Vacation Problem

[Codys Mom]

Hi. We are planning a 7 day vacation and have to leave our dog behind. I want to know he's well taken care of while we're away. My options are a kennel or a friend who dog sits. The friend will watch him either at my house or take him to hers. One the one hand, at home he's in familia surrounding but alone most of the day. At her house he'd have people around but strange surroundings.
I guess I'm asking for opinions from others who have experience in this.
Thanks,
Robin

[Jodi]

When we've gone on vacation, I've had dog sitters come to the house. I just felt more comfortable leaving them in a familiar situation. I did taken Snooper to a friends house for a weekend once and she did fine.

IMO, I would prefer to have someone come to my house.

[jmb9101]

Well, since we have had our dogs we have been on one vacation, One of our friends came to our house to house sit, and he watched Harlie, Max was still really little, and wasnt potty trained yet,so he was a lot of work, so he went to another of our friends house to stay so no one would have to worry about 2 dogs, they both did just fine, and were very excited to see us when we got back. So I guess if you know that the person will take really good care of your dog, I would suggest leaving it with them, instead of a kennel...sometimes dogs get quite depressed in kennels. Not all dogs, just some.

[Chrisanne]

I would much prefer have someone come to my house to sit with my dogs.

[Micki]

I am going on vacation soon too, and will leave my dogs at home. My mother in law does not work, so she will be coming to spend the majority of the day with them, but she’s not staying over night. I’m a bit worried about them, but I prefer not to leave them at a kennel. My mother in law suggested that they could come to her house, but her yard is not escape proof and I have 2 major escape artists. I just hope they aren’t too lonely at night. They’re used to sleeping in the bed with us.

One good thing is that we do have a pet door, so they can access the outdoors as needed.

[primabella]

We are having the same problem. Actually, I think it is only me who thinks it's a problem. We are probably going on a 2 week vacation and will need to leave Mickey with someone. That will either be to board him with his breeder (who I totally trust but he will probably get little attention, seeing as there are 20 dogs there and he is unfamiliar witht he surroundings) or stay with my grandparents who don't speak English and like to feed him table scraps. They won't even be able to excercise or play with him and if he (God forbid) gets loose, they can't run after him. He is familiar witht he rea and LOVES it there. But...I'm stuck.

Good luck with the descision.

[Pure14K]

If it's just one dog, I'd say have someone come over & take care of him... I have a kennel with 20 or so dogs at any given time so until I had a family member start coming over to take care of the dogs when I'd be away (or my fiance) the person I did have didn't do a good job. But that's a whole different situation...

[Deja]

I've done it both ways. I've always checked out the boarding kennel ahead of time, made sure it was clean and the runs were ample sized. I've made sure I can provide their own food, safe toys and washable bedding.

I've never had a problem using a boarding kennel, and I knew that my dog was being well cared for.

I've used the paid pet sitter option too. I had someone come in twice a day to walk, feed and play with Jack. I wasn't thrilled with the way the pet sitter worked out- but that's another story.

I also have 2 birds and 3 cats so no matter what I decide with the dogs (I have 3 dogs now) I always have to have someone come in and take care of the cats and birds on a daily basis. Since my brother lives very close by, he's always been able to come in and spend some time with Dante (my Yellow Collared Macaw) and Dweezeil (Cockatiel) - play with the cats a little, make sure everyone is fed, water bowls cleaned etc... and the cat boxes scooped.

Now that my kids are older and my 21 year old son and 16 year old daughter still live at home, (my 19 year old girl is in college and has her own apt.) - they are all available when we go on vacation, so all the pets get to stay at home with the kids. That's the best! Finally... my kids really do serve a purpose! (just kidding )

In December we went away for Christmas - the whole family. I had the boarding kennel arrangement all set for Jack and Max. (Jack is a Golden Retriever and Max is a Brittany) they are very bonded and the kennel was going to house them together. I'm sure it would have worked out just fine. My son's friend was available to house-sit. He was going to come stay in the house and care for the cats and birds. He felt so bad about the dogs being boarded that we left them at home. They all did great with Matt pet-sitting. He works all day and was at our house all night. The dogs made the adjustment quickly and there were no problems at all. All the animals in my house are very familiar with Matt, know him well and he loves them all.

If your dog is familiar with your friend who is willing to take him to her home while you are gone, I might condider that option heavily. He won't have to adjust to being alone and will be supervised better because he'll be with someone all the time.

I would consider all your options and decide what you feel most comfortable with. I'd consider the temperament of your dog and base my decision on what will work best for all of you.

I know it's a tough thing! I think we've all been there...
Good Luck - and most of all - enjoy your vacation!
Let us know what you decide

[Codys Mom]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I still don't know which way to go but I'm fairly certain I won't put him in a boarding kennel. The idea of him being caged is too much for me to handle. He spent his first 6 months in a cage and we could tell when we brought him home that his little paws never felt grass.