breeder was really happy for us to have him as she knew we had done our homework (we took longer to plan having a puppy than some people do having children !). i thought it would be easy to put him in a kennel but it's not. love him so much and don't want him to be scared.

How about putting him into a kennels for the day? Many good boarding kennels are happy to do this to get dogs used to the place. When you know that you're going to get him home the same day you'll be relaxed about it. Then maybe leave him overnight. When you're confident that he's happy there, you'll be able to enjoy your holiday! :)

it's a really good idea, thanks. rather smuggle him into my suitcase though !. i'm probably being silly - thousands of dogs go to kennels and i guess lots of them enjoy it. your idea is something i think we'll do.

I don't think you're being silly atall! I'm just the same with mine - if I had only one dog I'd have fewer excuses not to use a boarding kennel....although I've used them in the past and the dogs were fine!

Just a thought Eddy, as your pup is only 5 months old, would your breeder consider having him back for your holiday? Many do honour holiday arrangements!

already considered that but unfortunately she's moving away. she mentioned it herself but the timing is all wrong. thanks anyway, nice idea. it'll be fine i'm sure - but he's just today learned to shake paws - how can i leave him now ? , just too cute !!

Have you thought about someone who looks after your dog in their own home, it works out cheaper than a housesitter .....
Ask your vets they may be able to reccommend someone
emma x

Most breeders will board one of their pups while it is still a puppy (not always practibable with adults), and as this is their first home most pups have a whale of a time with the canine relatives!

We have always used house sitters and find it works out really well !

The girls are happy as they have all their creature comforts and also have two people they know they can get away with murder or so they think !!

They are friends of ours who do not live together but would love to but can't afford to and so they jump at the chance to have time on their own ! We laso know we can trust them with the girls and the house so puts our mind at rest !

Lucy