My sister has moved to south africa and I will be visiting her in a few months. I usually always take my dogs with me on holiday (france, holland etc) ... but a 12 hour plane journey would not be fair on them so I am forced to find some boarding kennels for them for a week.

They are very active dogs, but well behaved! They need a run off lead or at least a lead walk every day... I would like them to be boarded together... It would be great if they were in a home enviroment but im not expecting miricles so thats not vital lol!

Does anyone know of a nice boarding kennel in our around hampshire.. or the south east of england?

no one?

I know of one in Noth London if thats not too far. I know of a lot in Hampshire that I wouldn't go anywhere near.

We used one in Surrey once, near Dorking. Our eldest stayed with them for two weeks and had a great time, but that may be because the owner's kids fell in love with her and so after the first night she slept in the house.

Don't think I'd use them again though. The couple were lovely, but the kennels themselves were a little bit too much like a concentration camp for our two, who are used to their comforts. They also kept asking questions about how much we paid for the dog, and where they could get hold of the same breed. In the end, we were both worried that there was a puppy farm in the making.

Have you tried speaking to dog trainers and dog walkers locally? Many of them offer home boarding as a sideline. My only concern with boarding the dogs in someone's home is that they will get used to being spoilt - fed scraps from the table etc, that they certainly don't get at home. 

I use a fantastic one but it's near Sittingbourne in kent - might be too far for you to travel. Each "block" has a huge paddock, which the beasties are allowed to run around in for 15/20 min sessions about 4/5 times a day. My 3 Rotties love it there - they're kenneled together and always come back absolutely exhausted.

I like the fact you could go and view/inspect it at anytime - rather than just a 1 hour window when you wouldn't know what it was like the rest of the time. By having an open viewing means that they never know when potential clients will turn up, so it's a better reflection on how it runs on a day to day basis. My OH said he'd stay there! Food is included in the price and they feed Arden Grange, you can supply your own but don't get a discount.

Only downside is they charge by the day, rather than the night, so an overnight stay will cost £60 (£10 per dog per day), whereas most kennels only charge for the night if pooches are collected before 12 the following day. However small price to pay for peace of mind.

Hi don't know how far you want to travell but this place is great. It's not one i have used (Licky to have great dog sitter!). But I have beed there and can vouch for it. Friends have used it and apart from the cost ouch!! love it. However they do get fully booked very fast so some forward planning is needed. They could cope with my three Benies with no problems though so size and quantity are not a problem as far as I know.
http://www.happy-paws.co.uk/
Hope this may help
Aileen

Have you considered asking someone to stay in your home whilst you are away?  We did this last year and felt it was better for the dogs staying in their own enivronment. A friend gave me a phone number of someone in the Southampton area but she only stays local ish..  You can also ask in your vets as sometimes (and i know it to be the case at ours) some of the veterinary nurses will do this.  Also try asking any dog walkers whilst out with them if they could recommend someone.
The girl that stayed at our home charged £20 per day and we have 3 dogs, so overall it can also be cheaper if you have several dogs. 

I can't recommend any Kennels in Hampshire.  Would never use them again!!!

OUt of interest, what is the rough cost of kennels for a dog for a week?

In Scotland ,we are £10 a day per dog, does'nt matter what size of dog!!
We had 5 in for 2 weeks in August ,cost more for them than our holiday!

In London it can be £25 per day for 1 dog.

I can highly recommend these http://www.von-wolf.co.uk/about.htm i always kennel my 4 with them (3xgsd's & a Malinois). Havent used them this year yet as i havent been away but they were charging £8 per dog per day last year.

Nicci

can anybody reccommend a kennel near Portsmouth that is open over the new year. thanks

I can recommend a kennel just east of Brighton if anyone is interested. Maybe a bit far for some to travel, but worth travelling for if you want a good kennel.

I have seen an add for a kennel called Lucy's Hotel which looks lovely over in Worcester area and another one which is similar in Devon. A proper hotel with double glazed doors on the kennels. Each kennel has its own temperature setting, so if your dog likes it hot and the dog in the next kennel likes it cold they can adjust each kennel accordingly. Some also have hydro pools and webcams so you can watch your pooch while your away.

Try Dellbruck Petlodge, Nr, Smallfield Surrey, convenient for Gatwick, board all breeds but specialise in GSD's, they have 2 secure paddocks that dogs run in at least twice a day, dedicated staff and owner is a qualified veterinary nurse, would highly recommend

Ive never used kennels but there are two that I've heard good things about.

One is Gaydogs (near Arlesford, out near Alton way) a very old established kennel their website is http://www.gaydog.co.uk/Home/home/Home, they have places available over the new year apparently (not xmas day though).

The other is Chilworth (near Southampton/Eastleigh) http://www.chilworthkennels.com/
it looks very nice, clean and they seem to give plenty of exercise and they say their kennels have been built to a higher spec than is required as standard.

Might be worth checking these out. See if you can book an appointment to view the premises.

I have used Gay Dog for the one time any of my dogs have been in kennels. He came out very happy but was a bit smelly. They give you the option of allowing your dog to share with another similar dog which mine enjoyed.
I have heard good things from Chillworth but believe they get booked up very quickly.
The best kennels I have found in Hampshire is Woodside in Fareham but as they are very small are probably already booked up.

My babies have just come back from the http://www.caninecountryclub.co.uk - they are based in Bude but Tim does come to Hampshire and London to collect. The place is absolutely amazing, 4 walks per day all off lead, loads to look at and a proper bed to sleep on. yes, its expensive but normal kennels have made them extremely stressed and therefore I've not really enjoyed holiday. It's not home but it's a very, very close thing - would never use anywhere else

Do they take day boarders?

Hampshire here, I could recommend one that keeps them in a home situation or a kennels near Basingstoke but Thats all I would send my two to Im afraid. Have you thought about dog sitting service? so they could be at home?

That looks fantastic I would not mind going there myself. Definately put it on my favorites if Kelly moves from here to IOW.

Interesting that we all look for different things?! :) 
I wouldn't be happy with my dogs running free with strange dogs on grass that couldn't be disinfected.  I'm happy that I can control my own dogs and 'read' strange dogs but I wouldn't be happy to trust others to do the same, especially if it was the 14 year old Saturday girl who was given the job of exercising the dogs.  Likewise with infection.  I prefer to leave my dogs in a safe and secure kennel with their own covered run where they can be protected against less healthy and ill tempered dogs. :) 
Good that we all have a choice though and that we can all leave out dogs happily so that we can enjoy our human holidays. :)

Having run kennels myself, I'm always facinated that kennels never publish or tell owners how many they are licensed for.  If you work out the numbers when they are full, the actual time available to exercise the dogs is very small. :(

Got a feeling my friends put their border in here when ever they go away. There happy so is Bob the dog.

I know this may be dumb but why would you disenfect grass? All the places we walk have cow, fox, dog and pony pooh all over the place its called the countryside!!
I like the idea of mine playing in fields with other dogs as they do here at home about 3 - 6 of us walk together every moring. I could tell someone if my dog was aggressive ect..or pick not to have them in a communal kennel arrangement,  I would not go away if anyone would suggest locking my two up for the majority of the day.. I agree its good to have a choice but I would not go so far as to insist on clean grass. Kelly who ours go to has an astroturf garden which she can keep clean but, they are off up the fields at least twice a day with her three dogs. She has a max of (6) at one time counting her three, they use their own crates to sleep in, unless Kelsey lets Jake sleep on her bed!!! They have been going there since they aere about 4 or 5 months mainly day (rugby at Twickebham) or our annual hol's.

why would you disenfect grass?
You can't but I would want any ground that my dogs shared with others to be disinfected, which is why concrete runs are more hygenic. 

I could tell someone if my dog was aggressive ect
You might - not all owners do!  You also cannot tell if one dog is going to be wound up by another dog if you can't 'read dogs'.  To mix dogs safely you need to watch them all the time and not all kennel owners or their staff do that - they don't have the time!

Having run boarding kennels for 100 (+100 quarantine + 60 cattery!) any infection that one dog brings in will run rampant throughout the kennel.  When you run your dog in a public place, there is much more grass and the chance of cross infection is less.

I rarely leave mine these days, but choose a kennel where they have a large,tiled to waist high, centrally heated kennel with a plastic bed and their own vetbed.  They then have access to a large covered run for their own use during the day in all weathers.  They are put to bed at 10pm with a biscuit and let out at 7am, which is what they're used to.  Many kennels shut the dogs in before 4pm at this time of the year (staff work from 8am until 4pm in the winter) and they're not let our until 8am and the owners wonder who they are dirty when they go home! :(

It sounds as though you have found a small set up where there aren't too many dogs and the owner knows yours, obviously her own and hopefully the one other strange dog who is there with yours.  That's great but when you're dealing with 60-100 strange dogs it's not that simple. :)

There are quite a few kennels like the one in Bude around. If you go onto David Key's website who designs kennels you can see others like it around the country. He also designed the Dogs Trust ones as well.

I have his book on kennel design and it proves great reading if your interested in setting your own kennels up or even what you should be looking for in a kennel.

Hiya - Yes they do take day boarders, it's handy to know as if you do want to take the dogs to conrnwall you can drop them off if youwant to go out somewhere un dog friendly during the day or night!

Hi Westcoast,
I felt compelled to reply to your comments! We built the Canine Country Club for people like us who adore their dogs. We only have 15 suites available and although we could of been licenced for 60 dogs (owing to the size of the rooms) we take a maximum of 20 at any onetime. We do not employ 14 year old Saturday girls, instead we work 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with the help of a fantastic 23 year old, who works full-time with us.
We have studied dog behaviour for many years and believe that we are very experienced in this area. When you mention being able to 'read' strange dogs,the guest dogs who stay with us are not strangers to us. All owners have to fill in an extensive booking form, which tells us all about their dog, their temperments, quirks etc. We then assess each dog on arrival to make sure that the information on the form is 100% accurate. We do not mix all guests in group walks, just the sociable ones, with their owners permission. Because of the small number of dogs we take in we build up a real bond with each dog and know them really well.
You also mention not wanting to walk your dog on grass that has not been disinfected. Obviously that is not quite possible when you have the acreage that we have for the dogs to run on. It would also be completely unnecessary, as the dogs who come in for their holidays are all healthy, otherwise they wouldn't be allowed in. You stand more chance of your dog picking up 'nasties' in the local woods, or an area frequented by dog walkers, than you ever would here.
The people who bring their dogs to us want more than a traditional kennels has to offer. Because we can group walk a large number of our guests the dogs get to spend 3-4 hours outside inthe fields or play area each day. It has been proven that it can be very stressful for a dog to be kept in a small area for a long period and to have to eat and toilet in an enclosed, concrete run. Twenty odd years ago it ws considered perfectly acceptable to keep dogs locked up in noisy, cramped conditons, for perhaps weeks at a time whilst owners holidayed. Thank goodness that times have changed and that new kennel builds have moved on.
I totally agree with you that some kennels do not want to show how many dogs they are licensed for, most of the older ones can take up to 100 dogs and still maintain that they are walked twice a day! If you look on a site called www.boardingkennels.org you will find that the better kennels are more than willing to show all the information about themselves.

Another good kennels form the David Key website is www.elmtreekennels.co.uk