Would it bother you if...

[Jake10]

Possibly a bit ranty but it did put a downer on my holiday...

Got back from my holiday and picked the dogs up from kennels. They had all the emergency numbers, special food/treats, bedding, toys and food bowls. Went to collect them and the kennel staff had given the toys to other dogs because mine were leaving that day (they were my dogs favourite toys - didn't get them back but I had bought them new ones in America which they love).

The staff lost my dogs food bowls so gave me 2 of theirs. Despite getting 3 walks a day Izzy wet the bed and Jake several times resulting in her bed being ruined and them both being bathed (hadn't provided any sensitive doggy shampoo as I asked that they weren't bathed - they used their own now both dogs are itchy!).

Just to top off their fab expensive kennel stay it turns out that Jake had violent diarhea with blood in it for a minimum of 3 days! Apparently they changed his diet a couple of times and if he had continued to have blood in his faeces then they would have taken him to the vets. Not once did they contact me or my emergency contacts.

I'm very dissapointed I always use this kennel with no problems. They know about Jakes sensitive stomach and his kennel stress (he is always in the quiet kennels) so they shouldn't have messed with his diet/treat type and allowance. They didn't know about their sensitive skin as I don't use their grooming parlour and didn't want them bathed. I can't blame them for wanting rid of the wee smell though.

Would you still use this kennel?

ETS - thats more of a rant than I thought it would be

 

[soloabe]

No i wouldn't use them again and i would probably write a complaint.
This is why i don't use kennels and either have someone at the house to sit or use a fab home boarding lady.

 

[numptynoelle]

I wouldn't use them again! Such a pity if you've used them before with no problems but they've completely betrayed your trust in them now. Grr, I'm really mad on your behalf now...

Hope you can fix the itching and Jake is back to normal x

 

[Jake10]

No i wouldn't use them again and i would probably write a complaint.
This is why i don't use kennels and either have someone at the house to sit or use a fab home boarding lady.

My elderly next door neighbors and grandparents offered to have them for the 2 weeks but both dogs are under 3 are very lively and take advantage if given the chance plus my granddad encourages play fighting

How do you find reliable/trustworthy house sitters and home boarding?

 

[stargirl88]

I would never use this kennel again! I've worked in several kennels, it's not difficult to keep tab on the location of some bowls and sharing out your dogs toys because they were leaving? Not calling etc... they sound totally incapable to me. Make a complaint and do not go back.

 

[Kellys Heroes]

No I wouldn't use them again we made that mistake last year hence why I am at home with the dogs and my parents are in a far away land on holiday!! both dogs were a bag of bones, they didn't give Tara her tablets properly and Misty who doesn't do nerves or stress was tearing her fur out in anxiety - they said they had bathed them and yet they were dirty, smelly and knotted.
Don't put up with any kennel which does not do as you ask - we can't find a kennel who can manage our dogs with their tablets and problems effectively, hence we don't go on holiday together anymore
and I think at 10 they deserve their home comforts now anyway

 

[Roody2]

I wouldn't go back TBH, how can they lose your dogs bowls? Surely they should be organised enough to keep every dogs posessions to the right dog(s)!!
Ignoring your feeding instructions is a definate no no!
Sounds like there may have been some staff or management changes since you last kept them there.

I would certainly be writing a complaint letter to the manager of the kennels.

 

[galaxy]

I have decided never to kennel Harley. The one that comes "recommended" in this area doesn't walk the dogs, just puts them in an "exercise area" 1 hour a day. That's not enough exercise for any dog IMO!

I'm putting Harley into a home boarding place. 2 have been highly recommended, one by my dog trainer so am going to use that one.

To find a home boarding place look on your coucil webiste and there will be a list of approved estblishments in your area.

 

[Jake10]

To find a home boarding place look on your coucil webiste and there will be a list of approved estblishments in your area.

I didn't know you could find them on there thankfully the dogs are coming with us when we go to Scotland at the weekend

 

[Jake10]

No I wouldn't use them again we made that mistake last year hence why I am at home with the dogs and my parents are in a far away land on holiday!! both dogs were a bag of bones, they didn't give Tara her tablets properly and Misty who doesn't do nerves or stress was tearing her fur out in anxiety - they said they had bathed them and yet they were dirty, smelly and knotted.
Don't put up with any kennel which does not do as you ask - we can't find a kennel who can manage our dogs with their tablets and problems effectively, hence we don't go on holiday together anymore
and I think at 10 they deserve their home comforts now anyway

Sorry that you've also had a bad kennel experience we had a similar problem with Jake when they were first kenneled (in the big noisy block) he didn't eat and started chewing on himself but was fine once he was in the quite older dog block. I think we're going to be doing more dog friendly beach/walking/pub hols and maybe some island hopping

 

[Bettyboo222]

Word of the mouth is a good way to find house sitters. I find thats better than ads

 

[Haha]

Yes it would bother me and NO I would not ever use them again. I would write a letter of complaint. I have never put my dog in kennels if she can't come with us them daughter, MIL or sister look after her at our house Oh yes and sister and or daughter look after the horse as well

 

[Kellys Heroes]

Sorry that you've also had a bad kennel experience we had a similar problem with Jake when they were first kenneled (in the big noisy block) he didn't eat and started chewing on himself but was fine once he was in the quite older dog block. I think we're going to be doing more dog friendly beach/walking/pub hols and maybe some island hopping

Yes this was a kennels recommended by my uncle too! But our dogs just reacted badly and the staff came across as inexperienced and unbothered...I think a lot of them were my age or younger which my dad wasn't too happy about (although as I pointed out, at 20 I can easily handle my GSD and they must be used to it) it was more their attitude that was the problem.
Our girl ended up being hospitalised at the vets again after we sent her for a week with the right amount of tablets and she came back with over half of them left - it was one of those "oh *****...' moments!!

Camping with the dogs is our family holiday now!!!!

ETA thats odd, I got blanked for a 4 letter word with 5 stars xD

 

[littlemisslauren]

QR
I would never use them again, and I would make sure friends / family avoided them too!
How hard is it to keep one dogs stuff seperate from others??

If I EVER get to go away I'm gonna hunt down CAYLA, throw the puppy at her and run!

 

[CorvusCorax]

It would bother me very much, yes, I don't take bowls with me but they are left with old smelly towels that smell of home, and whatever medication B is on with the dosages double and triple checked, and shampoo if he needs it, and put up with me emailing every few days, asking 'are they alright?' and they always come out looking better than they were when they went in

I realise I am very lucky and they specialise in GSDs.

 

[dibbin]

My friend used to kennel her Tibetan Terrier with a local dog trainer (who she'd known for a long time) whenever they went on holiday. She stopped about 4 years ago when she found out that her dog was being used by the woman to help teach her own dogs to walk quietly on the lead - by tying her dog to my friend's dog as a result, my friend's dog is now very aggressive towards other dogs if she/they are on the lead. Also, she's a long-haired dog who needs to be brushed daily, and was coming back from the kennels with mats in her coat that had to be cut out

The aggression is getting better, but that's because any time they've gone away in the last 4 years she's come to stay in my house which she loves, and apparently she's much more settled when she goes home. When she got home from the kennels she would run round the house barking, when she's been with us she walks in like she's never been away!

 

[WoopsiiD]

I'd be fuming! (I'm afraid I have a short temper when it comes to family and that includes furry family!)
I also would be disgusted at paying out x amount of money for a service that was not provided and I would never use them again.
Luckily when we had Tessa we took it in turns to holiday..when ma n pa went away there was always someone to move in with her for a week/fortnight.
The bugger we have now is coming with us!

 

[CAYLA]

QR
I would never use them again, and I would make sure friends / family avoided them too!
How hard is it to keep one dogs stuff seperate from others??

If I EVER get to go away I'm gonna hunt down CAYLA, throw the puppy at her and run!

*Cayla moves to opposite end of the Country

I would be angry as hell, that is a fair few mistakes and being incompitent to brush it under the carpet, yes I get that he could have gotten loose faeces through stress (I would hazard a guess thay jsut fed him on a cheapie dry food of their choosing and not your own), but to then change his diet and make it worse is beyond me, if he has been with me, he would have been on boiled chicken for the remainer of his stay, (my cost) and a check with the vet so it was atleast on record he was seen even if I knew he was fine in himslef, giving toys to other dogs, is not on either, what if the other dogs are destructive and eat them, and they become a foreign body (lovely for owners to return to) and kind of defeats the (cross contamination) rules they prob stacked your bowls up with all the rest.
I would not use them again, not all kennels are bad, so not a huge rush to find home boarding, but of course that is the best way
How where your dogs in themselves?

 

[CAYLA]

Ps, I would maybe be put something on their website if they have one, about the service you reciebved to warn others.

 

[Jake10]

How where your dogs in themselves?

Thrilled to be going home... slightly duller eyes, less shiney coat, the apparently (so the kennel staff say) "highly strung very vocal" terrier has been withdrawn and grumpier than usual (hasn't barked or made an attempt to cover herself in fox scats). Jake has been tense and very alert/wary.

But both are eating well (didn't get any food back from kennel - left more than enough for 2 weeks so I hope they used it on them). Jakes poops are normal would have preffered he went to the vets though even if I ended up paying extra (I'd have been straight on the phone to the vet if it had happened at home - even though he is sensitive he's never been that bad). I'm thinking an intensive squeaker toy play session is needed as well as a good bath (they still smell of wee) and the normal routine

 

[mollichop]

Oh, shame you had a bad experience and I agree that is not acceptable.

Just to share the flip side with you though - my ex runs a country boarding kennels and there were 2 cocker spaniel sisters due to be collected at 2.00pm one day. I took them for a walk at 1.00pm both just had wee's. Went back in kennel everything fine.
Owners come to collect, my ex gets them and as he picked up the luxury fleece bed they shared, it was absolutely soaked in wee!

Also, one of them did a poo in the time in took to get from kennel to reception, right in front of owners It looked so bad as if they had not been out and lying in their own mess - but they had honestly both been out and bed was dry half an hour prior!

We felt terrible, owners weren't happy (understandably).

So accidents do happen, but in your case too many to be forgiven in my oppinion.

Hope your dogs are happy now they're home and the itching soon stops