Do you board your animals???

[NoahsMommy]

When you go on vacation, do you board your animals or prefer to have someone come watch them?

If you do board, what do you like about that? What would be the perfect boarding facility in your eyes?

If you don't board, why not? Have you had bad experiences?

[Kfamr]

I refuse to go on vacation without them, thus recently I did not go to Michigan, I stayed home with them.

I just would not be able to leave them. I even thought about who I could or where I could leave them, it just wasn't possible in my eyes... not even with my sister.


A vacation wouldn't be a vacation without them.

[GoldenRetrLuver]

We're leaving on a vacation sometime in August for a few weeks. My parents want to see if we can board them somewhere [we've never done it before..] rather than leaving them at my aunt's. I found a good boarding kennel in the area that refers to the dogs as "furkids" too, and it seems pretty decent.

I have a REALLY hard time trusting anyone else; even my parents, with my dogs, though.

[jazzcat]

Up until 2001 my parents would come stay with Disney and Ripley whenever we went somewhere but then my parents health got bad and they couldn't do it. I started boarding Disney at a kennel about a mile away and I'd leave Ripley home (we were never gone more than 4 days). Then when we got Jazz we took at trip and I boarded Jazz and Disney because I was afraid to leave Jazz alone with Ripley since she was still so young.

Now that we have Scout we tried leaving all three cats at home with my sister in law coming once a day to feed, play with them and clean litter boxes. It worked okay but our trip was cut short so we were only gone a few days.

Actually I would rather just stay home. I hate to travel, sleep in strange beds and be away from them too much.

As for boarding, it's fine for Disney because she's not active and sleeps most the time but I think my cats would go insane and I'd hate to cause a personality change because of it.

[heinz57_79]

I guess I'm lucky... My petsitter is Laura (UABassoon) so I trust her completely. On the rare occasion that we go somewhere or just need a break, like all parents sometimes, Laura is usually more than happy to look after the kids. I prefer to keep them home, in their own environment, to lessen the stress of being boarded.

I did board Chloe and Charlie once, and that was because I was going thru a hard time, and I was flying to MI, and didnt have any other alternative. I called the kennel every day to check up on them. :)

Plus, I actually groomed in a boarding kennel for a while. It was supposed to be one of the better ones, since it was owned by a major company, but I was often shocked at the conditions and treatment of the animals. They always tried to make it seem like it was such a GREAT place, but it was terrible. The animals never really got any excercise unless you pay them extra for 20 mins of playtime. blah... After that, I'll never board my kids again.

And most petsitters are friends of friends, for the most part, so in general I'd trust a petsitter more than anything else short of leaving them with friends or family.

[aly]

I don't like to travel much because I don't like to leave my babies behind. When I do travel though, my mom watches my animals and a friend I volunteer with at the shelter watches my fosters.

My dogs would not do well in any boarding facility. I took them to doggie day care once and Lolly spent the whole day in a corner while Reece ran around looking for me the whole time.

I also don't think Lolly would do well with a petsitter she doesn't know. She'd probably get really depressed.

So my dogs are very happy with my parents and I'm so grateful they do that for me.

[almamee]

I haven't taken my dog on a trip yet but I will this year before school and we are going to visit our old town utah this will be her first time.

[Uabassoon]

I don't think I could ever board my kitties. I think they would just be too scared, being in a strange place without me. I have a petsitter from the company I work for come over and take care of the kitties. They really seem to like her and she does a great job. Plus having a sitter is nice because they can alternate the lights, water plants, pick up mail and other little things so that it doesn't look like whoever lives there is on vacation.

[LoudLou]

We don't board. We have G R A N D M A!!!! She cuddles on the couch, plays ball and brings treats!!


We try not to travel too much, however in the summer we do production for a few festivals so we are Very Thankful that my mother lives just down the street.

[RobiLee]

I have not had to deal with this yet. Alden and I have been on a few weekend getaways but we have a 20 year old son who is still living at home and he takes good care of the furkids. I already have a doggie day care/kennel picked out for when we need it though. Katie and Tori do their dog obedience there and Katie has been a few times for doggie day care. It is a wonderful place! Each dog has there own bed in their own room, there is a wonderful indoor play area and three huge fenced areas outside with swimming pools, playground equipment and all kinds of toys for the kids to play with. The owner and her employees are fantastic with dogs. It is a bit pricey but well worth it to me.

Robin :)

[Barbara]

I have very good experiences with petsitters. Every year we travel one time for 3 weeks and make sure our cats get visits at least 2 times per day. It's our cleaner who loves the cats dearly and knows them well together with the downstairs neighbor. This year Filou and Tigris had weekend guests. A friend of mine spent the first weekend in our condo and my sister came the last weekeend. F+T slept in their bed and were very happy to have companionship.

The good thing is they don't have to cope with a different environment. They have all their favorite toys and spots:)

[neko1]

My mom is my petsitter. She's only 5 minutes from my house so it's easy for her.

I would never board my kitties cause it would just be way too stressful for them. If the need arises, I would rather have a petsitter come to the house.

[boscibo]

I live with my boyfriend, and we take separate vacations. I know it is not ideal. But to get a petsitter would take one heck of a person who could visit many times a day. Two or even three times a day would not be enough, due to the advanced (elderly) age of the majority of our animals. Bandit is diabetic, Bo is hyperthyroid and both need meds. Bandit gets insulin shots twice daily. All our dogs are used to going indoors/outdoors multiple times a day.

Boarding would be very expensive, adn then there is the fact that my boyfriend refuses the whole boarding thing - he does not approve of animals (especially ours) in cages. I don't trust anyone else I know to be so dependable.

So separate vacations work for us.

[Logan]

I voted that I use a petsitter. It is the best thing possible for us. I used to board the dogs (when I just had two) and would either leave Mimi with plenty of food and indoors, or have a neighbor check on her once a day. There was a time many years ago when I was married before that Mimi and Chuck (our Lab) were boarded at a terrific kennel too. But once my "flock" increased in size with the addition of Butter, a couple of hamsters, then the birds, it just made more sense to find someone who could come to my house.

I think my animals are much more content to stay at home in familiar surroundings and have someone they know and trust to come here. It is NOT cheap and she comes 2-3 times per day when we are away. But she also will come for "one at a time" visits if both of us are traveling or if we take a day trip. It has been a great relief for 3 years (or maybe even longer than that). And my pets are definitely happy when Wanda comes because she is more generous with the treats than we are!!!! :p

[cloverfdx]

I boarded Clover and Elvis 3 weeks ago and i will never do it again. :( I came home to the 2 most depressed scared dogs, the poor dogs had to sleep OUTSIDE :eek: and it is the middle of Winter i was not happy at all (I cried when we had to drop them off) :( But we had no choice but to board them.

It took a good week for clover to leave my side when she came home and was very clingy and whiney.

So it looks like i am not going inter state without them again LOL, our next holiday is to Adelaide in September for FLYBALL so of course the dogs have to come. ;) :D

[stacwase]

We board Max, but only because he's so big and strong that we don't trust anybody else to take him to his kennel without accidentally letting him loose.

People come over to feed Toby while we're gone.

[CatMama78]

We've never been on vacation since we've had Ori and Wilber. Or on the very rare occassion one of us had to leave town, the other had to stay home. When we go on our honeymoon, I'll have my stepmom come take care of them. She is a pet nanny and is trustworthy. Their will be a couple of days when she will be with us for the wedding, so I've asked her to let me know which Pet Nanny at her company she trusts most and we will have them look in on the guys. I would never board them unless there was NO other option. We boarded them overnight when we moved. That, in my eyes was the lesser of two evils, risk having them run out the door, or have them be very unhappy overnight in a 'pet hotel'?

[almamee]

I have a question...

Well If I want to take my dog will she have to be in The plane with us or what that I don't get i will send you a picture of my puppy that I'm going to take on her first time:D

[CatMama78]

I also think boarding dogs and boarding cats are two very separate issues. Cause when we were looking for places, there were lots of fancy dog boarding places where it really was the equivalent of staying at a nice hotel. Plus dogs tend to like different people a lot better than cats. Not all dogs and I don't mean to generalize. But from what I found the cat boarding places were not nearly as nice or roomy, and cats do not usually like strangers or new places so they are very scared when boarded.

[isis]

We board our dogs only when we have too. We board them at Salty Dogs Grooming and Boarding. Thats also where They get groomed at. It's a nice place. Each dog gets time to be let out in the back yard to play. and they have a nice big kennel with a dog door that leads to a small enclosed area out side so they can go out whenever they want.





Although I do wish I could take them with me whenever we travel, but we go to competitions once every month sometimes even three times! So it's not like we could be with them even if we took them with us.

[joanofark]

We leave are animals at home and someone comes to our house to play with them and feed them.:rolleyes:

[Tonya]

I board my dogs. My good friend owns a boarding facility, so I have no worries. She plays with them and stuff.

[Samantha Puppy]

Samantha would be so unhappy in a kennel. So whenever my husband and I go somewhere, she gets to go to Granmommy and Grandaddy's house to hang out with them and Uncle Sherman. She loves them and they take great care of her, but she's happiest when my husband and I come to take her back home with us.

[G.P.girl]

i've never boarded cadbury, but we're going on vacation and i don't know what i'm going to do with my fish. i don't know any of the neighbors, let alone trust them ehough to give them a key to my house. what do you guys do with your fishies?

[micki76]

There is absolutely no way in H E double hockey stix that I would board my dogs. No way. We always try to take them with us. They have stayed here in our house once when we went out of town for the weekend, with my MIL & FIL visiting several times a day and staying for about 4 hours a day to play and feed/water/medicate them. They have a pet door and a very secure yard, so we had no worries about that. My one concern was my MIL & FIL entering and exiting, so we left one garage door opener with them and explicit instructions NOT to go in and out through the front door. My nightmare is to get a call that they got out and can't be found. :(

Anyway, they all did great and were no worse for the wear. I was though. ;)

[cocker_luva]

we let jesse stay at out neighbors house. the fish and hermit crabs stay home thou.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I don't think that I'd ever board my cats. They'd be so scared and depressed that they'd probably not even eat.:( I don't usually go away very often but when I do have friends come over to take care of them.
I'm actually going away this weekend and my co-worker and friend will be pet sitting for me. They know her and love her so there shouldn't be any problems. I even told her that she could stay at my place for the weekend if she'd like since she'd have to come by 2 times a day any way.:)
Since being a member of Pet Talk, I've also met AmberLee and she lives so close she could also pet sit for me some time. I've been her pet sitter and will be doing this for her in Sept.:)

[prechrswife]

We board our dogs when we are gone for an extended period of time. They are spoiled rotten by the people at our vet's office. The last time we dropped them off, they were immediately greeted with, "How are the (last name) boys today?" They have been well cared-for.

If we are only going overnight, we get someone to come by to feed/check on the dogs.

We are able to leave the cats with a self-feeder and plenty of water for overnight trips. They do just fine that way. When we are gone for an extended period, we have someone come by to check on them. They get waaaay too stressed if we board them. Besides, can you imagine the cost for boarding 5 animals for a week?

[Truffles]

Hey,

ok i've been on a few but when we go on vacation we leave truffles home we just put out alot of food and alot of water and cover the floor w/ news papers if were gone more than a weekend my brothers live an hour away and come home to check on things.but i never go on vacation not being able to drive is dull and i have no life.the reason i can't drive is cause of my condition i have epilepsy (since birth) so my life is dull.anyway thats what we do when we go on vacation.other wise my parents go everywhere on cruises and to the moutains and leave me home.they take me places on vacation but not often.

they work so they earned it.plus they took care of me and my three brothers for years.so its their turn to have fun;) take care :)

marylyn

[teenster3]

I personally would never board my dogs. They would go absolutely crazy if the thought even crossed my mind! I always ask my parents to watch them for me. When Matthew & I were on vacation last week, we had them come to our house and take care of the dogs......they were much happier that way!!!!:)

[HoRsELUvR]

We just boarded our dog at a nice kennel a few weeks ago because we were gone for a whole week.We left the cats at home and let my friend take care of them.When we're only gone for a few days,we leave the dog and cats at home with my friend.

[carole]

We don't go away often and usually only for two or three days, but I do board my cats, some cats would be fine taking on vacation with you, and that is what i would prefer, but my two would not adjust at all, I think the cattery is the kinder, safer option.

I have a cattery just down the road, but I choose to travel out to the country, as I have found an excellent facility, they always come back looking happy and healthy, and he has umbrellas outside for shade in the summer for the kitties, its always smells so clean too., it cost 14 dollars a day for two cats in standard accomodation.

However I have never boarded my Lexie, I have a real dilemma with her, she is such my companion, and follows me everywhere, she and I enjoy each others company , and she is a skittish cat, frightened easily, i am afraid she will pine so much for me if I leave her, hence I have chosen not to go away since I have owned her over a year now, but I do long to get away for a short break, I will have to cross this bridge soon, and I am dreading it.

Does anyone else share my feelings?

[slleipnir]

I've never boarded them, and they've never been away from home (without being with us..like going to the cottage)

I would board if needed though. My dad never leaves the island so he really doesn't stay away from home so the dogs always have someone there with them. If he happens to go out for work or golf (over night) or something then I'm almost always home for them. If I do happen to travel, which I do, they just stay at home with him :)

[catlady1945]

We just had our 3 at a kennel for 6 days. I would rather not board them, but nobody can take 3 cats. My daughter would have stayed with them at our house but we have no public transportation and she works on the other side of town.Our late cat, Patty, was fine in a kennel, she was a really outgoing, love-everybody cat. Louis we found cowering behind the litter box - hope he wasn't there for 6 days. All three were sneezing when we got them home. This is a very posh kennel, highly recommended by the vet. It has large kennels with picture windows and lots of climbing platforms. Let's face it, most cats hate any kind of change.

They were perfectly OK five minutes after we got them home so I guess they haven't suffered any permanent damage.

[tikeyas_mom]

my dogs always come on Vacation w/ the family. or eles I wont go. simple as that. The rats usually stay w/ a friend.... .

[BitsyNaceyDog]

I board my dogs at the boarding facility that I am manager of. It is not a typical kennel. Honestly none of the dogs or cats that come ever seem to sulk or be depressed. I'll take pictures tomorrow and post them.

Other then my dogs, everyone else stays at home and my sister-in-law stays at the house while we are away. We simply can't transport all our crew, so we have no choice but to have a house sitter.

[anna_66]

I can't remember the last time we had a "REAL" vacation:o

On the rare occassion that we go away for a couple of days, grandma & grandpa have come over. They come twice a day. They let them out in the morning and feed and play with them, then they come back over and play with them again & let them in to go to bed.

I would love to have a real petsitter, but I haven't been able to find one. Plus right now I'd never go away and leave Angus for more than a day or two.