If you've put your dog in a kennel while away..

Aprilynn0206 · June 2010

How do I do this???? DH & I are going away for a mini-vacation for 3 days/ 2 nights. We don't have anybody that could just stop in and check on our dogs. (We tried that when we were in the hospital for 3 days after I had a last min. c/s and our dogs clearly were NOT cared for.) So I'd like to research my options but I don't know where to start. Can anybody point me in the right direction?

jen_and_scott · June 2010

Call your vet's office, ask if they kennel. If not, ask who they recommend. We have only boarded a couple of times, both with vet offices. In our area, it's between 8 and 12 $/day per dog.

BelleBaby · June 2010

We boarded our dog over our last vacation at PetSuites. I don't know if you have one of those near you or not, but they were great. You just call them up and tell them when you want reservations for. They'll ask you some information about your pet. They'll give you a list (or there will be one on-line) of what you need to bring. The dog will have to be up to date on all of his/her shots (including kennel cough) within a certain number of days of the start of their stay. They also need to be flea-free.

We just dropped her off the day we left and they took care of her. We could call as often as we wanted to check on her. She was very well taken care of.

MarissaLinae · June 2010

Just Google "kennel in city, state" and you should get some listings pop up. This is what I did before for our dog and then I just went to the individual websites to look at pics and see how the place was. You can also call your vet and ask them if they know of any good places. The place we take our dog to is also a doggie daycare. It is really nice and during the day they get to socialize with other dogs and play. Then at night they have their room that they sleep in.

MrsRichard · June 2010

We actually do this fairly regularly. We found a place that does doggy day care and boarding so during the day our dogs can socialize with the other doggies and then at night they put them in their kennels. I have used many different places and this works the best for our dogs. There are some places that just keep your dogs in a chain link run. We have one very high energy dog so just sitting around doesn't really work for her. They also have a webcam so if we wanted to we could take a peek at what's going on there. This place is actually in a strip mall which would bother me if they weren't running around playing all day. It also helps that you can spy on all the dogs playing through the window and stop in at ANY point during their business hours. There are some good privately owned place (like at someone's house or on their property) they are just a bit harder to find and trust IMO.

I think all they really care about is that your dogs aren't agressive and are totally caught up on all of their vaccines. I know I'm rambling but I hope that helps a little.

naturelle25 · June 2010

When I worked full time, we had a dog walking service come to walk London in the middle of the day b/c we were gone for too long. They also offered services to come over and take the dog out while you're on vacation OR they offered to take the dog overnight like regular boarding. I was super happy with the company we worked with and they were insured and bonded, so you could maybe check out dog walking services??

EcoBaby · June 2010

Our doggy daycare/groomer does boarding, and I would go there first because it will include socialization and lots of playtime. A lot of traditional kennels will just keep them in the cage all weekend with an occassional walk. Some daycares have people there overnight to watch the dogs, too. We have a Camp Bow Wow near us, which is a good facility, but we usually use our locally owned place.

There is a Camp Bow Wow in Pittsburgh, if that is where you are: https://www.campbowwowusa.com/Pittsburgh/

I'm not sure if they are all as nice as our local place, but I really like ours.

aldyn · June 2010

The rescue organization that we got our greyhound from has a dog boarding place they recommend so that's what we went with. Others have great suggestions on how to find a place.

Our place is also a doggie day care and actually, my dog is never caged while there. He was tested for behavior before they'd accept him and they usually house him with other greyhounds and he sleeps out in the open just like he does at home. If they sense that he's feeling anxious or wants to get away, they'll make a crate available for him, but he's never forced in.

Expect them to request updated vaccination records; they may want to meet your dog beforehand and expect it to be pricey. Dog boarding is expensive!

Shell24 · June 2010

I asked my vet for recommendations and found a kennel I really really like,

They even sent us a picture halfway through, with a little message from the dog

Sweetrose664 · June 2010

See if you have a PetSmart PetsHotel near you. I used to work there before having DD. They are very clean, the dogs are very well cared for and you can call in to check on them any time. They'll feed your dogs your own food or will feed them Science Diet. They'll feed them as often as you want from free-feed to once a day and will even give them treats during the day. Oh, and they can bring their own toys and blankets with them.The prices aren't too bad either. I really reccomend them! You can go to www.petsmart.com and search for PetsHotels near you.

AngelaL · June 2010

Is there a Camp Bow Wow by you? We love, love, LOVE it there. There are three different play areas for different size/ temperments of the dogs. They are out playing with eachother most of the day. They can go inside/ outside at will. The cabins that they stay in overnight allow them to stand up, so they aren't in a "crate". I can't say enough good things about it. It was hard at first to leave our lab there, but she LOVES it so much and always comes home happy and tired. Check out their website.

peachypear · June 2010

Definitely start by asking your vet and other dog owners. Ask friends with dogs, people at dog parks, etc. I wouldn't go with anything without a recommendation, personally.

~Soleil~ · June 2010

We used our vet but it was 22 a day! Grr

carlab44 · June 2010

We've used a free-range boarding place many times. We actually used to use it for doggie daycare and the dogs love it. I've never wanted to use an actual kennel because I think it would freak one of our dogs out.

Now we have someone come in and stay with them while they're gone. With two dogs (and a cat) it wasn't any more expensive than boarding them and they get to stay at home. For dog sitting we've used a local person as well as gone through Fetch Pet Care (www.fetchpetcare.com).

GoodOman9206 · June 2010

We looked in a couple of places. First we asked our vet for recommendations as well as our local friends. Once we had a couple of places, we stopped by and toured the kennels to make sure the animals were taken care of and we liked the care-givers. GL!

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