We are going away on holiday soon, we have looked 5 kennels ( all very different) charges range from £8 all the way to £21! fo a days boarding , we have narrowed the decision down to 2, and thiis where we just do not agree. My one is the most expensive but it is like a dog hotel, I can take his own bedding each kennel is heated and they will feed him his  faddy diet, ( which I have to provide) he will have a mile long walk every day and excercised in the yard twice, all in all a lovely place. the other one (my husbands choice) is a no nonsense kennel they will not allow his own bedding  block heating not individual kennel, and she will not feed him his faddy diet! but they are experienced dog handlers and 30 years experience of dog training. the kennels was imaculate, they do not walk the dogs but excercise them in the yard twice a day and they excercise groups of dogs together. My husband says I worry to much and spoil the dog to much and that he needs to toughen up!
what does anybody else think

I was all with your husband up until the mention of exercising dogs together! I worked in a boarding kennel and to me that's a big no-no. Also I think not catering for his own food requirements is a bit lazy, especially if you are supplying it for him.

I'd go with your choice as at least you will feel that he's being spoiled in the manner he's accustomed to. :D I can imagine you having a horrible holiday, worrying about your 'baby' otherwise. What price your peace of mind?

Your choice sounds better to me. I wouldn't like the idea of my dogs being excercised with others for a start. I like the indivdual heating thing aswell as my breed fell the cold. The kennels that I use allow me to take my own food though it is just normal dry kibble and also my dogs own bedding. Why don't they allow you to take your own bedding?

She said it was the washing of the bedding, if the dog had a mishap!  hers were plastic beds with vet beds inside, which she said were easier to wash,

What if you used vetbed at home anyway?

Thats exactly what I thought Jeangenie.

I don,t use a vet bed he has a soft bed with a quilt, so I didn,t ask her that question, but my choice of kennel have said they don,t have problem with his own bedding and will wash if needed I told them I wash it once a week and they didn,t flinch! I will know if it has been washed or not by the smell as I can tell if his bedding is overdue for a wash!!!!

Our kennels no longer take the dog's own bedding. I have no problem with this. My daughter used to work there as a kennel maid and said that some owners bedding was totally unsuitable for a kennel - ie a doggy sofa. Some dogs are also very unclean in kennels and mess in the bed area. Certainly has not put me off my kennels not taking their own beds in. Other things are more important in my opinion. Ours feeds a wide variety of commercial food and will feed anything else if it is supplied. Dogs are walked in small groups (or separately where necessary) - they have about 70 dogs there.

What is important to me is that the dogs are secure, clean, kindly treated and observed for any illness etc - bedding is of secondary importance.

Daisy

I'd go with your choice. Taking your dog's own bedding is a good way of helping a dog feel secure in unfamiliar surroundings (which is why caring breeders send their puppies to their new homes with a piece of the bedding they've been sleeping on with mum and littermates, so it smells 'safe'). Likewise feeding the diet the dog's used to - a tummy upset won't help your dog feel happy. :( Exercising with others can be good but it can be very dodgy too; it only takes a couple of seconds for a spat to flare up and you have an injured dog requiring stitches.

It sounds like your husband would rather the dog went to boot camp than a kennel! Only you know whether you actually spoil him too much and, to be honest, this sounds like the classic remark made by someone who wants to protect the contents of their wallet! However, if you spend your holiday worrying about the dog it won't be much of a holiday for you. Let alone the dog who, for sure, isn't likely to benefit much from a short sharp shock if he's coming home to a totally different regime afterwards. So I'd offer to pay the difference and send the dog to the kennel you feel most comfortable with. 

Definitely the first choice.

Your dog will be feeling odd that he is in a strange place, he will need his usual food etc and hopefully feel as at home as possible.

Someone with over 30 years of experience in dogs could be really good - or it could mean, as sadly it does sometimes, that they are stuck in the dark ages :P and have stayed the same over the last 3 decades and got stuck in a rut. You just don't know and the dog can't tell you. I agree with the comments re exercising dogs together etc, so I vote for the first one, your choice! :) especially as the dog's diet will remain the same.

Lindsay
x

Hi,

I think generally definitely the first one - the dogs own bedding and food is important, and my girl wouldn't be going any where that this wasn't welcomed.  The only thing I would worry about is for me I wouldn't want my girl to be taken for a walk off of enclosed premises - not that she's not obedient or difficult in any way, but any dog can get spooked and bolt or slip there collar and I know other people are just as capable of dealing with these circumstances as me, however I wouldn't be willing to take the risk, if it happens while she's in my care then it's my fault anad I couldn't feel angry with anyone else or with myself for putting her in that position.  I'd rather know she was having a run around and a play in an enclosed paddock or similar.  Some people think this is silly and think I am being over the top not letting other people take her out, to which I say she is my dog and I have to do what I feel comfortable with - which is exactly what you have to do, do what ever you feel comfortable with and don't settle for less.  Hope you get it sorted between you and your hubby. :-)

Karen

I wouldn't want my girl to be taken for a walk off of enclosed premises

I would totally agree. Some kennels do walk them in public areas... but I think most I know walk them in secure fields they own and also never let them off the lead.  I would never relax on hiliday thinking my dogs cold realistically escape or get attacked by member of the publics dogs.

Oh.... I think all our dogs are hopefully a little spoilt!

When I leave mine ( which has been once a year...  because my family really want to go on overseas holidays ) I type up a sheet with information about their normal routine and nirmal personality and energy level and so they know if she/he is off colour and in this I state what time to be fed and the quantity and whebn to give snacks. I include the weight of the dog and condition. And any special rerquirements... such as removing the collar when left unattended. I include photoes... one of the happy face and two of the dog stacked showing each side.... just in case there was a fire or something or some other disaster and they had to let the dogs out quickly and she/he got lost and needed identifying. Also the microchip number. 

I do not give information about tricks and training because I do not want commands used or misused and do not want the dog trained but just to chill out. But a good carer will discover tricks for themselves and this helps them to want to spend more time playing with the dog.

I include a sealed bin of food clearly labled and a tub of safe tested toys to rotate with instructions to change the toys every three days.

I also include all the treats so as not to tempt them into giving low quality treats.

When I get to the airport I have with me a parcel and a 'missing you' card all wrapped up which I post to my dog.

I think all this fuss shows them my dog is very very special and although we might seem a little OTT to some people I think showing the over caring over cautious side of us helps those caring for our dogs to understand they are not dumped for selfish reasons but that we love them to bits and really hate leaving them and when they see this they realise how honoured they are that we trusted them with our dogs and will take their responsibiliy seriously and help the dogs feel loved while we are away.

LOL when I read your post, he has dug very deep into his pockets for the holiday so you might be right!  But he says that our dog is throughly spoilt, I suppose he is really but I am the one that spends most time with him, I am the primary  walker, feeder etc and I love him to bits,  he does get covered in his quilt at night and I do take him virtually every where I go within reason, and he is a real family indoor, in the warm dog! Thats what has caused the disagreement between me and hubby my dog is a dobermann, and I think when we got him my husband was think mans dog! but  Blu would not hurt a fly and is a big softy and I keep saying to my husband that we can,t expect him to benifit from 2 weeks in enviroment I don,t think he will be happy in!
I think though to be honest I am going to worry where ever he goes

Oh no, Dobermans are such sensitive dogs, I definitely would not leave him in the "boot camp".

Katie

Deftinitely your choice, Sally! 

I would never let mine stay somewhere where they would come into contact with other dogs - I want to be able to supervise all doggy encounters, decide when play is too rough, interpret the other dogs' body language as potentially aggressive and so on.  I wouldn't trust anyone else to do so, especially if they didn't know the dogs very well (as they wouldn't if they were kennel guests).

Your choice of kennel sounds so nice, I want to know what it is!!!  Can you PM me the details for it please???

You have only loked at 5!!!!!! That's not many. Look round more and don't just look locally.

It is hard isn't it.  I wa never all that happy with the kennels in my area.

I think you have to 'think dog'  so a place does not need to be all state of the art like the new American pet hotels.  We looked at one of these and the area they got to live in was quite small and the walk very short and they only got two 15 min time slots in a run on their own. We had to pay more if we wanted someone to actually give them attention in that 15 mins!

You must go and wtch the dogs in this erxcersise yard... see what level of people care they get because if left alone they can just stand by the gate waiting for someone..... and check  if they get strange dogs put in with them... which is an addded danger especially if your dog is small. I would not acept mixing freely with unknown dogs.

Having the bed is good... but again you have to look and see if the dogs actually have their own beds. One I looked at claimed that and when I asked why none had their beds the girl said "oh they come with such ecpensixe beds we just let the owner settle in the dog and then take the bed away to keep it safe!" ( I think she was not so bright! )

With a small or less active dog  the posh hotel kennel may well be okay for you.  With mine they need more than that because they re an active breed. 

There is a lot to be said in favour of 'experienced dog handlers' ... I would insist on this because these are people the dogs can trust and they will be more relaxed while you are away .. however you need to see the proof of this by how they handle the dogs and see if it fits with your idea of 'experienced dog handlers' .

I would not want mine excersised with other dogs because I do not want mine exposed to risks while I am away. IT os not worth the risk. No way should you risk going for that option.

I had to find one for our new pup for over 3 weeks when she was just 5 months old and in the spring so I found one in the end that was quite a drive away and that had heated the kennels which was essential for a pup or older dog...or any dog! lol!  ...and two rooms.. one to sleep in and a day room... not huge but enough because they also had several acres to walk the dogs three times a day... one dog per experienced handler. ( and they cleaned up after the dogs too... I know this because we hid and watched! :D ;) )  They had tigh security. They had their own beds, would remobve collars ( even though they insisted there was nothing the dogs could catch them on I wanted to make sure! )  and woud feed what you wanted and in as many feeds as you wished. They did not charge more for little extras!  They were family run with seveal old dog loving friends comming in as extra staff three times a day.

When we left the dog she the guy came and talded to her and played ith her while we were with a lady filling in forms and so he felt like she knew him already hen it was time to leaver her. She was just fine. When we were away we had an email address we could contact them by if we wanted to ... but she had settled in fine so we could relax.

When we collected her instead of rushing to us she went back to them . You coud se she really knew them and trusted them as part of her family. Then she suddenly rememberd who we were and went wild for us!  THey told us ll about her stay and opersonality quirks and they had taken her to their fenced garden each day to have a little play with them too. This level of  care cost us £8 a night... I think you could not have got a better level of care because they really loved dogs so much.

I seriously would suggest you look for more and then you may find one you both agree on.  earch in the net and look through pics and details and so on to help you.  

Other then that out of the two you mentioned I would go for the pet hotel if that price includes all you need... I would wory if you need tp pay more to have someone play with the dog while it is in the yard or if the yard time is only 15 mins ir if it includes other unknown dogs sharing the yard. . imo... £20 is very bad value for what you are being offerd... but it is worth it if it means you can relax an enjoy your holiday and that is what matters!  I was willing to pay more that £20 if the dog recieved better level of attention for that but when I've looked around the hotel types seem to offer less love and less people time than some of the better end of our traditional less attractive looking kennels.

Oh you can never worry to much and spoil the dog to much! I'm sure your hubby knows that too!

I just wanted to say - usually the mention of "experienced dog trainers" or "handlers" makes me run a mile.  I don't want my dogs to receive any training when they're staying there, since it might conflict with my own training or not involve methods which I approve of. 

Often people who are "experienced dog trainers" have their own fixed ideas of how things should be done, and they are often very inflexible by this.  You may laugh, but the best person I've ever had look after my dogs has never had one of their own!!!!!!  She listened to all my information, absorbed it all, was shown how to do everything, and then did it all exactly EXACTLY as I told her - precisely because she had no ideas of her own and had not thought about doing it another way, and did not have her own fixed preconceptions about how things should be!!! 

I used to work in a boarding/quarantine kennel where owners were told that the dogs were walked.  If you think about the logistics of it .......... with 100+ dogs in in the summer, or just 20 dogs off season,  how long will it take to give 20 dogs a mile walk each and let them individually into an exercise yard - 40 hours a day....how many staff??????
I must say that I would want an individual kennel for my single dog.

Hi! I'm with you as well. I'd go for a place that is smaller but treats every dog individually. After all, every dog is different and needs different approach, has different habits and so on.
I have a small Chihuahua that is very, very vary of strangers. It doesn't mean he's aggressive, but won't let anyone he doesn't know touch him. I also wouldn't let him be out with other, larger dogs. Specially not unsupervised. Being kept somewhere inside where it's warm is a MUST for my dog, so I'm not sure how that would be possible........ how do you guys deal with small (spoiled :rolleyes:) dogs that normally spend every minute of a day with you? Besides I'd expect them to feed him MY food (I wouldn't mind bringing it along) and he will ONLY sleep in his bed, so sleeping elsewhere would be out of question.
Does anyone know if there are places specially for dogs like mine? Don't shout at me, he's not spoiled :rolleyes:, he's just used to being around all the time and can't imagine a small 1,8kg Chi being outside in a kennel.....

I wouldnt want mine in one that didnt allow own bedding and food. Without the first, they wouldnt have any reminder of home and without the second they will get tummy upsets.

i was told by a kennel i once used not to bring reminders of home because it makes the seperation harder. Not sure if i agree?

Could you maybe pay a family member or friend to come in and stay with your dogs?

If I had to use a kennel I would prefer my crew to be kenneled together and on the same food which I feed them since that is what they are use to. Lucky if in need my vet boards dogs and that is prob where I would send mine...

I wouldn't have a good time if I wasn't happy where my crew was. Best of luck :)

dollface, vets do that as well? That's not such a bad idea.....

I love the crew, just seen your pics

I think I must have found the kennels from heaven for my two :) :)
Its got under floor heating, so its all warm as soon as you walk into the new purpose built building. They prefer you to bring the dogs own bedding, it helps them to settle better. Happy to feed whatever food you give your dog, even if it's got a complicated diet. 3 Separate huge, long, well fenced exercise areas, so dogs are separated but can socialise throught the fences plus her husband loves to go in and play with the dogs. And its only about 5 miles up the road from me.
The owner is so accomodating I couldn't believe my luck. My two are going in for two nights in March and even though opening hours are 9am -11am & 4pm - 6pm, the owner is happy for me to take them at 8am, just so we can catch our plane in time without having to take them the day before. Hows that for being obliging :) :)
Also at £7.50 a day, I don't think thats out of the way.
Hope you find yopur dream kennels.
If anyone in the York area wishes to know who the kennels are, just ask.

I agree that the first kennels sound better - with the exception of that slight worry about them taking your dog off premises - perhaps they should keep her on an extending lead? Our dogs went to the ordinary type of kennels once, we were allowed bedding and the place was clean, but so noisy it was awful! The boys were absolutely fine and had clearly been well treated as they rushed up to the girl on reception when we collected them, as she fed them! But since then I have managed to find friends or pet sitters to have them instead, as I hated leaving them there. :-)

Do they actually say the outside walks will be offlead? I would assume (perhaps naively) that they'd be lead-walks only with free exercise in the runs.

Would you not trust house sitters better, if you found a reputable agency that did through checks on the employees, so you dog could stay at home in his own surroundings, have his proper feed and bedding, it would minimise the stress, when I looked  into it, They was mostly were retired couples, that felt that they could no longer have a dog long term, you would be able to meet them afew times with the dog taking away the strangers thing, also   most agencies do a complete police check and have couples of long standing with references

I am sure that would be the option that I would go for. own bed, own home, and would keep him to his routine. and walking areas, family could always drop in and check every thing was going well.

I know it would be strange having people in your home when away, but if have reliable dog care on your terms would it not be worth it. It would probly  be a  once a year expense that gave you peace of mind, however much the holiday cost it would be wasted if you worried all the time.

Saying this I have a built in dog sitter, as my daughter lived next door, and it does mean that we cannot have family holiday's so that is a bonus with our family.

Lynn

the walks are lead walks you can say you don,t want them,
am I allowed to say the name of the kennel then everybody can have a look?

Thank you sallyj123 ... Sadly now we just have the 4 bsoton's ....

I go with my vet cause I trust her alot would even allow her to take them home if she wanted too lol :) Fortunatly I  get someone to come into the home and watch my animals since I have more then just dogs lol

If you can afford the dearer more luxurious one go for it. Apart from being safe, my priority is a good scenic walk dogs are so bored stuck in a kennel so like a change of scenery.  Your husbands choice sounds pretty boring and mudane.