Can anybody living in the Oxfordshire /Gloucestershire areas recommend a good (highly recommended !) Boarding Kennels? The Kennels we normally have gone to is 250 miles away and now we have three girls I would rather have somebody a bit nearer to home. Also what are peoples thoughts on the kennel cough vaccine ? I sent my two older ones to a kennels once fully vacinated and they came back with terrible coughs which took a month af antibiotics to clear up.

Can anybody help please.

Thanks

Lucy

The kennel cough vaccine only covers one strain of kennel cough and our vet said not to bother having it as they are so many different strains that it is unlikely the vaccine will protect. We have never had them kennel cough vaccinated when our two have been in kennels and they've never come back with anything.

The only problem with this is that a lot of kennels insist on the dogs having the vaccine.

Intrac which is a spray which is inhaled by the dog to prevent Kennel Cough
needs to be administered at least 3 weeks prior to boarding and only lasts approx. 6 mths. Kennel Cough can take up to nearly 2 weeks to develop before any symptoms start to show.
This will only protect against certain strains of flu not all, and once given if the dog gets it , there is no point in trying to give other antibiotics as conflict between the two will cancel each other out.
As a kennel owner we prefer to leave the decision of the taking of Intrac to the owners but generally don,t recommend it unless the dog is very young/old as Kennel Cough can put a strain on the heart.
We feel that it is better to suggest that if a dog gets Kennel Cough to treat it with antibiotics and keep the dog calm and away from other dogs during this time.
By the way Kennel Cough can be picked up from places other than kennels i.e from vets,parks, roads etc and being an air born virus can attack anywhere but is more prevailant during warm/hot weather.
We do feel that if a dog does get Kennel Cough it is the duty of the dog owner to inform the kennels that the dog has it and cancel the booking they have made so that others already kennelled are not put at risk.
Unfortunately the number of times that we hear from various sources that Kennel Cough can be picked up only from kennels is amazing, and it is only called Kennel Cough due to the number of dogs in a small area that can be at risk .

Bazza in your experience, do you find that dogs who have had Kennel Cough once very rarely get it again? Incidently, the two occassions that my dogs have had it, they picked it up at Ringcraft and never from B.Kennels ......yet :-) Leigh

Hi
Dogs are just as much susceptical to get it again as those who have never had Kennel cough, but strangely enough although we have not had K.C here for some yrs "touch wood" some dogs seem to have a natural barrier and although a kennel can have the virus these dogs do not get it.

Thanks for that. I did realise Kennel cough can be picked up form elsewehere.

My eldest Lab is 14 and so I think it might be wise to do this. I really do not want to leave her as she is so old but it is my best friends wedding in New Zealand and so it is the chance of a lifetime to go over. She has been in Kennels a few times and so I don't think she will frett especially as she will be with the other two. My only concern is that perhaps the kennels may not take her. She is top form and is extremely well. The vet has recently given her a full bill of health. What are your rules on ages of dogs you have ?

Hi
We do not take dogs for the first time at that age due to possible stress etc. we feel that it is not fair on the dog, If your dog was a regular boarder whith us and knew us there would be no problem.
I do feel that if possible it would be better to try to find a "home" type of environment.
There I go turning away business but the animals welfare comes first
Barry

Hi

We would do but both our possible firends and dogs sitters have both just had puppies and so will be unable to have all the girls. We can't seperate Mars from the other two otherwise she will frett. The only other thing is to get a proffessional dog sitter in. Anybody got any suggestions or contacts ?

Thanks

Lucy

hi
Some vets do also run boarding kennels as well, and my second thought would be to seek one out so if a problem did occur appropriate help would be to hand.
Bazza

Thank you for your help and advice.

Lucy

We've used professional sitters before and had great luck. Added bonus is that they are bonded and the house is looked after, plus the dogs are kept on their own schedule in their own home.

Sierra just out of interest how did you trust a stranger to look after your house and dogs or did you meet with them a number of times beforehand and get to know them before going away?

I've always wondered how this professional dog sitting service works and I wonder how I would be able to trust someone I hardly knew :-)

Thanks.

We met with them beforehand and had references. We only had one dog at the time, but she was a young rescue and it was important to me that she feel very comfortable. She adored the man who came (often they have older couples). We had filled out a questionnaire about what our needs were (such as houseplants, garden, etc.) and they gave us several persons to chose from. The service we used gives the sitter three hours a day off to do what they wish and they walk the dog(s) according to whatever schedule you set up. I came home to a puppy that was played with, exercised, had slept in her own bed and felt very comfortable in her routine.

We are lucky now in that for day trips we have a dog walker that we know in the area, but if we go away to somewhere the dogs cannot holiday with us, I will use a professional sitter again since I would rather have my three at home.

Hi Sierra

How much did the service cost you ?

Lucy

It varies from company to company. Jon had just checked to book one at the end of October, but we cancelled since we had unexpectedly bought Kai while on holiday in Cornwall and neither of us thought that it was fair for a seven-week-old puppy to be left. (Long story and before anyone gets worried about impulse buying, I visited Mara's breeder to help her evaluate a new litter of puppies and Kai was irresistible, even after four days of thinking about it before we went back and bought him.)

That firm was £30.00 or so a day, but included care of the dogs, the garden, the greenhouse and the house plants. I should also say that the house was absolutely spotless when I returned from Paris after using housesitters.

Boarding kennels in this area are around £8.00 per day per dog, so it is more expensive to use. However, I really like the convenience of being able to leave and return on our schedules without waiting to pick up the dogs and the idea that their schedules are not disrupted, making our absence easier on them. Brianna has been in a kennel and she has no problems acclimating herself to wherever she goes. Mara, on the other hand, does not adjust well and I don't like to stress her. Kai, I don't think it would matter. Jon jokes that our holiday costs are doubled because of the dogs, but we both see it as just another responsibility and part of our decision to have dogs in our household.