Hello

During the summer months we have several weekends away where we can't take the dog.  We have some lovely friends who are more than happy to look after our doggie, but I don't want to push my luck with a good thing or perhaps on occasions they are not available, or if circumstances change I would consider a nice boarding kennels to have all my options covered for such times.

However, I would feel very guilty leaving the dog there, thinking as she came from a rescue she might think she had been abandoned again and get upset etc.  However, I am not sure if this is me placing my guilty human emotions on the dog, who probably doesn't think like this at all; and was wondering how other peoples dogs seem to like being in kennels for a night or two?

My other idea is to pay the friends what the kennels charge, as a goodwill incentive too.  There are pet/ house sitters in the area but these are a little more out of my price range.

Also what is a good way to find a recommended kennels - I guess recommendations and word of mouth from other walkers I meet is a good starting place.

Our eldest dog was a rescue and I was very worried about leaving him in kennels the first time. We didn't have anyone else to leave him with (or trust). He had a few problems with strangers, so I was pleased to leave him in the kennels managed by our trainer :) He was left the first time for two weeks without any problem - I had a full and frank report on our return :) Now, both our dogs get left without problems, they always seem pleased to be there - not that they go in often, although this year they will be in for two weeks.

Recommendations are the best way to choose a kennel and also visit and ask questions :)

Daisy

mine is more that happy to go in to the kennels and trots of with the girl without a backward glance, I, however cry all the way home,,,,:rolleyes:

instead of kennels why not try dog boading in private homes  i no some one who does this with her dog and its much better then normal kennels  homes 4 hounds is one

canine companions- run a family foster scheme, this is where the dig will live with them for the duration or the fosterer goes and lives in your home for the duration.

otherwise its about looking- dont just focus on your local area- our really good kennels are nearly anhour away- over the english border and it really is good- so different to the kennels here!

Your question made me smile.....:-)

My 3.5yr old male mal strolls into the boarding kennels and I swear I can hear him thinking "Hmmmm a nice new place to pee!!!"

However, my almost 11yr old female GSD would be mortified if I even hinted at boarding her now and rightly so! She's boarded in the past (when she was younger) and was always fine with it....but the last time I boarded her (approx 2yrs ago) she was most unhappy and I vowed I'd never ask her to do it again. :-(

Each dog is individual and one dog's idea of Heaven may be another dog's idea of Hell.  Just like us and our idea of idyllic holiday destinations I guess?

Never forget, you know your dog best :-)

Our first boarding experience with our rescue was not a happy one but we tried another kennel and she fit in fine at the second one, which we used for ever after.  So you might have to actually try a few. 

I would suggest leaving your dog for a short period the first time so she gets used to the place a bit at a time and gets the idea you are coming back for her.  We leave our girl with a special toy stuffed with cheese that she only gets at the boarding kennel - she loves to go because of that.  We also usually leave a worn sock, her olfactory "photo" of us.

Our present dog actually just went out the door two minutes ago on the way to the boarding kennel as we have a 60th anniversary to attend tomorrow.  She was going to stay at her Grandma's but Jet is 13 years old now, has a sore back and has some fecal incontinence.  Grandma and Jet are both the same age, if you convert the doggy years to human, or vice versa.  Grandma is almost 88 so we felt that if a problem developed with more back pain, or the incontinence, it wasn't fair to leave Grandma holding the bag, specially since she doesn't drive any more.  Our boarding kennel is much better equipped to deal with these things and is closer to our Vet.  If you think way down the road to the time when your dog is old it might be worthwhile establishing a good relationship with a boarding kennel now.

One extra note:  Our boarding kennel gives the owner the bum's rush out of the place and we have had negative reports on it from friends we have referred there.  But the kennel says, and we agree, that the owner's prolonged and excessive good byes are often more stressful to the pet than the actual stay at the kennel.  Something to watch out for.

I have been lucky so far as my sister has always had my dog when we go away, but as she is due to have a baby soon i am not sure what will happen. I have never had to look into kennels but does anyone have a rough idea of how long the dogs are left alone?

Sitters are a nice idea; but are they alot more expensive than the kennels?

We have found one (kennels) recommended by someone at work that has a swimming pool for the dogs as well - I might go and stay there as well sounds more like a spa!!

Its reassuring to hear most peoples dogs are OK, as I thought its probably just me.   We might give her a try when we find one, and drop her off in the afternoon and collect her in the morning to minimise the time for the first one.   How do you tell if they have been unhappy - I guess the owners can give you feed back, or if perhaps they have hoarse voices from lots of barking?  Will also have to get the OH to start wearing a T-shirt for the next month to make sure its got a 'good' scent to leave with her!!

In answer to how long they are left, a couple I have been looking at give detail of 2 hour walks a day, so presumably they are left alone for the rest of that time?

2 hour walks a day ??? They must be a very small kennels. Think how many staff it would need to walk say 20 dogs :) My dogs can be walked together, but I wouldn't be happy if they were walked in a bigger group.

Daisy

I wouldn't expect dogs in kennels to be alone for much of the day at all.  There will be lots of feeding, cleaning, adminstering medications etc. going on through out the day.  The kennels I use do not walk the dogs but have outdoor compounds that the dogs are rotated in and out to throughout the day.  Once the kennels close after tea I would imagine there is very little activity although I know the owner checks them over before bed but judging how tired my dog is after a spell there I would imagine they are ready for a good old rest during the evening.

I had to hunt for a good kennel and actually now use one that my parents recommmended ( i know - mums are always right!!). He has one walk a day and because of the layout of the kennels can always see staff or another dog, he is as happy as larry as long as he feels he isnt alone.
He always comes back happy, well fed and smelling decent!!!

Hi Louise,

I looked into kennels a while ago as I was going away - I wouldn't put my girl into kennels for any length of time unless I really had to, I spoke to about 8 different places and the average amount of time they were given was 2 lots of 10/15 mins a day out of the kennels and that was the dogs only interaction with people each day, some were 2 lots of 5 mins.  There was only one that I spoke to that you could pay more for them to be let out 3 or 4 times a day for 15 mins.  My girl is very active , needs alot of mental stimulation and is also used to my company a lot of the time as I work from home - I think if I was to put her into a kennel like that she would not only be miserable but would end up chewing or licking herself out of boredom - I guess if you have a dog that's quite happy to just snooze and watch the world go by it would be fine.

Karen

I had great difficulty finding a good kennels with my dog, and his first stay was at a Kennels that were highly recommended, but I only used them once as when I picked him up I just didn't feel comfortable its hard to explain really, I think the staff were very offhand and didn't seem to relate to the dog at all. I then used a Kennels that the police use and they didn't require Kennel cough.His first stay was over a weekend and when I picked him up he was very nervous, the owner remarked on this which was out of character for him, his second stay was 18months later but this time for a week.The staff remembered him (they don't get many poodles) and I have to say he was very pleased to see them.Although as soon as the owner appeared he went to pieces. I have to say the owner was quite upset and I felt quite comforted by this as I felt that he would really make an effort to win the dogs confidence. He did say that it was very frustrating that people would ofton just try their dogs overnight, to see if they were happy, but  its not enough time for a dog to settle into a new routine. The good news is that when the time came to pick up my dog he was very happy, he didn't smell and he didn't sulk, and from the reports from the owner and staff they had obviously got to know his naughty traits. He did however sleep for about 48hrs...I don't worry about length of walks ect, there is an awful lot of stimulation for a dog in kennels, its probably more fun having the runs cleaned than spending 5 mins in a enclosed field, or the conversations via dog barks, new dogs arriving daily....well thats how I justify it anyway

Hi Karen, no my dog would not be happy to snooze all day alone. He does sleep quite a lot during the day but likes to be in our company. I don't think i could leave him somewhere if he was only let out twice a day for 15 mins. I realise some people have no option, but i think i would rather not have a holiday. The odd time we have a night out he is very stressed when we come in, as it not normal for us to be away that long. I wonder how much more it would cost for the dog sitters who have your dogs live in.