We have a 10 week old lab. My wife and I both are teachers. So this summer we would like to go on an annual vacation and summer time is the only time that works for us. Is it possible to leave our puppy in a kennel in 2 months for a week? Our 13 year old dog will also be there.
An 18 week old in a kennel isn't ideal, but it'll depend on the kennel. A better option would be a pet sitter in your home for a week. They might already be booked up for the summer holidays, but it's worth getting recommendations and going from there.
Yes you can but so much to consider.... Will the kennel be more like a puppy day care? We have a kennel here and the gal who runs it is awesome. Lotsa attention and games and socialization during the day. The number of dogs is limited. And she takes the puppies home with her at night. What kind of kennel do you have in mind? When Zeke was that age we had an emergency and had to go suddenly. Our breeder actually kept Zeke cuz kennel was full and few other options.
You could. Depends on the kennel as already stated. Best practice is to visit the kennel and do a few overnight trips so your puppy is familiar and socialized to the place before you leave it. If they are comfortable and treated right then 1 day or 14 means nothing to them of you trust the place.
How about just take the dogs with you? I've done a lot of traveling with and without my dog and by far 'with dog' is more fun. Personally, I'd probably be so worried about my puppy (and the 13 year old) that I couldn't relax and it would make a holiday without him counterproductive. Or alternatively use a housesitter. I've been looking into websites that match up people with pets who need a housesitter with the idea of doing it myself from the other side (housesitting FOR someone). The ones I've seen, you pay to join the site, but you don't pay for the sitter. I've not used these services yet so don't feel comfortable recommending one, but a quick Google search will bring up the biggest and it's easy to search for reviews as well.
How about a trip down Under to house-sit for us one day @Emily_BabbelHund ? I promise only a handful of few killer spiders and snakes!
Hey, absolutely! Maybe I could just wrap myself in bubblewrap for the visit, just in case. Otherwise, what an adventure.
When we got our now 11 year old (she was 5 months), we hadn’t known we were getting her (long story). I was teaching then and we had already booked a 3 week holiday in Spain. It was with a heavy heart I left her in kennels and I cried copious amounts on the drive down to the ferry. Needn’t have worried - they took excellent care of her and I still remember bringing her home and her doing zoomies around the back garden. I think if you are happy with the kennels (ours is spoken of very highly around here) and you have done a few trials, then go for it. Our new puppy who is 16 months has been in the kennels several times since she was 9/10 months old - longest is a week but now done this a couple of times. I feel terrible taking her but she is absolutely fine. Knowing she is safe and all her basic needs are being met means I can enjoy our breaks. We always do a couple of holidays where we take both dogs so hopefully we all benefit.
I made the mistake of taking our last Lab with us when we went to look at a kennel facility. His body language spoke volumes, and I knew we could never leave him in any of those that we visited. Most in our area do not allow the dogs to mix and take them on just a couple of 15 min leash walks, leaving them in a concrete cell the rest of the time (some with an outdoor run). The perfect solution for us is "Home Boarding", where a qualified and inspected person takes dogs to live in their own house, like a guest house. They are fed and exercised and treated as one of the family. We have not had the need to try it with Caspar yet, but our old dog loved it. He was a sensitive soul and would have let me know if he was unhappy.
We have websites where you can search for local dog walkers and/or sitters in your local area. Customers leave feedback so you get a feel for the person. I've looked at one just around the corner from us that does dog walking and potential daycare and sitting (dog stays at her house). The cost is about the same as kennels but she describes how the dog stays with her inside and is welcome on the couches etc. Ella is such a house dog now that I honestly don't think she'd cope with kennels. However, that's not to say that it wouldn't work if your dog was introduced early and was comfortable in the setting.
I think it depends on finding the right kennel. We tried a dog sitter when Cooper was about 12 weeks (3 day trip to Cancun for a wedding) It worked OK but she was not here full time, and the dogs did get into some mischief. We use a gun dog kennel that is on a 100 acre farm just out of Portland. They raise and train Retrievers, as well as boarding them. The individual dogs have about a 5' x 20' run most of which is out doors. Twice a day they take the dogs out in a group and let them run and play together in about 70 acres with a pond. As long as the dogs get along and come back, they get the 2x day exercise. We put both of our dogs in the same run. They seem happy to go their and also happy to see us when we come to pick them up.
We have had Finn when he was 3month together with our then 6year old lab Euan stay at a dog kennel at someone’s home. She liked to take care of animals, cats, dogs, birds, at her own place and they slept in the living room on couches dog blankets etc. she had a max of 6 dogs. For Finn we took his vari kennel (crate) with him so that they could put him in there so now and then. He loved to be there! When he was a year old this lady stopped with her business. Never found such a nice dog Sitter! Now Finn comes along with us. Just like our first lab who always went with us where we were going, from puppy hood!
