Boarding Kennels

[kirsty79]

Hey everyone,

My partner and I are going away the week after Easter. The kennels locally (North Brissy) were getting booked fast and I ended up booking a boarding kennel before I'd seen it. Now, obviously I'm not going to just take the fur kids there and hope for the best! So, I rang the kennels today and asked if we could come and have a look around. Firstly, the owner / manager said we could only come and view when they were available, not their staff because they like to do inspections themselves - do they not fully trust their staff then? Between us, there were no dates available, so I asked if please could we come whilst they were away and a member of staff could show us around briefly. She said a firm no. She eventually said she could do 11am this Saturday. Surely if a good boarding kennel you should be able to pretty much show up anytime during their opening hours to look around? Unless they are hiding something? Also, call me picky, but she didn't sound overly friendly on the phone!

Am I being completly paranoid??

Edited April 12, 2010 by kirsty79

[Teebs]

I can see both sides - When i worked there we never had appointments, just walk in, it was a total pain if you were doing something like washing a dog, or medication and had to drop everything to show someone around, of if the dogs had just all been out and had settled back down and knowing going out was going to stir them all up.

But, at the same time, we had nothing to hide, so anyone was welcome at any time.

Saying that, i would be a bit sus if they wouldnt let the staff show you around, seems a bit weird to me?

[Dogsfevr]

We run kennels & its inspection by time only.

We have nothing to hide but we are responsible for all dogs in our care & refuse to have people coming & going all day.

In our care we have various breeds predisposed to bloat,we also board dogs with heart,epilepsy etc etc & all these dogs need to have there quiet time.

Also in summer we will not have people out during the heat of the day to inspect & one would think most pet owners would consider this as a factor with there own dogs????

Every time someone visits the dogs get very excited so our opening times for inspection are aimed for when the dogs are all outside & content.

When in ITS there quiet time

Also if people come all day when do you feed??Feeding & bloat are important factors

Obviously everyone has a different idea about what they expect but our care is for all the dogs in

[megan_]

If my dog was at the kennels I wouldn't want stangers to be coming in at all times, especially if my dog was being played with etc and someone had to leave them to show a potential client around.

[Sandra777]

Inspection during opening hours I think is reasonable, inspection any time you like - no way!

It is possible their staff are great with the dogs without necessarily being great with people, and since the owner is ultimately responsible for the welfareof your dog I think it is wise for them to insist on meeting new customers and discussing their dog's needs, temperament, tendencies etc.

[Kaffy Magee]

I worked in a boarding kennel. At times it is extremely busy(especially when tour on your own) you simply dont have time to be showing people around, so a time is made that will be a little quieter.

[shmoo]

All these points are good, but also consider insurance and liabilities. Our owner or manager shows guests around. She is responsible for them while they are on the property. Boarding kennels can be very busy at times and we can not have people walking around that are not staff. We also have people come with their children and dogs which need a close eye kept on them incase the child stuck his fingers in a cage or the dogs was a fence fighter.

We have nothing to hide, and a lot of the time the staff won't actually know a guest is inspecting until our boss comes in with them an introduces them.

Then on the other end... I know of kennels that allow inspections... and the premises are lovely.. except you dont see the sheds out the back that the dogs are actually kept in... they are not kept in the lovely kennels you inspected and are thinking you are paying for.

[Poo-Fong]

We do inspections anytime during our opening hours, with the exception of Sundays as we are only open for an hour in the afternoon and it gets fairly busy during that hour and we just don't have the time... When we are open the dogs are usually either out having a run or just about to be so it's not disturbing their quiet time, which is really important to us.

Also no inspections during peak periods like school holidays/long weekends etc - this is for the benefit of the dogs as Showdog said; when it's busy we try our best to keep everyone as calm, settled and happy as possible.

Other than that, if we are open people are welcome to inspect without a specific appointment time. Definitely no inspections/admissions/people coming and going at odd times throughout the day... we just say to people that it is for the comfort and wellbeing of the dogs currently in our care as they are our priority - and we will extend the same respect & courtesy to your dog if they stay with us ;)

[16Paws]

We had our cats in boarding late last year and the kennels were only open for inspections between certain hours. I called ahead to let them know we were coming for 'the tour' and was greeted by the manager who was also a (ex?)vet nurse. In our case, we have 2 cats with medical conditions and I appreciated being shown around by the manager as I could ask questions and discuss their needs - I imagine a junior or newer staff member would not have been able to provide that level of service. ;) We did get there just on 'open for inspection' time and had to dodge someone hosing out litter trays

[Greytmate]

Sometimes there will be council restrictions on what times the public can come on to the property as well.

Kennel staff usually have a lot of tasks to get through in the time they have, a twenty minute chat with a prospective client may not be possible. And as somebody has said, they may not be the type of person who is good with the public.

[labsrule]

All these points are good, but also consider insurance and liabilities. Our owner or manager shows guests around. She is responsible for them while they are on the property. Boarding kennels can be very busy at times and we can not have people walking around that are not staff. We also have people come with their children and dogs which need a close eye kept on them incase the child stuck his fingers in a cage or the dogs was a fence fighter.

We have nothing to hide, and a lot of the time the staff won't actually know a guest is inspecting until our boss comes in with them an introduces them.

Then on the other end... I know of kennels that allow inspections... and the premises are lovely.. except you dont see the sheds out the back that the dogs are actually kept in... they are not kept in the lovely kennels you inspected and are thinking you are paying for.

Serious ;) are these kennel located in Sydney?

[pipsqueak]

All these points are good, but also consider insurance and liabilities. Our owner or manager shows guests around. She is responsible for them while they are on the property. Boarding kennels can be very busy at times and we can not have people walking around that are not staff. We also have people come with their children and dogs which need a close eye kept on them incase the child stuck his fingers in a cage or the dogs was a fence fighter.

We have nothing to hide, and a lot of the time the staff won't actually know a guest is inspecting until our boss comes in with them an introduces them.

Then on the other end... I know of kennels that allow inspections... and the premises are lovely.. except you dont see the sheds out the back that the dogs are actually kept in... they are not kept in the lovely kennels you inspected and are thinking you are paying for.

Serious ;) are these kennel located in Sydney?

Yes, most definitely... and probably much more common than you think!

[labsrule]

All these points are good, but also consider insurance and liabilities. Our owner or manager shows guests around. She is responsible for them while they are on the property. Boarding kennels can be very busy at times and we can not have people walking around that are not staff. We also have people come with their children and dogs which need a close eye kept on them incase the child stuck his fingers in a cage or the dogs was a fence fighter.

We have nothing to hide, and a lot of the time the staff won't actually know a guest is inspecting until our boss comes in with them an introduces them.

Then on the other end... I know of kennels that allow inspections... and the premises are lovely.. except you dont see the sheds out the back that the dogs are actually kept in... they are not kept in the lovely kennels you inspected and are thinking you are paying for.

Serious ;) are these kennel located in Sydney?

Yes, most definitely... and probably much more common than you think!

That is very scary :D - surely they must be contravening some boarding kennel regulation :p - if people know about this, are these kennels being dobbed in or anything done to let unsuspecting dog owners know what is happening. If we all think we are using reputable kennels with great premises but are being deceived as these premises are for "show" only :D , then I sure as hell would like to know about it.

ETA - apologies to OP for hijacking your thread over this issue, but I am shocked at this revelation :p

Edited March 25, 2010 by labsrule

[ellies mum]

All these points are good, but also consider insurance and liabilities. Our owner or manager shows guests around. She is responsible for them while they are on the property. Boarding kennels can be very busy at times and we can not have people walking around that are not staff. We also have people come with their children and dogs which need a close eye kept on them incase the child stuck his fingers in a cage or the dogs was a fence fighter.

We have nothing to hide, and a lot of the time the staff won't actually know a guest is inspecting until our boss comes in with them an introduces them.

Then on the other end... I know of kennels that allow inspections... and the premises are lovely.. except you dont see the sheds out the back that the dogs are actually kept in... they are not kept in the lovely kennels you inspected and are thinking you are paying for.

Serious ;) are these kennel located in Sydney?

Yes, most definitely... and probably much more common than you think!

That is very scary :D - surely they must be contravening some boarding kennel regulation ;) - if people know about this, are these kennels being dobbed in or anything done to let unsuspecting dog owners know what is happening. If we all think we are using reputable kennels with great premises but are being deceived as these premises are for "show" only :D , then I sure as hell would like to know about it.

ETA - apologies to OP for hijacking your thread over this issue, but I am shocked at this revelation :p

We own and operate a kennel on the Central Coast and we make appointment times that suit us and the perspective clients....

We dont allow "drop in" access as the dogs are the very most important thing about our kennels and it can be disruptive.

Most people are very happy to make an appointment time so we dont have the fur guests running around during thier inspection and appreciate that we are so strict if they choose to check in.

I believe in showing EVERYTHING at an inspection even down to the cooked chicken and veges if the people want to see it......:p)

We have bedrooms not cages ........and only take small medium dogs.

I think it is appropriate for appointment in this day and age as we have playtime with the guests most of the morning and afternoon.......not something thats easy to manage if you have ppl popping in to look.

I prefer to meet and show people around as I am the owner and the responsible person for these guests on my property.

I am sure if you look at it from this point it is understandable...

And I dont agree with not showing everything ...and we dont have an "out the back" section.hehehhee

[kirsty79]

All these points are good, but also consider insurance and liabilities. Our owner or manager shows guests around. She is responsible for them while they are on the property. Boarding kennels can be very busy at times and we can not have people walking around that are not staff. We also have people come with their children and dogs which need a close eye kept on them incase the child stuck his fingers in a cage or the dogs was a fence fighter.

We have nothing to hide, and a lot of the time the staff won't actually know a guest is inspecting until our boss comes in with them an introduces them.

Then on the other end... I know of kennels that allow inspections... and the premises are lovely.. except you dont see the sheds out the back that the dogs are actually kept in... they are not kept in the lovely kennels you inspected and are thinking you are paying for.

Serious ;) are these kennel located in Sydney?

Yes, most definitely... and probably much more common than you think!

That is very scary :D - surely they must be contravening some boarding kennel regulation :p - if people know about this, are these kennels being dobbed in or anything done to let unsuspecting dog owners know what is happening. If we all think we are using reputable kennels with great premises but are being deceived as these premises are for "show" only :D , then I sure as hell would like to know about it.

ETA - apologies to OP for hijacking your thread over this issue, but I am shocked at this revelation :p

We own and operate a kennel on the Central Coast and we make appointment times that suit us and the perspective clients....

We dont allow "drop in" access as the dogs are the very most important thing about our kennels and it can be disruptive.

Most people are very happy to make an appointment time so we dont have the fur guests running around during thier inspection and appreciate that we are so strict if they choose to check in.

I believe in showing EVERYTHING at an inspection even down to the cooked chicken and veges if the people want to see it......:p)

We have bedrooms not cages ........and only take small medium dogs.

I think it is appropriate for appointment in this day and age as we have playtime with the guests most of the morning and afternoon.......not something thats easy to manage if you have ppl popping in to look.

I prefer to meet and show people around as I am the owner and the responsible person for these guests on my property.

I am sure if you look at it from this point it is understandable...

And I dont agree with not showing everything ...and we dont have an "out the back" section.hehehhee

Thank you everyone for your replies - I have calmed down a bit now! This will only be the 3rd time I've used boarding kennels (all in different areas) and I guess I just thought the worst. I hadn't stopped and contemplated what havoc numerous visitors inspecting the kennels at anytime would cause. And now its right under my nose, I wouldn't want my fur kids staying somewhere it was possibly a free-for-all.

Its all been a bit last minute organising the kennels. OH won't have pet sitter (don't get me started) and the only family I have here is a sister with a newborn and two boofers of her own to cope with. So, I felt pressured into booking somewhere asap, especially with Easter, everywhere is booked. I was also worried because I have heard a couple of negative comments about this kennels but yet another person was raving about it. I guess I will just go this Saturday for the appointment and try to use my best judgement ;)

[16Paws]

You could always ask for DOLer's opinions on the kennel you are considering. There are quite a few North Brisbane people here so they may have some input.

[toughgirl27]

All these points are good, but also consider insurance and liabilities. Our owner or manager shows guests around. She is responsible for them while they are on the property. Boarding kennels can be very busy at times and we can not have people walking around that are not staff. We also have people come with their children and dogs which need a close eye kept on them incase the child stuck his fingers in a cage or the dogs was a fence fighter.

We have nothing to hide, and a lot of the time the staff won't actually know a guest is inspecting until our boss comes in with them an introduces them.

Then on the other end... I know of kennels that allow inspections... and the premises are lovely.. except you dont see the sheds out the back that the dogs are actually kept in... they are not kept in the lovely kennels you inspected and are thinking you are paying for.

I work at a boarding Kennel, too. I'm a senior staff member and I also do inspections. Don't you hate that when people bring their kids down and the kids

put their fingers through the pen gates Even after I told the parents specifically not to let the kid do that

I've even had adults put their finger's through!!!!!

Too bad if the dog decided to take a bite. Thankfully this has never happened.

We have certain times for inspections during the day and this ensures we do have enough time to care for all the dogs, perform our work duties,

and keep the pens clean and dry. All our staff genuinely care for all the pet's we have boarding with us and are experienced, knowlegeable,

friendly people. I have worked there for 11 yrs.

And yes it does keep you on your toes!!!!!

XXToughgirlXXXX

[sandgrubber]

I allow and encourage 'drop in' inspections, but try to steer them toward less busy periods of the day when the kennel will be open and attended. . . ie, not the middle of a feeding cycle or bath time.

Edited March 25, 2010 by sandgrubber

[shmoo]

I thought of this thread today when we had a husband and wife drop in for an unannounced inspection. That's fine, we will accommodate, but they came in the middle of our lunch break = office unattended. They politely waited until our lunch was over and I made time to promptly show them around the kennels.

[poochmad]

If my dog was at the kennels I wouldn't want stangers to be coming in at all times, especially if my dog was being played with etc and someone had to leave them to show a potential client around.

I agree. I'm all for inspections and from personal experience, highly recommend them, but as a client I prefer appointments to be made especially if the kennels are away from the office - I wouldn't want a stranger around our dogs (or other dogs for that matter).