Aaaaaagh Kennels or holiday dog sitters?

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Louby

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Our usual holiday dog sitters circumstances have changed and we just dont know what to do. Our dog is a timid 6 yr old Lurcher, never been in kennels, well socialised but can be a bit iffy with large male dogs (fear reaction I think) and totally pampered.

I worry that he wouldnt cope in kennels but would be hopefully safe, on the other hand if he went to someones home he would be treated as their own, walked and have company but could potentially also not settle, meet large male dogs out walking, get loose, etc etc.

Ive found a couple of sites that match your dog with host families but I dont like the idea of not knowing where he will go and these companies pick up and return your dog for you. He would be mortified.
The other option is not have a holiday for the next x amount of years!!

Any experiences or advice to share please?
 
I'd be reluctant to use kennels unless you know your dog would be ok. We had to use doggy day care for the first time today - they also do holiday care. It was fab - dog seemed very happy (and tired!!)

I'd rather pay a bit more for this type of service.
 
Just look locally for another one man band type dog sitter. Ask around vets and local pet shops. That is how we found ours.
 
Holidays with the dog? I don't know how well he travels, but now that doggy passports are easier, places like France have loads of dog-friendly hotels.
I have 2 people I would leave the whippet with, but know full well kennels isn't for him, despite lots of positive experiences for him at a young age.
 
Take a look at your local councils website, they should have a list of licenced home boarders. You can then contact them and arrange to meet for a walk, go and visit them in their home, and see who you and your dog feel most comfortable with!
 
Make sure that whoever is going to look after your whippet is used to the quirks of the breed. I keep remembering the tearful lady I met at a dog training class who told me how she left her year old saluki with relatives when she went on holiday. She told them to never let him off the lead. They did and he got run over. Secure professional kennels for my hounds every time if I ever had to leave them.
 
Thanks for your replies.
We are happy to pay whatever it costs for him to be happy and safe. I will have a look on the council website now, I never even realised they list things like that and I work for the council lol! Id feel so much better meeting the people, seeing there garden etc before leaving him with total strangers which is what is putting me off the franchised sites offering 'host parents' They say they pick up dogs to help elliminate stress as its more stressful to walk away leaving them behind than it is to take the dog away. I just know my boy would be terrified being dragged away and taken to a strange house and left with strange people :( which wouldnt be fair on the family either.
He travels great but tbh really fancy a week on the beach if at all possible.
 
planete said:
Make sure that whoever is going to look after your whippet is used to the quirks of the breed. I keep remembering the tearful lady I met at a dog training class who told me how she left her year old saluki with relatives when she went on holiday. She told them to never let him off the lead. They did and he got run over. Secure professional kennels for my hounds every time if I ever had to leave them.
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This is one of my concerns. The kennels appeal because I know he will be there when I get back. He slipped his collar, typical Lurcher head the first time he stayed with his last carer and apparantly was in the middle of the road and wouldnt go near anyone who tried to catch him, despite knowing them!. We found this out from a text from a neighbour whilst we was on holiday! I was mortified and worried for the rest of our holiday.
 
Never ever would I use a kennels having spent every day at one during my childhood because we kept the horses in a yard attached I could not do it to any animal.
The owner would regularly beat the dogs that barked they didn't get fed or mucked out on a Sunday because it was her "day off" and not a single dog in that kennel was ever taken out of it pen never mind walked.
She charged for heating lamps and extra walks neither of which they ever got. And that's the tip of the ice burg dogs being starved as she thought they were over weight, dogs left outside with no ending in case they chewed hers.

I could not put my dog in kennels knowing what went on in that place!
 
We have used a boarding kennels successfully many times, but the dogs were used to using it from a young age and there were always two of ours sharing a kennel, so they always had company. Our dogs always hop out of the car and go into their kennels happily and with waggy tails.

I don't think that it would work with a nervous older dog, who had not done it before.

The woman who runs the kennels that we use is a bit of a fruit loop, but the dogs are all well cared for, and are walked on a lead twice a day as well as having access to an outside run. She often has sick or older dogs in and will medicate them (including giving injections) as required by the owners and vets. She calls a vet or takes a dog to them straight away if it becomes unwell.

There are other boarding kennels around that I would never send a dog of mine to, unfortunately. Personal recommendation is the way to go.
 
I can't remember the website, but when Dan and I had a long weekend away once that was last minute, our usual kennels couldn't fit the dogs in.

We searched and found a dog sitting service so had a lovely woman come and live in our house for the time that we were away. It was £40 a day and that was the same as the kennels, but we did have to pay extra for meals and fuel. She wanted £10 a day for that so not bad.

It was brilliant, she was perfect with the dogs, followed our instructions to the t and even fed the birds in the garden for me.

Worth a thought if your dog is nervous as he would at least retain the security of his own home :)
 
There are plenty of experienced house sitters out there. Your vet will probably have a list, again, meet up with them to make sure you are happy before you commit. The added bonus of having a house sitter is that your home is occupied, your plants get watered and generally less stress on the dog. There are national franchises around like Animal Aunts who are also very good, and very thorough with the interviewing etc of their employees. There is also The National Association of Pet Sitters. They might be able to recommend someone to you.
Remember, it's your dog, naturally you want the best solution, so don't be hurried into making a decision. Meet a few people and then make your decision.
 
We used to do home boarding (not as part of a franchise). Our licencing conditions stipulated that we needed written permission from the owner to walk any dog off-lead. We would only let dogs off-lead well away from any roads in any case - when it's someone else's dog you just end up being so much more careful than when it's your own, in my experience!

So if you'd come to us and told us not to let him off the lead, we would not have walked him off-lead. Simple.
Ditto any dietary instructions, whatever they are. It's not that difficult to stick to other people's instructions and wishes - but I think a lot of the people who used us liked to have that assurance that we would actually do it, rather than a friend/family who might not.

We also used to insist that people come and meet us with their dog, and see the house and garden. This means that not only could you put your mind at rest or identify any potential concerns, but the dog would have visited the place once already. Also we could see whether the dog would be able to fit in with our home.

Our local vet used to have a big folder with details of local home boarders - there are plenty of one-man bands out there: it's finding one which suits you and your dog and you are happy with. They might even recommend someone (we impressed a local vet at one point, and that did us no harm). A local dog groomer and behaviourist also used to keep a list of people - might be worth a try.
We've stopped taking on any new dogs now, but made quite a few new doggy and human friends through it.
 
None of my dogs have ever been in kennels and it's just not something I'd ever be prepared to do. I pay someone to come and stay at our farm and look after the dogs. Well worth the money for the knowledge that they will be safe and happy at home. I have a number of people who will do it for me, a lot of people I know here love to come and have a bit of a holiday away from their usual routines so generally jump at the chance of staying here, and my dogs all know these people which is an added bonus. Have a great holiday and hope you find someone who will look after your doggy for you.
 
Ask around, I used to use the vet nurse at our surgery, she was lovely and my dog loved going to her house but sadly for me she has emigrated to New Zealand. However I have found someone I am happy with through asking other dog owner friends. My new one is lovely I have visited her house with my dog and the friends who recommended her have been completely happy with her services. I do feel word of mouth is the way to go, well for me anyway!
 
My dog stays in a ladies house with her and her dogs, she walks others too and has up to 8 some days ( takes someone to help with 8 obviously) He has a whale of a time as they're all off lead having a ball on the long walks they go on. I know he doesn't like being left there particularly and goes crazy when I pick him up but it's the best I can do. I won't put him in kennels ever as he spent 8 months waiting in rescue kennels for me to find him which sent him loopy
 
Gosh thank you for all your replies, I really do appreciate it. I will call in the vets this week and ask if they have any recommendations. Theres a doggy day care too, so I could try there, never thought of that and Lurcherlink, of course,

'We also used to insist that people come and meet us with their dog, and see the house and garden. This means that not only could you put your mind at rest or identify any potential concerns, but the dog would have visited the place once already. Also we could see whether the dog would be able to fit in with our home'.

I cant understand why the franchises dont encourage this, surely people want to know where their dogs are going and see that they will be happy and settled?

Thanks again :)
 
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I do, but im miles away and im literally booked for the year from the end of the previous year lol. You will find someone but I agree re the franchise, it is a worry not meeting your prospective carer.
 
Following on from this can I ask anyone who does this what is involved licence-wise and if you plan to move to a house that you can run a dog sitting operation from what restrictions apply? I am looking into this as a supplementary income when we move and possibly day care until then. Do people expect you to be there all the time if you were to have them in your home/small kennel setup? For example is fitting in going to do your horses a problem? What do house sitters do if they have their own dogs/horses to care for? Or are the majority non animal owners?
 
Billobong chick...council regulation varies depending on location, some are more strict than others, check the area in which you plan to move, some allow multi boarding for instance ( boarding dogs from seperate households at one time) aslong as you have room to separate should a dog fall ill and need isolation. Funnily enough im never asked how I seperate them when unsupervised which to me is more important.
it's hard for the council to come up with new rules for home boarding but they generally pose the same questions as they do to boarding kennels.
You need a licence and you need adequate insurance.
yes you can leave the dogs but not over night and yes I do leave them to pop to shops, cinema, go out for a meal, i never leave new dogs to long until i get to know them but alot of my clients are long standing clients of many years. I never leave boarders with my own dogs unsupervised but otherwise I never segregate dogs when im home.I dont have issues as new dogs fall into our routine just fine.
again it depends on council re day boarding. When boarding such multiples then you obs restrict being able to leave the property.
a kennel set up in my area requires far stricter regs than home boarding and noise factors need to be taken into consideration if its a neighbourhood type set up.
 
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Look at your local council website, Animal Home Boarding, and it will list the requirements. Interestingly, the fees vary too. My neighbouring council charge £25 whereas my council charge £155, and the licence runs from Jan-Dec and there is no prorata fee, if you apply in October and are granted a licence, you will have to reapply in Jan and pay £155 again...
Every dog staying must have its own feed and water bowls, so you must teach the dogs to read, so they don't drink out of each others bowls! You will need a sesperate fridge for dog food, a fire extinguisher, a fire drill in place in case, spare leads kept at each outer door for emergencies. Dogs not to be left unattended for more than 4 hours. Written permission from clients that they are happy for their dog to be boarded with a dog from another household. You need to keep a copy of all vaccination records. Although it can sound a bit long winded, when you break it down, it's only common sense really and what you do normally anyway.
There is also the possibility that as well as being inspected by your local environmental officer, they could ask a vet to carry out a check, and you will have to pay extra for this privilege.
 
kelsey+tom said:
Never ever would I use a kennels having spent every day at one during my childhood because we kept the horses in a yard attached I could not do it to any animal.
The owner would regularly beat the dogs that barked they didn't get fed or mucked out on a Sunday because it was her "day off" and not a single dog in that kennel was ever taken out of it pen never mind walked.
She charged for heating lamps and extra walks neither of which they ever got. And that's the tip of the ice burg dogs being starved as she thought they were over weight, dogs left outside with no ending in case they chewed hers.

I could not put my dog in kennels knowing what went on in that place!
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I've used kennels for years with no problems whatsoever, if my dog had gone to a place like that, it would not have ended very well for the proprietor :p
I do actually stipulate no bedding and is another reason I would never home board, no one likes their soft furnishings filleted!
Not all dogs are the perfect house guests :p so kennels suit me fine.
 
Thanks both; none of that sounds too onerous. How do you go about separating dogs if you have them in a house situation and you need to leave them to do horses etc? Do you use dog crates or shut them in separate rooms? I don't think I'd want to take on more than 2 dogs or possibly 3 if they were from same family and therefore familiar with each other.
 
Having looked after friends dogs for years and laterly fostering I am going to be a homeboarder, the licence fee is very high for my council and its the same whether I take one dog or 20. I will also be insured, I have 3 dogs of my own who are brilliant with other dogs but even with my friends dogs they are not left alone together. The dogs are walked twice a day and the boarding dog is always kept on a long-line despite what owners say, its not my dog but its my responsibility and their safety is paramount.

OP Im sure there are people like me out there who will take great care of your dog and who only take one dog at a time, my friends dogs never want to go home and dont even bother to say good-bye to their owner. With your whippet being nervous living with confident dogs will probably do him a power of good and he will very likely have as good a holiday as you.
 
I wouldn't ever consider kennels for my two: when I did manage to get away a few years back I used Animal Aunts.

They sent a woman who came and "sat" in the house, supervised the dogs, walked them etc. plus did the fowls and cats.

It wasn't cheap (£90 a day I think it was!) BUT at least I could go away safe in the knowledge that (1) the house was lived in and being taken care of and (2) the animals were OK.
 
My dog can be iffy with others and I feel so much safer knowing she is in kennels. She's been about 10 times, usually very short stays for emergency business/family things but longest stay was 15 days. The first time I guess poor dog didn't know we would be coming back for her as she's a rescue, but now she's a confident dog she absolutely loves the kennels. When I drop her off, she runs in and checks out the other dogs and kisses the keepers - at home she's not allowed to jump up and lick faces, bark at other dogs, drag people around, so I think it's like sending the kids to nanny. She's always cheerful when I pick her up and then sleeps for a week as it's too mentally exhausting. For me, it's the safety element I decided to put first. The place looks a bit like a Russian gulag, but the keepers are caring, friendly and relaxed. The dogs go out at 6am into individual or group runs and then go back into their kennels at about 7/8pm. They can be walked in the south downs fields and washed/trimmed. I don't have mine walked as I don't want anyone else to have the responsibility of trying to hold her when she goes after a deer or other dog eek!
 
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