Hi

A few years ago we moved from the Thames Valley to Suffolk.  I have friends and family in Berks and Bucks who come to stay with us but it has always been difficult for us to go and stay with them - due to us having four dogs!!  I have occasionally used kennels but they are pretty inflexible as if you are just going down for a  weekend perhaps and want to collect the dogs on the Sunday they invariably close at midday which means you can't stay for lunch etc and have to pay for another night and the poor dogs are in there until Monday!! 

However on my dogwalks I have become friendly with a nice girl who lives near me.  Recently our dear daughter has been diagnosed with breast cancer which has been a nightmare (why has this happened to us??) and so we have been up and down to see her at home in  London to help out with her young  children etc and it has become clear that we needed some help with our dogs.  This particular dog walking friend has often offered to help me knowing our difficulties at the moment and so it dawned on me that she  would be a great person to get on board properly to help us through this awful time.  She was very keen on helping us and we have settled on an agreeable rate.  Before she actually started to dog sit we did lots of walks with the dogs and this afternoon she has been here so I could go through the (manic) feed regime!!!  Because she lives close by we don't have to get home by any particular deadline so I do feel a bit less anxious and a bit more relaxed  about the dogs.

Actually tomorrow when we go to see our daughter again we are taking our 7 month WFT (can be a handful!!!)  with us so that will make life easier for our dogsitter!! 

Not knocking kennels but when you are in need and the chips are down  as they are at the moment  - home is best for the dogs  - don't you agree?

It sounds like a far less stressful arrangement all round, especially as your dogs know her by now. The next time I go away I will have 5 dogs to leave behind, and the kenneling will cost as much or possibly more than the airfare. They stay with people who know our breed, and the dogs know them by now, but I am sure they would be happier at home. It's just finding someone who is happy to look after them.

So sorry you have such a worrying time now with your daughter's health--fingers and paws crossed for you all xxx

Home is definetly better! Mine has a home from home at my parents with their poodles so when we go away it's like a holiday for the dog to nannies :P I have a friend that put her show dog in kennels to go away and it came out a changed dog :( She had to start socalisation all over again and the dog just isn't happy when it's away from her! It's put an end to its current show career. Sounds like you'll have a good arrangement :)

>Not knocking kennels but when you are in need and the chips are down  as they are at the moment  - home is best for the dogs  - don't you agree?

I'm smiling because you have such a huge hoard of dogs.  :-)

I couldn't possibly pay for kennels with my 20 dogs (who all live in the house.)  So I have a dog mad person who lives in an upstairs maisonette with no garden who "borrows" my dogs.  He has the benefit of staying in a house with central heating (which he doesn't have) and I have been down to my caravan for a couple of weeks every month  this year.  Lost my job last year so have never had the opportunity of spending such long periods down here.

The static is certainly big enough to take half a dozen dogs if I wanted.  The living room will seat a dozen people, so I've had no problems with a couple of Collies sprawled around the room.  And I have always brought my litters down here, as I can use other folks kids to handle my pups under supervision. 

You obviously trust this person.  Go for it I say.  You can then visit family knowing that your beloved dogs are in safe hands.

Over the last 5 years there have been 5 females at work with breast cancer.  They have all come out the other side.  :-)

My thoughts and positive vibes sent for you and your daughter.

Thank you - they are my beloved dogs although they can be  hmmm - so and sos (to put it mildly).  I suppose at the end of the day what you want is someone to look after your dogs and care for them in the way you do.

It has set my mind at rest a bit during this worrying time anyway.  I must say I am in awe of the lady who has 20 dogs - bless her!  And I am moaning about my mere 4!!!

Totally agree, PROVIDED you know the individual involved is trustworthy and that your dogs will be safe.   We never boarded our lot (again the cost would amount to the cost of the holiday!!) but were lucky enough to have neighbours across the lane (small hamlet) who we had a swap arrangement with.   I did her lot (3 dogs, 3 cats and the house) and she did mine (varying numbers - we didn't take actual holidays, just days out occasionally).   That worked really well.   After we moved, we lost all that, and as at one point, I needed to take a long weekend away, I used 'professional' sitters.   My dogs survived, but the carpets in the living room, where I'd asked them NOT to leave mine if they had to go out, didn't.   I suppose the main objective was that my dogs would be okay, and not needing to be boarded.

I just urge you to leave a contact number with your 'sitter', and details of your vet including a note for them to show him you have given them permission to present them for treatment if needed.

So sorry about the circumstances that need all this but this IS a cancer that is, I believe, more often beaten, than not these days.

ps   I worked in a boarding kennel for a few years, but still feel as above!!

It's always better if you can find someone to have them in the home or even in your home I agree. Hopefully my friend who has had my 4 a couple of times when you understandably couldn't manage will continue to do that, though she lives a fair way away alas. And I do have a handy neighbour, she has a Lab puppy so I let hers out sometimes and she can let mine out. :-)

>It's always better if you can find someone to have them in the home

Just depends on the dogs. I have always been happy with mine in kennels. They would have issues with strangers coming to the house and so would I :) There has never been an issue with the two kennels I have used over the last 15 years, but I would never put dogs into kennels without doing thorough research and personal recommendations first. I had to use kennels several times last year due to visiting a close relative who had terminal cancer over a hundred miles away. We had total confidence that the dogs were being well looked after which was a small comfort. Also, when my mother died some years ago I was able to ring the kennels at very short notice.