Long Term Dog Accommodation Options

[Simply Grand]

A friend of mine (sort of) has a little pug x (I've posted about them before...). She is planning an overseas trip in May and will be gone for 10 weeks. She and the dog live in a share house, renting from the owner who also lives there with her SBT. My friend often goes away for short periods and leaves her dog with the flatmate. When she goes away for longer periods she usually asks me to look after her dog. I've had her many a time, most recently for nearly 3 weeks over Xmas.

When she picked up her dog after the Xmas visit my friend mentioned in passing that her dog seems much happier staying with me than with the flatmate, that she's not sure the flatmate feeds her properly as she seems to lose weight when my friend is away, and that she doesn't know what she's going to do wi her dog when she goes away for the 10 weeks. I said "mmm..." :laugh:

Knowing this girl as I do I suspect that I will be asked at the last minute to take the dog. I now have 3 of my own dogs plus 2 cats and it disrupts everything to have the other dog stay, Riley was all worked up and barky when she was here last, the younger cat spends the whole time hiding and I don't know what it would be like having her with Quinn, who will be big by then! I feel really sorry for the dog but I don't want to look after her again

Can you board dogs at kennels for periods that long? Any ideas how a dog would cope? Are there any other options people can think of? Could she pay a foster carer for that period?

I suspect the flatmate/house owner will flat out refuse to look after the dog for that long and I do think the dog would be happiest here with me (actually she'd be happiest with a reliable owner and a stable home ) but I'm already stressed at the thought of taking her and it's still 4 months away and I haven't even been asked! I just know what my "friend" is like and can really see her calling me in a panic and saying "I'm leaving tomorrow and have nowhere for the dog, will you take her?!?"

[Simply Grand]

Thanks Snook, I think what you've suggested saying is actually exactly what I need to say to her!! I just needed to hear it from someone else. I do care and worry about the dog but I really have enough on my plate with my own pets.

I just feel so sorry for the poor dog in a strange place for 10 weeks, I actually wish my friend would rehome her (she asked a couple of times not long after we first met 2 years ago whether I would "like to take" her dog but I told her I had breeds in min for my own dogs) but she seems to like to have her "puppy" (4 yrs old) around to cuddle when it suits her.

Edited January 17, 2012 by Saxonpup

[Dogsfevr]

Many of our boarders are 3 months stays & 99% cope very well .

A small few & select breeds tend to lose weight towards the end but if the kennel has been selected for comfort & plenty of outside access then the dog should do well .

For 7 weeks i wouldn't be doing it for free though & if you do make sure you have vacc cards & permission to board if it becomes to much & pick a kennel she has visited & is comfy with.

We get alot of dogs in boarding that people have started out house sitting & after a few weeks it just doesn't work out but many don't have the info required to kennel the dog/s

[Simply Grand]

Thanks showdog, I'm glad to hear that longer term boarding is available and that most dogs cope well!!

I'm not going to take her, the last time (Xmas) we agreed that she would pay $10 per day for 15 days, which she did, then tacked on a day at the start and 3 days at the end. I find it hard to say no to such things especially when it's a dog I know so well and care about, and she takes advantage of that. I keep thinking that technically I could manage it, it just means a whole lot more work for me to keep all my animals happy (exercise, feeding separately, confining to areas for dogs and cats day and night, more barking etc etc) but I don't wanna!

Anyway, I really don't know what she's thinking she'll do

but if I tell her early that I won't be taking the dog and can at least suggest that boarding in a kennel is a good option I hope I won't feel so guilty

Edited January 17, 2012 by Saxonpup

[Simply Grand]

On a different note, I find it very interesting that the cats seem to know which dogs are visitors and which are here to stay. Since I got Saxon they've dealt with several different visiting dogs and now two new resident dogs and they seem to avoid visitors the whole time but go about their business as usual when new resident puppies arrive.

I assume it's something to do with the interaction between me and the dogs. Cats are super smart!

[Whippetsmum]

Don't get sucked into looking after your friend's dog if you are not totally comfortable with it. Your friend needs to go and check out kennels, find one she can happily leave her dog in, book it and then budget for the baording fees. School holidays/Easter could well be in the time frame, and some kennels get pretty booked out. 10 weeks is 70 days, if it's $18 a day (price fee for a dog under 10kg on one Australian website), that's $1260. Some kennels might offer discounts for long stays. If it's a cold climate, the kennels might need to be heated which could be extra.

[sandgrubber]

Don't get sucked into looking after your friend's dog if you are not totally comfortable with it. Your friend needs to go and check out kennels, find one she can happily leave her dog in, book it and then budget for the baording fees. School holidays/Easter could well be in the time frame, and some kennels get pretty booked out. 10 weeks is 70 days, if it's $18 a day (price fee for a dog under 10kg on one Australian website), that's $1260. Some kennels might offer discounts for long stays. If it's a cold climate, the kennels might need to be heated which could be extra.

+1

The bottom line is the bottom line. I'm sure you'd be much happier looking after her dog if she paid you fair market price . . . which is not a small sum.