Boarding advice

[Chocolate Lab]

Hello,

My husband and I are going to be away for the weekend and we do not have any family close to us that can watch our puppy while we are gone. Our trainer has a Kennel/boarding business, one of the ladies in our training class told me that she left her dog there when she went on vacation and said it was nice.
I just want to know if anybody has any advice on Boardiing our dog when going away, is there something that I should be concerned about? our puppy has had all of his shots and has had a shot for Bordella he is 4 months old.

Thanks

[Pugdawg1]

I'd pop in, spur of the moment thing, and ask to see how everything is there. See if it's clean, the folks there are interacting with the dogs, everything look "ok"... I think that says a lot.

One lady did that on a place she was considering boarding her pug at. Poop & pee in all the cages, an unsupervised dog in one area, and she never did see anyone there. She left, and made a note.. NOT to bring her pug to that place.

[Kelly]

I agree, i work in a kennel and we keep it as clean as we can. But don't jump to conclusions if you see poop in a cage. Alot of dogs are constantly pooping all day and the staff just may not have noticed yet.. See how the people are, if they seem friendly, ask to see where the dogs are walked.

Myself, I can usually name a dog from seeing him/her when she or he walks in the door (we have alot of frequents). People love that.

Working in a kennel is hard work, people think it's easy, but there is ALOT that has to go on.

So just ask as many questions as you can and try to get the vibe from the place.

[kazkirkpatrick]

Ive had good and bad boarding experiences, but you shouldnt be afraid to board your dog. Go in and ask for a tour (right there and then, dont make an appointment). Ask what they do if your dog gets sick, if there is someone on the premises at all times, how often do they let the dogs out etc etc.

I love my regular boarding place, huge runs for the dogs, playground, extra walk/play time. One time they were full and they had to go somewhere else, Cooper was ok, rexie was devastated. She lost 10 lbs, her nose was raw, her feet were raw, she was exceptionatly clingy. I found out they didnt fulfill my request that they be in the same run ("we didnt think that was necessary") and she was away from her big brother the entire time and basically had a mental breakdown. I shall not be going back there again!

[chazzysmybaby]

I wanna board my dog at a nice place in New York City cuz that's where I live, like maybe a doggy hotel because my whole family and our very close family friends are going on a plane to florida. Do you know if dogs can fly with owners? And does disney land allow pets?? You see the commercials with the dogs but I don't really know....

[Novel]

Yes you can fly with your pet, but if it is over a certain weight, it can not fly in the passenger area but must be crated in the cargo area. There is usually an additional charge also.
I have no idea if Disney World allows pets. Try their website.

[chazzysmybaby]

My puppy is 11 pounds. What's their limit?

[mulroony]

Chazzy -

It is not a weight as much as a size limit. The carrier must fit under the seat and the dog must be able to stand up and turn around in the carrier for most airlines. The dog will not be allowed to leave the carrier on most airlines. I would not ship a young puppy under the plane. This is very trying for well trained older dogs let alone a puppy. The dog will have to be vet checked very close to the flight, usually within a few days. The dog will need to hold its bladder for up to 5-6 hours, check-in/flight/time you can get it somewhere it can potty. I have never flown w/ a dog, but know it can be a lot of extra work/planning. I doubt Disney allows dogs in the parks. Maybe their hotels, but I doubt that too.

I bet there are a lot of great boarding places in NYC. Look at a few, decide which ones you like then look at their price. This is not a thing you want to penny pinch on, with such a young pup. Kennels are hard for a lot of dogs, and being seperated at such a young age can be very hard. Can you maybe find a house sitter, that would be willing to look after the pup. Would you consider paying a "professional" dog sitter? Do you know any college students? If you know them to be responsible and trust them, they will do it for much less and give the pup lots of attention. I think you mentioned you pup was not that good with other dogs. In this case, I think a house sitter will be able to give your dog a lot more attention then it would receive in a kennel.

[chazzysmybaby]

I don't know. I'm on a budget right now. And if my Mom were to give me money for him to board somewhere, I'd have to work REALLY hard for it. Example: "spring" clean the entire house and cook at breakfast and lunchtimes.

How much would a professional dog sitter cost?? And college students would be great because there's a university just around the corner from my house! St. John's University. And my puppy gets really attached to me. He'd start crying even if I leave him outside the house for 10 minutes.

[mulroony]

I think it might be time to get ready to start cleaning. Owning a dog is alot of work. I work a part time job, while attending school full time, and do extra side jobs to be able to support my dog. I would only go with an outsid person if you know them/trust them. Not all people are trust worthy. As far as cost, that is another thing. I am paying my little brother $100 (even more if things go well) to watch over Shelby for the week, but he is my brother and really hard up for cash right now. I would expect this to bea minumum for like 5 days and expect to pay at least $200 maybe more. Depending on how long you have you could run a cheap add in the student paper or post flyers around campus and interview a bunch of different people. Get your parents involved in this though seeing how it is their house and all. If you do decide to do this maybe offer a bonus if they do a good job caring for the dog.

The other thing I am doing with my brother, since Shelby is virtually attached at my hip, is having him walk her and play with her now in preperation for my trip. It would be harder to get the person watching the dog to do this, but maybe like a walk a week. Depending on when the trip is, it might be hard to find someone that is not busy w/ classes.

Talk this over with your parents though and propose all the different options and see which one they are most comfortable with. They might not be comfortabl with a stranger in their house. Good luck.

[chazzysmybaby]

Yeah they're not. They're paranoid about stealing and whatnot. As for my bros, HAHAHAHA they would never watch over my dog properly. I could ask a college student to watch my dog. But I still don't feel safe with Chazzy all by himself. I really wanna take him but I don't know if the hotels, or disney world would let him in,

[mulroony]

Are there some neighbors or family nearby that you parents trust, and would allow to stay in your house and watch Chaz?? I would not have him live with someone else because you being gone is going to be hard enough, amongst other issues. It is hard to leave a dog behind, but sometimes you have to and I promise your pup will love you when you return. I would sit down and talk it over and come up with the best solution for Chaz

[chazzysmybaby]

Yeah i'll talk to my parents about it. i can leave my baby at home w/ a sitter or w/e, or take him to florida and stay at a doggy daycare while i'm in disneyland

[Pugdawg1]

Originally Posted by Kelly

I agree, i work in a kennel and we keep it as clean as we can. But don't jump to conclusions if you see poop in a cage. Alot of dogs are constantly pooping all day and the staff just may not have noticed yet.. See how the people are, if they seem friendly, ask to see where the dogs are walked.

Myself, I can usually name a dog from seeing him/her when she or he walks in the door (we have alot of frequents). People love that.

Working in a kennel is hard work, people think it's easy, but there is ALOT that has to go on.

So just ask as many questions as you can and try to get the vibe from the place.

I'm not talking one pile of poop. In the case I was talking about, it was mutliple piles, and the dogs had a hard time to not get in their own feces. THAT I don't find acceptable.

[chazzysmybaby]

That's just kinda disgusting...