Boarding My Dogs

[Baileys mum]

Hi everyone,

My OH & I are talking at the moment of maybe taking a trip to Tasmania at the end of the year (probably October) Its been years since we had a holiday for ourselves, we have always wanted to see Tasmania & my OH has a cousin over there that he would love to visit.

We would probably be going over on the Spirit of Tasmania, so we can take the car over, & we will probably book 6 nights in Tassie, so all up we would be gone for 8 nights.

So our problem is what do we do with our dogs? We have 4 dogs, Jasper who is currently 9 months old, Brandy who is nearlly 3, Bailey who is 4 & jessie who is 13. They all live inside & are pretty pampered.

I don't think the 2 younger dogs will have a problem being boarded, they are pretty easy going & if they can be boarded together they might even have fun, but Bailey is very close to us & loves his comfort, so he might find it a little overwhelming & would probably rely on Jessie boarding with him to relax him.

Which leads me to jessie...Do you think she is too old to be boarded? For her age she is in fairly good health, she is nearlly deaf, has a little arthritis in her back leg, & currently has an ear condition at the moment which she will be having surgery for in the near future, so hopefully that will be cleared up by October. jessie is a pretty laid back girl, loves people & although she sleeps alot more now, is still very playful & doesn't act too old.

She is very close to Bailey & would probably be alright if boarded with Bailey.

So what do we do? The whole idea of leaving them & boarding them is very stressful to us, we don't really want to let them stay with family members as they have pets of there own & I would worry about our dogs escaping, (atleast boarding facilities are pretty secure)

We have been doing our research & have short listed 4 establishments that might be suitable.

Elcho park pet hotel in Lara, Tree tops boarding kennels in Sunbury, Kepala park pet resort & vern ryans pet hotel. We have not yet inspected any of these establishments, but looking at their websites, they all offer deluxe accommodation suites (which we don't mind paying the extra money for, if it means our dogs will be a little more comfortable ) they all accept older dogs, & they all allow dogs of the same family to be boarded together. We are planning on inspecting these establishments in the next couple of weeks.

So I was just wondering if anyone could give me some advice & reassurance & also if anyone has used any of the above kennels, where you & your dogs happy with them.

We would really love to have this holiday & we probably need it too, but if we can't find a place for our dogs, that we are comfortable with, then we will probably just forget the whole thing.

Edited January 25, 2011 by Baileys mum

[Dogsfevr]

Our current oldest in boarding is 16 & this is quite a common age .

10 = 15 is a very normal age amongst boarders & in the right kennel thrive

[Baileys mum]

Our current oldest in boarding is 16 & this is quite a common age .

10 = 15 is a very normal age amongst boarders & in the right kennel thrive

Oh Ok showdog thanks for that, so the oldies adapt pretty easy then.

[erinonthefarm]

Hi everyone,

My OH & I are talking at the moment of maybe taking a trip to Tasmania at the end of the year (probably October) Its been years since we had a holiday for ourselves, we have always wanted to see Tasmania & my OH has a cousin over there that he would love to visit.

We would probably be going over on the Spirit of Tasmania, so we can take the car over, & we will probably book 6 nights in Tassie, so all up we would be gone for 8 nights.

So our problem is what do we do with our dogs? We have 4 dogs, Jasper who is currently 9 months old, Brandy who is nearlly 3, Bailey who is 4 & jessie who is 13. They all live inside & are pretty pampered.

I don't think the 2 younger dogs will have a problem being boarded, they are pretty easy going & if they can be boarded together they might even have fun, but Bailey is very close to us & loves his comfort, so he might find it a little overwhelming & would probably rely on Jessie boarding with him to relax him.

Which leaves me to jessie...Do you think she is too old to be boarded? For her age she is in fairly good health, she is nearlly deaf, has a little arthritis in her back leg, & currently has an ear condition at the moment which she will be having surgery for in the near future, so hopefully that will be cleared up by October. jessie is a pretty laid back girl, loves people & although she sleeps alot more now, is still very playful & doesn't act too old.

She is very close to Bailey & would probably be alright if boarded with Bailey.

So what do we do? The whole idea of leaving them & boarding them is very stressful to us, we don't really want to let them stay with family members as they have pets of there own & I would worry about our dogs escaping, (atleast boarding facilities are pretty secure)

We have been doing our research & have short listed 4 establishments that might be suitable.

Elcho park pet hotel in Lara, Tree tops boarding kennels in Sunbury, Kepala park pet resort & vern ryans pet hotel. We have not yet inspected any of these establishments, but looking at their websites, they all offer deluxe accommodation suites (which we don't mind paying the extra money for, if it means our dogs will be a little more comfortable ) they all accept older dogs, & they all allow dogs of the same family to be boarded together. We are planning on inspecting these establishments in the next couple of weeks.

So I was just wondering if anyone could give me some advice & reassurance & also if anyone has used any of the above kennels, where you & your dogs happy with them.

We would really love to have this holiday & we probably need it too, but if we can't find a place for our dogs, that we are comfortable with, then we will probably just forget the whole thing.

Have you considered a house sitter, I have done this before through housesitter.com and it was great. Normally it is retirees looking to park their caravan somewhere while on holidays, and also with 4 dogs a boarding kennel could be quite expensive.

Other than that, My previous dogs stayed in boarding kennels quite a bit and were fine. Its probably pretty exciting for them at a boarding kennel with all the constant activity.

[Baileys mum]

Hi everyone,

My OH & I are talking at the moment of maybe taking a trip to Tasmania at the end of the year (probably October) Its been years since we had a holiday for ourselves, we have always wanted to see Tasmania & my OH has a cousin over there that he would love to visit.

We would probably be going over on the Spirit of Tasmania, so we can take the car over, & we will probably book 6 nights in Tassie, so all up we would be gone for 8 nights.

So our problem is what do we do with our dogs? We have 4 dogs, Jasper who is currently 9 months old, Brandy who is nearlly 3, Bailey who is 4 & jessie who is 13. They all live inside & are pretty pampered.

I don't think the 2 younger dogs will have a problem being boarded, they are pretty easy going & if they can be boarded together they might even have fun, but Bailey is very close to us & loves his comfort, so he might find it a little overwhelming & would probably rely on Jessie boarding with him to relax him.

Which leaves me to jessie...Do you think she is too old to be boarded? For her age she is in fairly good health, she is nearlly deaf, has a little arthritis in her back leg, & currently has an ear condition at the moment which she will be having surgery for in the near future, so hopefully that will be cleared up by October. jessie is a pretty laid back girl, loves people & although she sleeps alot more now, is still very playful & doesn't act too old.

She is very close to Bailey & would probably be alright if boarded with Bailey.

So what do we do? The whole idea of leaving them & boarding them is very stressful to us, we don't really want to let them stay with family members as they have pets of there own & I would worry about our dogs escaping, (atleast boarding facilities are pretty secure)

We have been doing our research & have short listed 4 establishments that might be suitable.

Elcho park pet hotel in Lara, Tree tops boarding kennels in Sunbury, Kepala park pet resort & vern ryans pet hotel. We have not yet inspected any of these establishments, but looking at their websites, they all offer deluxe accommodation suites (which we don't mind paying the extra money for, if it means our dogs will be a little more comfortable ) they all accept older dogs, & they all allow dogs of the same family to be boarded together. We are planning on inspecting these establishments in the next couple of weeks.

So I was just wondering if anyone could give me some advice & reassurance & also if anyone has used any of the above kennels, where you & your dogs happy with them.

We would really love to have this holiday & we probably need it too, but if we can't find a place for our dogs, that we are comfortable with, then we will probably just forget the whole thing.

Have you considered a house sitter, I have done this before through housesitter.com and it was great. Normally it is retirees looking to park their caravan somewhere while on holidays, and also with 4 dogs a boarding kennel could be quite expensive.

Other than that, My previous dogs stayed in boarding kennels quite a bit and were fine. Its probably pretty exciting for them at a boarding kennel with all the constant activity.

A friend of ours also suggested a house sitter, but we wouldn't really feel comfortable with a stranger staying in our house.

We aren't too worried about spending the money aslong as the dogs are safe, secure & comfortable.

[erinonthefarm]

Hi everyone,

My OH & I are talking at the moment of maybe taking a trip to Tasmania at the end of the year (probably October) Its been years since we had a holiday for ourselves, we have always wanted to see Tasmania & my OH has a cousin over there that he would love to visit.

We would probably be going over on the Spirit of Tasmania, so we can take the car over, & we will probably book 6 nights in Tassie, so all up we would be gone for 8 nights.

So our problem is what do we do with our dogs? We have 4 dogs, Jasper who is currently 9 months old, Brandy who is nearlly 3, Bailey who is 4 & jessie who is 13. They all live inside & are pretty pampered.

I don't think the 2 younger dogs will have a problem being boarded, they are pretty easy going & if they can be boarded together they might even have fun, but Bailey is very close to us & loves his comfort, so he might find it a little overwhelming & would probably rely on Jessie boarding with him to relax him.

Which leaves me to jessie...Do you think she is too old to be boarded? For her age she is in fairly good health, she is nearlly deaf, has a little arthritis in her back leg, & currently has an ear condition at the moment which she will be having surgery for in the near future, so hopefully that will be cleared up by October. jessie is a pretty laid back girl, loves people & although she sleeps alot more now, is still very playful & doesn't act too old.

She is very close to Bailey & would probably be alright if boarded with Bailey.

So what do we do? The whole idea of leaving them & boarding them is very stressful to us, we don't really want to let them stay with family members as they have pets of there own & I would worry about our dogs escaping, (atleast boarding facilities are pretty secure)

We have been doing our research & have short listed 4 establishments that might be suitable.

Elcho park pet hotel in Lara, Tree tops boarding kennels in Sunbury, Kepala park pet resort & vern ryans pet hotel. We have not yet inspected any of these establishments, but looking at their websites, they all offer deluxe accommodation suites (which we don't mind paying the extra money for, if it means our dogs will be a little more comfortable ) they all accept older dogs, & they all allow dogs of the same family to be boarded together. We are planning on inspecting these establishments in the next couple of weeks.

So I was just wondering if anyone could give me some advice & reassurance & also if anyone has used any of the above kennels, where you & your dogs happy with them.

We would really love to have this holiday & we probably need it too, but if we can't find a place for our dogs, that we are comfortable with, then we will probably just forget the whole thing.

Have you considered a house sitter, I have done this before through housesitter.com and it was great. Normally it is retirees looking to park their caravan somewhere while on holidays, and also with 4 dogs a boarding kennel could be quite expensive.

Other than that, My previous dogs stayed in boarding kennels quite a bit and were fine. Its probably pretty exciting for them at a boarding kennel with all the constant activity.

A friend of ours also suggested a house sitter, but we wouldn't really feel comfortable with a stranger staying in our house.

We aren't too worried about spending the money aslong as the dogs are safe, secure & comfortable.

I think most dogs without major separation anxiety love boarding- I'm sure you and your pooches will have a great time

[Baileys mum]

Another question, I need to ask is about feeding. What happens if the Boarding kennel doesn't feed the food my dogs are used to? Is it alright for them to eat the kennels food? (what about upset tummy's? ) or is it better for me to supply them my own food? (my dogs eat Advance dry & raw meat)

I know I sound like a stressed out over protective mother.

[GSD FAN]

Are there any pet sitting companies in your area that offer overnight care in the carers home??

[Baileys mum]

Are there any pet sitting companies in your area that offer overnight care in the carers home??

I'm not too sure about that, & I might find it difficult for them to accommodate 4 dogs all together, & I don't want them separated into different homes.

[mish13]

We have four dogs two large and two small, normally we have a house sitter but last year I had to board them. They are all aged between 7 and 9, I requested that they all go in a big pen together. Normally the small ones would go to another section.

I asked that our Jack Russell be feed on his own and I also took some of my own food so no upset tummies.

I shouldn't have worried because the dogs were all fine when we went back a week later to pick them up.

I am sure if you find a good boarding kennel and tell them about your concerns they will do what ever it takes to make your dogs comfortable.

[goldchow]

We have many older dogs in and they cope very well. With all the family together in the right kennels they should be fine and once settled, which can take 24 hours sometimes to adjust they will probably thoroughly enjoy their stay.

We often suggest for dogs who have never been kennelled before, and worried owners, to bring the dogs in for a short stay, perhaps overnight or for a day several weeks beforehand and this has worked very well. This isn't always possible at many kennels however.

[Baileys mum]

We have many older dogs in and they cope very well. With all the family together in the right kennels they should be fine and once settled, which can take 24 hours sometimes to adjust they will probably thoroughly enjoy their stay.

We often suggest for dogs who have never been kennelled before, and worried owners, to bring the dogs in for a short stay, perhaps overnight or for a day several weeks beforehand and this has worked very well. This isn't always possible at many kennels however.

Thanks for that, I think thats a really good idea. I think we will inspect the kennels on our short list & when we choose the one we like the most we might organise for the dogs to stay overnight & see how they go.

We are going to a Kings of Leon concert at the Rod laver arena in March, so we might actually organise for us to stay in a hotel in the city that night & trial the dogs at the boarding kennel that night too.

[Baileys mum]

We have four dogs two large and two small, normally we have a house sitter but last year I had to board them. They are all aged between 7 and 9, I requested that they all go in a big pen together. Normally the small ones would go to another section.

I asked that our Jack Russell be feed on his own and I also took some of my own food so no upset tummies.

I shouldn't have worried because the dogs were all fine when we went back a week later to pick them up.

I am sure if you find a good boarding kennel and tell them about your concerns they will do what ever it takes to make your dogs comfortable.

Thanks for your post, it has reassured me a bit, I can't help feeling stressed... I just worry that the dogs are going to think I've abandoned them & miss me. The sites i've been looking at look really good & they have play time sessions with the dogs to keep them entertained, so I hope the dogs actually have fun & not get depressed.

I have to be happy where I send them.. or I will spend my whole holiday worrying about them & not enjoy myself.

[spoilt lab lives here]

In the kennel I worked at we had plenty of oldies. 13+! They were just given extra love and were treated gently. One boy was 16 (he would be 17 now) and would run around the play yard like a puppy barking mad if you didnt make him sit down for cuddles

ETA- I found that once the owners were gone the dogs settled in really well. There was the odd scaredy cat who once again just got some extra attention to help them settle in and after a day or 2 was all ok.

Edited January 25, 2011 by spoilt lab lives here

[Staff'n'Toller]

You may find your oldie is better suited to one kennel, and the others in a different one.

You could also look at putting Jessie in a home with a K9 nanny and the others in a kennel. Just be sure when looking around that they only take one dog at a time. Some around our area have a habit of boarding too many dogs in their home at once.

We have a client though in Doncaster who has one older small breed dog and only takes one booking at a time. She is good.

[becks]

I'm in the same situation atm. My oldie will be staying with a relative as I know she will stress to much in kennels. The others are going to be split into 2 family kennels.

I made a suprise visit to the kennels to see what they were like and was shown around both blocks of kennels. I can take their food (and get a little discount for doing this). I've also been told i can take their own bedding with them, so they have a smell of home to help them settle. The dogs I saw in the kennels all looked happy enough.

[percyk]

it is a hard truth but some dogs just hate being boarded

we had a cocker girl who never seemed to mind

but our current tribe all hate it

we take them on hols but one day we decided we needed a theme park day so we boarded them for the day only

the littlest was traumatised..wouldnt come out to us

and we felt like true heels

but what to do....no holidays ever?

impossible

so...if you feel beyond dreadful then dont go

the dogs will be looked after ...they will eat ...they may lose a bit of weight if pining but in the end all will be well

i was really cross that a very well known establishment put our dog in with another...he had a fight with it and also both his coats were ruined

he was so skinny after the three weeks of boarding it broke my heart

but life is like that

some will never leave their dogs anywhere and spend their lives a home

we are not like that

most of the time we have enough family to look after our pets

but on occasion there will be a time when we have to just let go

awful but thats life sometimes

all in all...hope for the best and give lots of instructions..call and check how things are going and keep reiterating your expectations...sometimes there are a lot of staff and things get mixed up

[alpha bet]

Lots of old dogs have fun at the kennels. The oldest dog we have had stay with us was 21 years old - she loved going out in the Veterans Garden for the day - her eyesight was minimal and she was a bit deaf but she loved sniffing around and lying in the sun.

If you have concerns perhaps look around for one of the smaller kennels. Often these kennels are run by the owners which means you don't have to wonder if the staff are going to follow your requirements. Smaller kennels can also be more flexible about how you want you dogs needs met.

We are near the Hume Highway just north of melbourne and always happy to listen. Feel free to contact me if this is convenient for you and I will send you my web address.