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Kellys Heroes

Kellys Heroes

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:pHi there,

I have an 8 y/o Golden Retriever and a 10 y/o GSD and when we go on holiday they WERE put in kennels. We have tried a variety of different kennels - our GSD has horrendous skin problems and needs regular medication so we needed somewhere we could trust, and our Goldie was always a bit on the chubby side (not anymore I hasten to add! :p ) They are never separated that was never a problem.

Kennel #1 brought them back smelly, supposedly "freshly bathed" and very dirty so we didn't want to take them back there.
Kennel #2 the first time they came back fine, but our GSD wasn't given her tablets properly (we left them with the exact amount for a week) and she ended up back in the vets with an enormous vets bill and steroids, creams etc. Eventually we got her right and decided to give this kennel another go this year.

We just firmly state the medicine needed, making sure we spoke to the manager and not a less senior member of staff (no disrespect meant at all, just that we needed to make sure our girl got her tablets and if it meant telling ALL the staff seperately so be it!)
When we returned, both our girls had dropped tremendous amounts of weight, to the point where the GSD was "ribby" and our Goldie was covered in bald, bleeding patches and very thin. Accepted, it was probably stress that made our Goldie chew herself but surely the kennels should have noticed a) weight loss b) these bald patches?!? :eek:
The medicine had STILL not been administered correctly :mad: despite labelled pots and a sheet of instructions (but luckily we got away without having her hospitalised again).

My parents are now refusing to have them in kennels again after this - so we're having to holiday separately now! :o the things we do for our pooches....
Has anybody any experiences with kennels good or bad? And what age is "too old" to put them in kennels?

Favourite sweeties for anyone making it to the end!! :)

p.s...these are not all the kennels we have had them in, a few they were okay in :)
 
Because a) I am neurotic about my animals, and b) it would cost me a fortune, I have never put them in kennels. For years a friend used to move in and look after them, and I would look after her dog when she went away. She can no longer do this so last time we went away a vet student friend of my daughters moved in. I paid her but it was worth it to know the dogs were okay. Would your vets recommend someone who either would live in your house or alternatively would take your dogs to their own home, would cost more than kennels but possibly worth it.
 
The kennels we use are owned by a friend/GSD breeder and a member of our training club so he knows all their little quirks and foibles and rolls his eyes when I hand over a bag of shampoo/meds etc for B :p

B always comes back looking amazing as there are none of the trees there that we have at home and suspect are causing his allergies which then lead to skin infections.
If he blows up again I am actually going to send him there for a few weeks, it is actually cheaper than the vets :o
They go in adjacent runs and don't mind their holidays at all, spend the first few days back home reminding them who I am :o

I am also able to email him and ask for updates.
 
Your story is exactly why I wouldn't put my dog in kennels and why i'm planning to open my own.

I haven't found any kennels i'd even consider for him and some people have no choice so thats why i'm going to open some even I'd be happy with :D

IMO and in your situation I'd go on hols in Britain so dooglies can go with you. It may be a sacrifice but i'd do this. In this months Your Dog they have a feature on Dog friendly hotels. Some imo weren't that friendly in that the dogs weren't allowed on furniture or beds but some were lovely.
 
Ive just got my 1st dog (now nearly 9 months old) and I've decided I'm not going to kennel him. I've researched the supposedly "good" ones in my area and there is no way I'd ever be happy to leave him there. The are left in the kennel/run 23 hours a day and for 1hr they are put in a fenced exercise area. That is no way enough exercise/interaction for my dog (German Shorthaired Pointer) or most dogs IMO. He'd be totally miserable! I just couldn't do it to him.

I have found though and been highly recommended 2 local places that do dog boarding in their home which is what I'm going to do. He will live in their home with their dogs, so will have a lot more contact and exercise and be a lot more home from home.
 
I have left my 2 pointers in a number of kennels local to me but they have come home stinky, hoarse from constant barking and by far the worst, one of them had been bitten (by the other one) and it punctured her knee capsule. How the owner/staff didn't notice the size of her leg, is beyond me. That cost quite a lot of money and much time to heal.

Consequently, my neighbour now looks after them.

As I said on a previous post, we are in the process of buying a boarding kennel. I hope everybody isn't like you (and me :p) and we'll be out of business before we start :o:(.
 
My poor doggie spent two weeks in the kennels whilst we were on holidays and she came back really skinny like you could see her ribs and a bite wound to her lip :O and hadnt been groomed etc so was a state! They also charged us for a large dog when she is a medium sized dog. She aint been near any kennels since
 
LHS said:
IMO and in your situation I'd go on hols in Britain so dooglies can go with you. It may be a sacrifice but i'd do this. In this months Your Dog they have a feature on Dog friendly hotels. Some imo weren't that friendly in that the dogs weren't allowed on furniture or beds but some were lovely.
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We do this too :D we always have a week away (we have family in Bulgaria) and a week camping here in Britain with the pooches and they LOVE it :) the sacrifice is 2 wet smelly dogs in one tent with us!
 
quirky said:
As I said on a previous post, we are in the process of buying a boarding kennel. I hope everybody isn't like you (and me :p) and we'll be out of business before we start :o:(.
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I'm sure, having had the bad experiences yourself you'll be in the elite of kennel owners :P :) you'll soon build up a rep for yourselves, dw, but until someone near me who I trust begins their own, it looks like myself and the 'rents will be holidaying seperately! I just couldn't see them come back to me in the same state :(
 
I only had to put Oscar in kennels once and he came back filthy but the dogs were taken for long walks in the woods and paired up for playtime in an exercise pen. He fell in love with the spaniel he was paired with and tried to leg it back to her when I took him out to the car! A bit gutting but it was reassuring to know he enjoyed his time there - we got another dog for him to play with after that ;)

Now we rent a holiday cottage in Britain so we can take them with us. Welcome Cottages have loads that accept dogs.
 
I work in Boarding Kennels and would happily board my dog there. He would no doubt drop weight, but he does that when I leave him with my Parents, it's just how he is!

It's not the most luxurious kennels to look at, but the dogs are all cared for well - inside kennels are heated, everything has bedding, we have special runs for older dogs that struggle with the slippery concrete, we have a brilliant system for feeds and medication and dogs are groomed every day for the week prior to the day they go out, including bathing free of charge any particularly minging dogs. We quite often spot problems that even the owners haven't noticed!
 
I haven't put Henry in kennels yet, I am a bit worried that because he was in kennels after his last family gave him up, he would think I'd abandoned him as well and was never coming back (yes, I DO know how soft that makes me:o:p:D)

So I pay through the nose for home boarding, or better yet get friends or family to look after him - or best of all I take him with me:)
 
Thankfully we have a kennels not far away from us who have owned siberians for over 20 years and comes highly recommended by others in the breed, I feel happy knowing my dogs are with someone who understands the breeds and their quirks
 
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