Anyone else scared to board their pet?

Long Long story - but two weeks before we're due to fly up to NY for eight days, we find out that the family member who is supposed to watch our dog, and has in the past, cannot do it
We have trip insurance, but we don't know if we're going to be able to cancel without some sort of doctor's letter besides the fact that we don't want to cancel.

I am scared and so guilt-ridden at the idea of boarding my dog. She is not really good with other dogs and has anxiety. I can't imagine leaving her for 9 days to be crated up most of the day.
I started looking online at different pet sitters- but I have serious concerns about letting stranger into my house, all that, even if they are insured, etc.
We're just screwed

Thanks for listening

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

my brother has a nice place by him

it's not cheap but the dog loves it

I would ask him to watch the dog for you- but he is going to be in pittsburgh

let me know if you want the name of the place he uses

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

THanks Beth. I don't know what to do.

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

I would be scared no doubt but would feel better using a few recommended places. Is the dog small or large? Smaller dogs usually have more options.

Not that I wouldn't be scared, but PetSmart seems to have a nice pets hotel where your dog would literally have his/her own room, not a crate.

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

I am scared, yes, but if I HAD to I know there are places such as the obedience school we used that let the dogs play most of the day and crate them overnight. I wasn't thrilled with the training he got, but the dog sure had fun playing there!

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

I couldn't board my dogs. My one dog is a rescue, she was abused before we got her and she is terrified of a crate. There is no way I could put her through that.

We have a dog sitter that comes to stay at my house while we are away. And she's cheaper than boarding!

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

Nope I never would and never will. We have canceled two vacations because of it but for us we wouldn't enjoy ourselves if he was in a kennel. I usually cry by the last day of my vacation ANYWAY bc I miss the little guy so much and he is with his best puppy friend and my MIL when we go!

I would consider a pet sitter if I trusted someone completely.

Good Luck

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

Nope I don't like doing it either. Luckily mine and DH's parents usually watch her if we go away. But I do know of a really good sitter..you can take it to her house (its not a kennel) and the woman is really sweet and loves animals. Let me know if you want more info

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

I could never put Katie in a kennel. She stays with my parents while we are away. When I was growing up my parents used to leave our dog at the dog groomers house. I know there are people who do this, ask around, maybe at your vet or groomer.

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

I hate doing it, but I would never NOT do it and cancel a trip.

There are tons of different kennels with lots of boarding options. The one we love to keep him at gives him is own indoor/outdoor kennel (at night, they close a door/panel in the kennel so the dogs can't go outside and in the morning the door/panel is opened so that the dogs have the option of being in or out - and while they're out, they're still contained within their own kennel), he is not with other dogs.. there are dogs next to him, but he never interacts with them, if we choose,we can allow him play time outside with trained people at the kennels. It's really great.

Those were a few things (among the HUGE list, inlcuding most importantly, is there someone on site 24hrs) that we looked for when we needed to board him. Turns out, he loves it too!!!

Good luck... FM me if you have any questions or need recommendations.

ETA: Just realized you're not in NY. If you can find a PetSmart that has a hotel, try leaving him there... they'll let you tour the facilities and the dogs have their own small rooms instead of crates.

Message edited 12/8/2008 1:48:30 PM.

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

Is there somewhere non-kennel-like where you can go? We take our dogs to a farm where the owners run a "pet resort." They aren't kept in cages, and have a schedule throughout the day (potty break, breakfast, nap time, play time, more napping, play with balls, go to the obstacle course, etc.) and sleep in little "suites" (gated-in areas in a big heated room attached to the owner's house that have real furniture for them to lay on and are decorated with themes). It's expensive, but they're our babies, and the thought of boarding them in a traditional kennel breaks my heart. It lets us travel with peace of mind, so it's worth it for us.

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

Ladies- just want to thank you all for the support, hugs, and recommendations. I am not on LI anymore, and this is especially one of the times it kills me that I don't have a "LIF" down here for recommendations.
I dont know what we're going to do yet, but I'll let you ladies know...

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

OK - so I spoke to our vet's office - we only recently started going there but we really like the office. I spoke to one of the girls who answered the phone to see if they had boarding (which they do) but the girl I spoke with also does pet sitting and said she does quite a few pets in the practice - we spoke for a few minutes and I took her cell # and told her I'd call in the next day or two...
Would you be comfortable with that?

I'm trying to weigh my pet's comfort level at being boarded vs my comfort level at having a stranger in the house

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

Posted by mrswask

OK - so I spoke to our vet's office - we only recently started going there but we really like the office. I spoke to one of the girls who answered the phone to see if they had boarding (which they do) but the girl I spoke with also does pet sitting and said she does quite a few pets in the practice - we spoke for a few minutes and I took her cell # and told her I'd call in the next day or two...
Would you be comfortable with that?

I'm trying to weigh my pet's comfort level at being boarded vs my comfort level at having a stranger in the house

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

my mom's cousin owns the Barry Inn in woodmere, it's a wonderful place. She started it just out of her love for animals.

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

My friend is in Port Saint Lucie and uses a house sitter that comes by a few times a day. He plays with Diesel ( A huge Rottie) and then leaves. She (my friend) loves them and they have never had any problems. Let me know if you want to info.

Re: Anyone else scared to board their pet?

I was very scared the first time we left Casey at a kennel but you know, she likes it there, we got to know the people and now we refer to it as "Casey goes to camp" LOL. It's a vacation for us and for her.