What Is Important For You When Boarding Your Dogs?

[HazyWal]

The most important thing for me, is to do what I say. If I say don't let the dog run with another dog, then I mean it for a reason.

This.

This is the most important for me as well. I would only want my own dogs exercised together, no strange dogs. And as one can be a resource guarder with food, would need them to be in separate runs so they could be fed separately.

Important for me also.Stan scoffs his food and Maddie is so slow.If not watched Stan will push Mads away and eat hers and she lets him.I would not want my two exercised with other dogs because of their thin skin.It wouldn't worry me if they where in the same run or seperate as long as they were side by side.Maddie frets terribly if she is away from Stan.

Shame you are too far away Oso my two would definately be there :) *pictures Oso breathing a sigh of relief we are on the East Coast* :laugh:

[OSoSwift]

The most important thing for me, is to do what I say. If I say don't let the dog run with another dog, then I mean it for a reason.

This.

This is the most important for me as well. I would only want my own dogs exercised together, no strange dogs. And as one can be a resource guarder with food, would need them to be in separate runs so they could be fed separately.

Important for me also.Stan scoffs his food and Maddie is so slow.If not watched Stan will push Mads away and eat hers and she lets him.I would not want my two exercised with other dogs because of their thin skin.It wouldn't worry me if they where in the same run or seperate as long as they were side by side.Maddie frets terribly if she is away from Stan.

Shame you are too far away Oso my two would definately be there :) *pictures Oso breathing a sigh of relief we are on the East Coast* :laugh:

I would love to have them :)

I am the type of person that feeds my dogs seperately regardless of any issues, so unless told other wise would automatically seperate for feeding. My dogs are the same, Lewis can be next to Rommi but doesn't like it if they are seperated. He is getting better as we have worked on it, but I don't think he will ever not care two hoots like Rommi :)

Another thing I was thinking of doing was having a report card as such to go home. For things like, they ate well, were happy or a little stressed, played ball etc etc. Part of the reason is if my dog stresses or goes off it's food I want to know. I don't like being told all is well when my dogs was actually stressed as next time I may be able to do things to make it less stressful.

Edited February 27, 2012 by OSoSwift

[chicko]

Great thread, i am going through this at the moment. My 2 have never been boarded so trying to find some where i am happy with. A small little outdoor run isnt something im keen on, i want a bigger area that they can have a good run and zoomies. Not against them being with other dogs unless its supervised.

[Whipitgood]

My biggest concern when boarding my dogs is their comfort! I always worry that they are not warm enough in winter and cool enough in summer. Being inside dogs, id like them to have a nice soft bed with their own blankets and toys. I recently boarded them at a kennel that wouldnt allow me to leave their toys and bedding which i didnt like much. I worry that they are not protected enough from the elements such as wind and rain. Although most kennels have an undercover area for the dogs, it never seems enough to protect them fully. It would be nice if they could have a little "indoor" part that they could get into and snuggle away.

But then I have Whippets, other breeds might not need this!

Larged grass areas for them to run is also a great idea too.

[OSoSwift]

Indoor area is 2.5 X 1.5 metres.

Basic bedding would be either a hessian sack type bed ( but the cover not hessian, it would be a shade cloth like material) or a plastic basket type bed with blankets and vet bed. Also coats etc would be no worries as well as the fact their wood be a tile fire going on low overnight, and air con when hot. Mine don't do hot :)

I can understand why some places would not want bedding brought in (I have seen what some people put their dogs on - stinking, fleas!!) , but there would be an assortment of available blankets etc to ensure they would be warm enough.

In general I would not use soft beds as it make potential disease control harder and a huge mess if they are shredded. But yep having skinny dogs myself I would make sure they had lots of soft bedding.

[OSoSwift]

Great thread, i am going through this at the moment. My 2 have never been boarded so trying to find some where i am happy with. A small little outdoor run isnt something im keen on, i want a bigger area that they can have a good run and zoomies. Not against them being with other dogs unless its supervised.

Do you mean you want them to have access to a large grass area ll of the time?? Or you would be happy with an outdoor run as long as they had access at least twice a day to a large grass run?

Edited February 27, 2012 by OSoSwift

[BC Crazy]

The most important thing for me, is to do what I say. If I say don't let the dog run with another dog, then I mean it for a reason.

This.

This is the most important for me as well. I would only want my own dogs exercised together, no strange dogs. And as one can be a resource guarder with food, would need them to be in separate runs so they could be fed separately.

Exactly the same with me too. No strange dogs & I have a resource guarder as well, so yes again although my 2 can be feed together but definitely not with any strange dogs.Sonny wouldn't care less but Stella would 'go off' big

time.I would just like them to do as I ask cause we know our dogs & we know the consequences if these certain restrictions are practised.

Edited February 27, 2012 by BC Crazy

[gone]

Cleanliness and adequate drainage is up there too.

Coming home from a kennel ( 3 night stay) with two dogs who reeked of ammonia from urine, enough to make your eyes water in the car, has put me off !

[trinabean]

Good poll OSoswift. Looking at the sorts of things you are considering, I'm sure you will run an awesome kennel. :D

I have nothing to add that hasn't been covered. I think your idea of having video monitoring of the kennels is a good one, a great way to check on dogs at night etc. without disturbing all of them.

If only you were closer to Perth, I'd love you to look after Bruno!

Let us know when your kennels are up and running. :)

[OSoSwift]

Cleanliness and adequate drainage is up there too.

Coming home from a kennel ( 3 night stay) with two dogs who reeked of ammonia from urine, enough to make your eyes water in the car, has put me off !

Oh goodness me - that is terrible!!

Cleanliness will be imperative.

[OSoSwift]

The most important thing for me, is to do what I say. If I say don't let the dog run with another dog, then I mean it for a reason.

This.

This is the most important for me as well. I would only want my own dogs exercised together, no strange dogs. And as one can be a resource guarder with food, would need them to be in separate runs so they could be fed separately.

Exactly the same with me too. No strange dogs & I have a resource guarder as well, so yes again although my 2 can be feed together but definitely not with any strange dogs.Sonny wouldn't care less but Stella would 'go off' big

time.I would just like them to do as I ask cause we know our dogs & we know the consequences if these certain restrictions are practised.

Would you be happy if they were fed in the inside part of the kennel where they could not see other dogs?

I agree I expect what I asked to be followed exactly. The owner knows their dog best. And I would think it downright stupid to put someones dog at risk.

[OSoSwift]

I have to say the poll so far is reflecting my thoughts so that is a good thing :)

What better place to get people thoughts than on DOL - keep them coming.

[toshman]

Please consider giving dogs their own kennels! I wasn't very impressed last year when I tried to find somewhere for my boy who doesn't like other dogs and kept being told if I wanted him to be alone I would have to pay double the normal rate - not fair !

[~Rumour~]

I'm in the process of finding somewhere to board my dogs later this year for a week and it's so hard to find a place I'd be comfortable with leaving them. Although so far from what you have said you are aiming for it sounds like a great place to leave the dogs, maybe I should send them to WA for a holiday

My major concern is that my girl is very high drive and I'm concerned about leaving her in an environment in which she won't have any 'work' to do. Knowing her she would give herself a job like pacing around the enclosure. My boy on the other hand would be more than happy to sleep all day so I know he'd be fine.

[OSoSwift]

Please consider giving dogs their own kennels! I wasn't very impressed last year when I tried to find somewhere for my boy who doesn't like other dogs and kept being told if I wanted him to be alone I would have to pay double the normal rate - not fair !

THey will definately be in their own kennel. They will only share with a dog from their own family and only when the owner wants to.

[wuffles]

We just picked up my two from kennels yesterday, they were there for nearly 3 weeks.

The reason we picked these kennels were:

- small kennel (number of dogs) which meant more personal attention

- guaranteed time in exercise runs, and enough exercise runs for all dogs (again due to small size)

- large enough runs for both dogs to share comfortably, one large and one medium dog, as my large boy needs his personal space

- runs with surfaces other than just concrete, as mine would rather burst than pee in concrete runs

- ability to feed own food (brought from home)

- ability to leave personal items (eg. beds and toys)

- runs which are separated from other dogs - this was great for one of mine who is really stressed by other dogs barking

- not really a reason we chose them, but they have a pick up/drop off service which really comes in handy!

When we arrived to pick them up they were in the exercise yards and looked very happy and bright! They are in great condition, weigh exactly the same as when they went in, have been brushed (my girl is an Aussie, her pants and behind her ears have no matts at all). Very happy

[OSoSwift]

Sounds great, and thank you for letting me know why they were very good

The reason we are considering having synthetic turf in some of the outside runs is so that dogs who may not pee if on concrete will do so on the synthetic turf if they have too. All dogs of course will go out and often but I thought it may be better than having them all concrete.

[wuffles]

Yes OSS I like the idea of a small bit of articifial turf, if it is not too hard to maintain :) I worried with the larger kennels that my dogs would not get pee breaks but even with the smaller ones I think it's a good idea just in case!

I just thought of one other thing, I think it is ridiculous that many kennels around here only offer daily exercise with an additional fee And then I worry about things like them hosing the kennels with the dogs still in them I know you wouldn't do this but in your advertising maybe make it clear that this doesn't happen, to put people's minds at ease :)

My major concern is that my girl is very high drive and I'm concerned about leaving her in an environment in which she won't have any 'work' to do. Knowing her she would give herself a job like pacing around the enclosure. My boy on the other hand would be more than happy to sleep all day so I know he'd be fine.

I was worried about this too (my girl is drivey and energetic, my boy will sleep). I gave the kennel owners a treat toy and asked if they would feed her breakfast in this, which they did. I also sent some deer antlers and a tough toy for the kennel so she at least had something to chew if she was bored. They also gave clam shells in the exercise runs. It seems like she has been doing a lot of running in the exercise yards because she's still well muscled and lean. The owner said that she was very interesting in what was going on during the day so she got a lot of talking to and liked to watch all the activity :)

[OSoSwift]

Oh really you have to pay more to get them exercised?? That seems a bit like a money making scheme, of course they need exercise and there will be no hosing with dogs in runs, so yep will make that known, thank you :)

[Inevitablue]

I want to see obvious facilities for environmental enrichment. I don't need solid partitions, I'd rather my dogs get some stimulation by interacting with their neighbour. An appropriate number of grassed areas for the number of dogs boarding. 40 dogs and 1 area doesn't fill me with confidence.

I want to see a whiteboard with who gets fed what (implying the dogs get the right food), when I agisted horses this always put my mind at ease.

I want my dogs to have some natural sunlight in their runs and good ventilation. A partitioned shed wouldn't satisfy me. Genuine questions about my dogs personalities/likes/dislikes so hopefully they won't be treated like a number.

I would pay extra for all this, what's the point of wasting $4000 on a holiday if I spend the whole time wondering how they are.

Ultimately I'd love a webcam setup like the doggy day cares have!!