Do you leave your dog in boarding kennels when you are away?

Question

We are thinking of cancelling our holiday next year as we are not sure if we want to leave him in the kennels as we have heard some horror stories! and my hubby won't let us have a dog sitter in the house (booo!). Can i have your thoughts please.

We are thinking of leaving him with his breeder (who is more than happy). But our dogs mum is quite dog aggressive but the dad is not. They all live in the house, no kennel or crates (which may upset his routine as he is crate trained)

Answer 1

i have never left my dogs in kennels some are good some are bad but kennel cough is rife in kennels due to the amount of dogs at any one time,they also don't get the attention needed,and are often left in there kennels with out exercise.
my family look after my dogs when i go on holiday or my neighbours.

Answer 2

There is nothing wrong with kennels, all you have to do is visit the kennels first. Try getting a recommendation from friends or even better your vet. The vet will not, obviously, recommend a bad kennel. What I used to do was to look around the kennels and speak to the staff about feeding, how many times a day they exercise the dogs etc.
I noted that one person answered that if the dog came from a kennel, you should not put the dog back into a kennel. I do have to disagree with this as all of my dogs have come from rescue homes and have been quite happy to go to kennels and have not looked any worse for it! In fact we used one particular kennels everytime we went away and my dogs used to run upto the owners with big waggy tails!! You can't cancel your hols. just because of your dog, there are loads of good kennels out there. Good luck.

Answer 3

I actually own a boarding kennel. Most dogs do well here. Things to make sure of before you go:
1 shot records. Dhlpp, rabies and BORDATELLA (kennel cough)
2. Do the owners live on site? It is better this way, as you know someone is there.
3. Bring your own food. I don't charge for this, but some places do. Changes in diet will most likely give your dog diarrhea.
4. Big corporate places hire people who may lack skills. Find out who they hire, and why they hired the people who work there.
5. Is your dog in an indoor/outdoor run? These make the most sense, especially if your dog is used to going to the bathroom outside.
6. Does the kennel smell bad when you walk in? That is not a good sign.
7. How often do they feed? Make sure your dog is getting the same amount of meals as they would at home.
8. Pay for playtimes if you want your dog to have "extra" attention. Going into the kennels to give just one dog extra attention makes all the other dogs crazy and stresses all the dogs out.
9. How quiet is it at the kennels? Mine are pretty quiet. Quietness is key, dogs sleep most of the day, and I try to foster that. Constantly going in and out of the kennels does not allow them to sleep, gets them over excited.
10. Do they personality match the dogs that are going to be near each other? This is a huge thing. I don't ever put a small dog next to a large dog. This intimidates the small dog.
11. Make sure you put flea meds on your dog before you go.
12. Tour the kennels without calling. I personally will allow this whenever someone shows up during business hours. Just like a day care, check it out.
13. If your dog is female and not spayed, DO NOT BOARD HER, until she finishes up her heat cycle. Dogs in heat drive the other dogs nuts.
14. Are you comfortable with the owner/manager? Can they tell you about what goes on in the kennels? Are they friendly? Many people are dog people, but lack human interaction skills. Avoid the kennels that have people running it that aren't friendly.
15. Make sure all your questions are answered before you go.
16. Although having a neighbor/friend take care of your dog is fine in most cases, I have had numerous clients use my facility after their neighbor flaked out or did not notice something. i.e. diarrhea., dog got out, etc.

Answer 4

My bro-in-law uses a kennel for his dogs and always has no problem. I think researching a kennel well is a big thing tho. Some will be great, some not so much. It's up to you to research them before choosing one.

We always had a friend come here to stay with the critters. But maybe you can find a boarding place that does it in someone's home instead.

ADDED: Won't your breeder at least follow your crating routine?

Answer 5

I used to leave my dog in a really good kennels where the dog had to be assessed before being accepted. He was so happy there he leaped out of the car and rushed in when I took him and wasn't too bothered about coming home either. Just do thorough research and recommendations from other dog owners.

Answer 6

Try to find a friend that knows dogs and would be able to watch him. Or you could find a well known and liked kennel, but do your research. go to the place and see how things run first hand. if your dog likes to be outside or likes walks, human interaction, make sure the place has enough of that for him. also, if your dog isn't the most friendly of pups with other dogs, check to make sure they are able to handle that and keep him separated. personally, i would never leave my dog at a kennel and rather not leave him with a friend. if he is small and where your traveling to isn't that far away and you could go by car, why not take him with you?

Answer 7

I used a kennel this weekend just gone, for the first time. I did my homework on the kennels in the area and visited each of them. the first one I visited was awful, it stank and I would've cancelled my trip rather than leave my dog there. But luckily I found a family run kennel not too far from here and it was clean, spacious and I felt right about it. although I felt terrible leaving her there and worried about her the whole time I was away I knew she was in good hands. When I went to collect her she was very over anxious to see me and went crazy, she hasn't left my side since we got her back. the owner told me things like how much she had/hadn't eaten and was laughing about some of the things she was doing when she was allowed out for a run and some ball games. it felt nice that they cared enough to note these things. All in all although kennels isn't an ideal place for your dogs to be, I would definately leave mine there again. She is fine apart from being my shadow for the last few days, there's no over anxiety and she doesn't seem to be emotionally harmed in anyway. However my dog is only 7 months old and I guess it's better to leave them in kennels as young as possible to start with so they can adapt and will know that you will come back to get them. We left ours for 2 days as we only went away for the weekend and I think this is a good first time time limit as maybe putting them i kennels for a first time for say 2 weeks while you jet off to the sun, could really scare your dog and unsettle him. I would suggest that maybe you leave him at the kennels of your choice for a day or two if you can just to let him know you will return and he will be aware of the surroundings before you go on holiday.
As yulln said earlier, turn up on spec to see the kennels. i did to all 3 I checked out andas I said the first one was in a disgusting state but the one I chose was immaculate and even though they were very busy, they spared the time to see me.

Answer 8

I have and i will not be doing it again.
I am not saying all kennels are bad, however my experience was not most pleasant.

The next year though i used a dog boarding company called home from home dog boarding,
My dog lady, was always with someone and she came back so happy and relaxed.

Dog boarding is most definitely the way forward
.

Answer 9

If you have heard bad stories about this one kennel then I wouldn't use that particular kennel.
Find another one and ask to see how the dogs live. Ask a lot of questions.

Make sure that your dog is up to date on all shots.

Answer 10

this is my experience with kennels, when i was young we had a westie and my parents put him in a boarding kennel so we could go on holiday and when we came back he was crying and barking . They said that he missed us terribly and would cry all the time !

can anyone look after your dog for you? A kennel might be ok for your dog everyone has a different experience with them.