I am looking for someone to look after my dog in their own home for a few days this summer.  Can anybody recommend anyone, preferably in Edinburgh/Midlothian?  Kennels aren't an option as I don't do annual vaccinations, and as he's quite highly strung small children are a no-no.  For the same reason I would prefer a household of just 1 or 2 adults, ideally with experience of terriers!  He's a 9 year old entire Cairn.

All recommendations/suggestions gratefully received.

See www.dogsit.com for the National Association of Registered Petsitters.

Thanks for that - but they apparently charge £9.95 for 1 month's newsletter (or £19.95 for the year)...I'd hate to pay that only to find out that the nearest boarder is hundreds of miles away!!

http://www.animalaunts.co.uk/

Thanks for that, but they only arrange boarding in the Hampshire area as that's where they're based and they like to vet the "Aunts'" accommodation.

Any other recommendations?  Yellow pages and the noticeboard in the vets have drawn a blank too. I have done a search on Google for Animal Aunts-type places but I would really like recommendations from personal experience if poss.  Cheers...

Through a friend I have been given a couple of contacts, but both are unhappy with the fact that my dog isn't given annual boosters.  If I were able to have the vet check him over (eg) the day before leaving him, should that reassure the boarder that he is healthy?  Or could he be carrying some dread disease but not showing any symptoms?

I really don't want to vaccinate him just for my own convenience, but I can understand the boarders not wanting to put their own dogs at risk.  Any advice?

Looks like your having to go to twice as much trouble now though in trying to find somewhere to accomodate him without them.  You could have taken him in, got his jabs updated and booked somewhere in the time it takes to try and find the exception to the vaccine rule!!

Yes...I am aware of that.  If I'd been ok about getting him vaccinated, I would have done it - easy option!
The point is, I don't want to have to get him vaccinated  because I don't want to play Russian Roulette with his health. (But that's a whole other post...)

You don't have to pay dogsit.com to find out where there is a sitter available, they tell you for free what areas they cover and there is one in Edinburgh and one in musselburgh. I think you only pay if you want the contact number.
kind regards,
Linda

Pebblemint
                You say you don't want to have him vaccinated because you don't want to play Russian Roulette with his health, Well I have to say to my mind not having him vaccinated is exactly what you are doing. You are leaving him open to every disease available hardpad -parvo-distemper to name a few. Ok on vary rare occasions dogs do have an adverse reaction but you stand as much chance as being in a plane crash.
I just fail to see any justification in not having an animal vaccinated either with a live or dead vaccine, and I cannot remember any of our dogs or any of our clients dogs ( and we have 100s that have boarded with us) having had a bad reaction.
I don't know where you have got your information from but I honestly think you are worrying needlessly about it and it is having an effect already in your problem in finding accomadation for your dog during holiday periods.
Sorry to be so blunt but i would suggest you take a vets advice first before some well meaning unqualified person.
Bazza

& Bazz what about my dog who died & whose death was caused by his vaccination 3 days before his death ??? & before you ask yes I do have postmortem proof of this

It's very sad, Moonmaiden, but the other side of the coin to our unvaccinated spaniel who died of distemper. :(

but the titre levels showed he did NOT need his booster & of course there is no come back on the vaccine companies as no one makes you have your dog vaccinated

I had my pups first vacc according to vet & manu`s instructions, 8wks for first with second one due at 12 wks. They came down with parvo at 11wks, so theres the 3rd side. And one pup down 24hrs after vax with *rare* immune disease. Money was the only reason I didn`t take them court, couldn`t afford it even tho I had a case & it could be proved the vax was responsible, sad thing is they know it & thats how they get away with it!!!!!

Funny how often the word rare crops up when reactions get mentioned. So how about vax/boosters being implicated very often in immune diseases, allergies etc?

Christine, Spain.

Isnt hard pad and distemper the same thing ?  I dont wish to go off thread but I will be getting my cats and dog titre tested before getting them needlessly vaccinated.  The rules and regs for kennels will have to change soon to enable dogs which are titre tested to board there because very soon Joe public is going to catch on that annual boosters arent always necessary and then Kennels will end up going out of business (ok so that isnt likely but they will probably lose alot of business) as people look for people to look after their dogs who accept titre testing. 

JMHO

Claire :)

Hi Clair
        Until the law of the land is changed we are stuck with what is existing as I have posted elsewhere.
As I type this I have just put the phone down after refusing someone that wishes to put their dog into kennels for the first time at the age of 15. Having asked where the dog went during the previous years they said that someone as been looking after him. I suspect the the dog through no fault of his own is now due to old age becoming a liability for whoever to look after him so they want to put him into kennels into a strange situation-strange routines and with people he doesn't know. The chances of the dog passing away with stress is very much on the cards.
What I cannot understand is after such a long time of the dog giving love to the person, why in the twilight years of the dogs life, they cannot forfit their holiday or at least take the dog with them.
I can forsee if the dog goes into kennels and passes away, who will get the blame? yes the kennel owners.
This is not an isolated case and in some instances I do believe that as the pet owner cannot do the right thing by their pet actually try to get them into kennels to avoid making the decision.
Bazza

While I agree you regarding people simply going on holiday, there are some occassions when taking an old dog with you is just not possible (e.g. long drive and overnight stay to a family funeral).  If there is no one to look after the dog, what can you do other than put in kennels?  I personally would get in a dogsitter, but for many people, the cost is too much.

My parents were in such a situation with their old dog when we all had to go away for a couple days.  There was no way Max could go into kennels, although he had stayed in one many years before, the stress at his age and with his slight senility would have killed him, or at the very least done lots of damage.  My parents paid a young neighbour (a 17 yo very sensible lad whose parents were very close at hand) who knew Max and loved dogs, to come and look after him.

Bazza, I understand your sincerity, but in my grooming parlour, I lost 12 dogs in 1996 directly after their vaccinations or boosters.  I had made a connection before, but that was the first year that I made notes and "logged" each of these events.
I was a Veterinary Nurse nearly 40 years ago and so know the situation from the other side of the fence.  And even in those dark and distant days, I was told that all pups should be vaccinated, but boosters were Vets' pocket money to be used for paying their rent!!
I also attended a seminar where a Vet from a vaccine manufacturer told us that only 3 out of 5 vaccines used were effective.  The other 2 out of 5 owners were wasting their money as the pups were already protected by their Dam's immunity!
I also took part in clinical trials for one of the live vaccines.  I was running on 2 puppies and was waiting for the results to see if they were protected before taking them on holiday.  As the results were delayed, I was told to ring Glasgow where the trials was being controlled.  They told me that the titre levels in my pups were so high, "they would never need boosting" but they added "don't tell your Vet what we said"!!

i would suggest you take a vets advice first before some well meaning unqualified person.
I do take a Vet's advice, Chris Day, who is now middle aged ;) and qualified as a Vet as a young man!!  I do consider that it is irresponsible not to protect your dog.  I feel that my dogs are protected with nosodes.
So you see, some of us who don't vaccinate aren't just negligent and irresponsible.  After much worry and soul searching, we try to protect our dogs another way, doing what we believe is the best for them, which is what I'm sure folks who vaccinate are trying to do as well.

Hi Val
        With regard to vaccination and boarding the law of the land is quite clear on the matter, I am sure that should this be altered in the future then boarding establishment would be quite happy to accept other proof of protection.
Bazza

Bazza, I have great respect for your knowledge and thoughfulness which clearly shows in your posts.  I agree that you have to work within the law.  I have also run a quarantine kennel for 100, boarding for 100 dogs and 60 cats, 32 owners dogs + 9 staff but that's another story!! 
If my special girls were vaccinated, I'd be happy to leave them with you!! ;)
I just wanted to put the other side from those of us with different experiences. :D

Hi Val, thats what Merial said could have happened to my pups, the immunity they had from their dam prevented their vax from taking. But how many people know that, or that the vax just plain & simple fails to work, or the virus is shed in your home/kennels after they`ve been vaccinated leaving pups vulnerable to it when their immunity from dam wanes???? I was extremely responsible & I took the vet`s & manu`s advice & it was the worst mistake I made. I still listen to my new vet but make sure I know any & all options for my dogs ;) :)

Christine, Spain.

As a dog sitter myself, I am not allowed to take any dog that hasn't had vaccinations so you may have problems finding anyone who is registered to take your dog.

Titre testers might be interested in this I posted on another thread.
Dawn.
http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/cgi-bin/board/topic_show.pl?tid=50049#fnp

Yikes!  I knew that by mentioning vaccinations - or the lack of them - I was opening up a whole can of worms. :-/  Even if he were vaccinated I would be loth to put him in kennels - he spent his first years shut up in an outside kennel on his own, and given that, and his ripe old age, I just don't feel it would be fair to choose that option - even though I'm sure many kennels are more luxurious than what he was used to!

In the four years since I rehomed him I have only left him for a total of 2 weeks, and each time I have gone to great hassle and expense to make sure he was well looked after.  Given that, and the fact that I researched the vaccine issue thoroughly over a period of several months, during the illness and subsequent death of a friend's dog, I do not feel I am being at all irresponsible or uncaring.

One of the boarders has expressed an interest in the vaccination issue, so I will be providing some links for information.  Meantime, I will investigate the possibility of nosodes and titre testing - and will contact dogsit for those numbers, thanks!

does anyone know of any petsitters in the carlisle area ? i've tried looking in local papers, yellow pages and the sites mentioned above and i can't find one anywhere. i only need someone to come in once or twice a day to let my dog out and give attention and possibly for a walk. unfortunately i don't know anyone in this area and i'll be moving somewhere else in carlisle shortly too.

help !

sarah
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