could use some boarding-kennel advice

patandchickens

Flock Mistress
12 Years
Apr 20, 2007
12,520
447
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Ontario, Canada
Russell is a 7 1/2 month old yellow lab; we adopted him from an animal shelter back in August. We need to go visit my family in PA for maybe 5 days or so in early December, and unfortunately there is just NOBODY we know here who can take him while we're gone (we have an excellent person come 2x/day to care for the cats/horses/sheep/chickens but twice a day is just not going to cut it for a dog, especially in wintertime here).

So, I am looking for a boarding kennel for him. I hate the idea of having to board him, but am hoping to find somewhere with sufficient number of play periods with other dogs (which I am pretty sure he would LOVE) that he will be too tired most of the time to really be too sad
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Couple questions though:

1) he was only at the SPCA shelter for maybe ten days before we adopted him, but was rather sad and stressed there. I am really concerned that he will think we've abandoned him permanently
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I intend to have him do a single overnight stay a few weeks before our 'real' vacation, so he can see that we DO pick him up and take him back home again, but even so. Do you think he'll be okay? I could use some reassurance. I feel bad doing this but there is just no way to take him along and my parents are in their mid and late 80s and I really do feel like I need to visit down there.

2) he is crate-trained and semi-housebroken but prone to accidents if left loose in the house (even supervised) for more than maybe 2 hours. Most of the boarding outfits around here seem to keep them in indoor-only kennels (no free access to outdoor run) and then let them out 3-4 times a day to exercise and to pee/poo. Is that likely to be ok, or would it be important for me to spend a bunch extra money (sigh) and drive extra far in order to use one of the maybe two places that either have them running around loose all day or have all-day free access to an outdoor run? (e.t.a -- for comparison, his normal routine at home is: crated overnight, and either loose (mostly snoozing) when I'm home or crated if I'm running errands during the day, with fairly frequent pee outings, a 45 minute walk in the morning, and an hour or two loose in the backyard with us in the afternoon)

3) Do you think that three 30-minute outdoor group play sessions is sufficient exercise and mental stimulation, or do you consider this not adequate for a 7 month lab?

I really just don't know enough about dogs, sigh.

Thanks for any comments/advice,

Pat
 
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i worked a boarding kennel when i got out of high school for awhile, dogs adjust a lot better than humans, dogs usually calmed down within a few hours, they don't feel alone because there's other dogs there, plus the kennel staff usually love dogs so even if they don't have a lot of time, they try to give a little attention to each dog, i'm funny about letting my dogs "play" with other dogs, to much can happen, things to look for in a boarding kennel, indoor/outdoor runs, they are great, friendly/knowledgable staff, clean conditions, you'll have overlook the kennel smell, poop smells, a security fence is an absolute must, and a kennel should be very strict on vaccinations mainly rabies and bordatella(kennel cough), hope this helps, it was amazing how our frequent flyers got so excited to come to the kennel, make an appointment to see the kennel before you board so there are no surprises
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hunterjumper999 - I don't think he's a good candidate for in-home boarding because he is really not fully housebroken and he chews things.

As far as cagefree boarding, the only two options I have found around here are a) a place that several people have warned me they have heard bad things about, in terms of 'incidents'; and b) a place that is $40 per night (as opposed to 25-30/night elsewhere) AND would require at least one and possibly two extra days' charges because of the way they structure their checkin/checkout times. If y'all tell me he really OUGHT to be at option (b) then I guess we can find the money somewhere but yowza.

(e.t.a. - oh, there is one other cagefree place in the area, but we dealt with the woman when we were looking for a dog to adopt, and she is a *complete and total wingnut*. Not going to happen and I would neither trust her with my dog nor trust anything she said she would/wouldn't do.)

Pat
 
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We have a three year old yellow Lab. We got him when he was almost one from a bad situation wherein he was crated in the house 23 1/2 hours a day and out on a leash or a cable the other half hour. He was quite a nut when we got him but within a month he was a normal Lab. I think three 30 minute play sessions a day for just five days is definitely not going to kill him as far as being too little playtime; just be prepared for him to be REALLY happy to see you!
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Maybe call your vet and ask them-

I used to work at a kennel and I hate to say it they don't always actually take the dogs out! I was the groomer but i never saw a dog go out of a run more than once a week and I kNOW they were all paying for playtime.
 
DON'T board with/at a vet's place. That is where sick animals with infectious diseases go. It would be like staying at a hospital instead of a hotel. Often they will tell you that the pet is kept in a totally different area. However the employees do NOT shower and change clothes after attending/cleaning up from the sick ones. I have a boarding facility, many of my clients are from vets' families and don't board their dogs at their own offices.
Visit the Pet Care and Services Association site, used to be the ABKA, it will list accredited facilities in your area. Most of our clients LIKE to come here, they will pull on their leashes to get into our place and enjoy their stay.
Slinky
 
I agree with what Orchid said...five days is not a long time. You could go visit a couple places first. In my mind if a kennel is clean, the people are kind, friendly and interact with your dog, and the dogs are happy your guy will probably be fine for 5 days...and he will start to learn to develop trust that you are coming back for him when you leave him.
Wish you were on the other side of Canada. I would happily take him for you....we just lost our 13 year old chocolate lab and I am really missing having a dog around the place. Good luck.
 
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Not to create an argument, but our vets office offers very nice boarding. You can either board in the runs or in suites, which are little glass fronted rooms with beds and music. I use the runs for stays of less than 4 nights. then the others for longer stays.

I've NEVER had a sick dog come home- our vet boards VETERINARY clients in cage banks in the actual vet office.

but what i meant was call your vet and ask about reputable boarding in the area.
 
I worked at a vets office too and I also disagree with the do not board at a vets office comment. All dogs who came in for grooming or boarding were required to have all thier vaccinations, including bordatella, or kennel cough. The employees who attended the sick animals did not walk or clean up the boarding animals until they scrubbed thier hand with disinfectant. We had NEVER had a dog come back with any ailment attributed to boarding at out facility. They were walked 5 times a day on a leash in a fenced in area and thier kennels disinfected daily with Roccal or this other disinfectant I cant remember the name of but it sure smelled good. The runs for the big dogs had heated floors and they had air conditioning too.
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I left my own pets there several times with no worries because 1) I worked there so I knew they would take care of my pets because I saw how they took care of customers, and 2) I wouldnt have to worry about them getting away from them as I do if I leave them at home since the yard isnt fenced in. I think your Lab will be ok if you took him there. If you want, ask for a tour, ask questions of the staff. That may help you with your decision.


Rammy
 

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