Has anyone any experience or advice concerning putting my lab pup into boarding kennels for a week? She'll be around four and a half months of age, so still very young. We have mixed feelings ourselves, wondering if this will mean she'll adapt easily and be used to going in to kennels when she reaches maturity or whether it will be a total set-back with her house training, barking, loss of confidence etc. Obviously we would inspect the premises first etc and ensure she's vaccinated for kennel cough and so on. I'd really appreciate your views on this as our previous dog never went into kennels in all her 14 years. :-\
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Hi Kitty, this is a difficult one. All my dogs are introduced to kennel life and some live outdoors all year round. But, I do make that introduction quite gradually, and pups are kennelled with an older dog that they know. I would be a bit wary of putting such a young dog into a totally strange boarding kennels. One problem is that they won't be able to pair her with another dog because puppies tend to pester older dogs and can end getting 'admonished' perhaps too severely, by the other dog. So she is quite likely to bark and maybe get quite upset. And it may well interfere with house training. On the other hand, you need to balance that against the other needs of your family, and the fact that it probably won't do her any long term harm. A great idea would be if you could leave her there for several short periods in advance of the full week. So that it was a familiar place. Important too, to check that playtimes in your chosen kennel are fully supervised as puppies are very vulnerable to attack from older grumpy dogs that do not like being bounced. Pippa
Re: boarding kennels - advice? You might have to try more than one kennel as well if it's going to be a regular thing. I inherited my dog, Lady, at 6 months when my daughter who had a long term illness became too ill to look after her anymore. We're away a lot because of the nature of the business we are in and Lady is kennelled out of necessity about once every two weeks for 3 days at a time throughout the year. Our first choice of kennel was not a good experience. Not that I think there was anything fundamentally wrong with the first kennel, it was just something about the setup that Lady hated to the extent she wouldn't come out of the back of the car and had her tail firmly between her legs. Our current kennel is a godsend. We tried it after about 4 or 5 sessions in the first kennel that clearly wasn't getting any better. She became reluctant to get in the car. The new kennels took a real interest in this bouncy Lab puppy and made a fuss of her, played with her, gave her treats and made her feel at home. She knows when she is going into kennels because she goes with a selection of toys (I use the car bedding for the kennel). She gets excited for the off and charges for the car. She leaps out of the back of the car and runs into the kennel office to say hello to her friends there. It's a big relief to know she's clearly not unhappy there and is fully used to the routine now. Good luck.
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Thanks Pippa & David for your helpful replies; I have more pointers as to what to look/ask for now and I don't feel quite so guilty at even considering the very idea! Sounds like Lady really enjoys her time in kennels which is encouraging - there are so many negative stories about kennels; its good to get the flipside. I'll take the pup along to visit any likely places and see how they are with her, maybe shop around a bit... Cheers!
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Thats lovely to read David , what a relief for you . We have a couple in our village, fully licenced, who take dogs into their home , they have two friendly Labs themselves and the visiting dogs are treated as family . I know several people in the village who have used them for boarding or just for day care which is a brilliant idea , for those times when you dont want to or cant take them with you but its too long to leave them at home
Re: boarding kennels - advice? I know of a couple of people who take the dog into their home too. Perhaps this would be less unsettling for a young pup like yours? A house-sitter would be ideal.... I'm sure you will find a solution that works. Don't be afraid to shop about!
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Have you thought to ask her breeder if she'll have her back for that week, as many decent breeders would much rather do that than have one of their pups put somewhere where it might be stressful for them? To be honest, unless the pup was as bold as brass, I wouldn't risk putting such a youngster in kennels. They are at such a crucial stage of their development at that age, plus just about hitting their first Fear Stage too. If mishandled, you could end up living with the results for the rest of the dog's life. If the breeder won't have the pup back, perhaps getting someone trustworthy in to house/pup sit would be the next best thing, or at a push have the pup live with them in their house for the week. Jules.
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Thanks Kate, Sam & Jules. Unfortunately my previous dog sitters have a) moved to Finland b) got married and has children c) also got married and inherited kids, so no longer an option. There are no commercial dog-sitters in our neck of the woods, I've looked... I will ask the breeder though (I hadn't thought to do that, but hey, if you don't ask...) but feel its a bit cheeky as we didn't mention it when we bought her (didn't know we'd be going then). Have spoken to a small'ish kennels this afternoon who were very understanding and helpful; we'll pay them a visit soon and see how they respond to meeting the pup and what the premises are like etc. Our Breagh is as bold as brass but not sure how she'd be with lots of other (probably noisy) dogs!
Re: boarding kennels - advice? A friend of mine with a very old lab who's never been kennelled was suddenly stuck without a sitter and put a card in the village shop window and got 37 replies! After lots of chats and home visits he now has 3 or 4 people he can call on who are delighted to have her and don't want to be paid - they simply want the joy of the dog without long term commitment. Trickier maybe with a pup but another idea to consider. I definitely would do short trial runs where ever you decide to put Breagh as much for your own peace of mind as helping the dog not get stressed.
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Did you find a decent kennels, Kitty? I can understand your quandry, as I have a four-and-a-half month old pup myself, in addition to a 13-year-old lab. We were so unsure about putting them into kennels, that we decided not to go on holiday this summer, but to stay home with the dogs. However, at the last moment a friend had a cancellation for his holiday apartment in Bavaria (we live in Frankfurt, Germany, so not too far away), another friend offered to take the old dog, and we set off for a week in the mountains with the puppy in tow! And to my surprise and relief, it was a HUGE success! I'd be very careful about putting a young puppy into kennels, but sometimes it is simply unavoidable. I hope you found a good solution! Karen
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Many thanks for your replies. I think we have found some suitable kennels, Karen (fingers crossed...). We went along on Sunday for a visit and a tour. Its a small family-run business, set in the countryside and looked and smelled very clean! The staff were really friendly and happy to answer my many questions. Breagh was unsettled by the barking so we spent some time walking around outside, giving lots of treats and reassurance and a chance for her to sniff about and watch dogs coming and going for their walks. We agreed with the owner that a short preliminary visit would be a good idea so she's going next week for just a few hours during the day. While she's there she'll have her lunch and a chance to play with another dog or two in the grassy enclosure (fully supervised, of course) then come home again. If need be, we'll do another very short visit before she stays in september. It's been agony trying to decide what to do but we feel happier now that we've found what we think is the right place. Hopefully, all will go well and future stays in kennels will be ok for her (and us!). :-\
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Further to the above - the breeder is unable to take her for that week and didn't offer to consider any other dates. We live a few miles from our nearest village and don't really know anyone there to ask about taking our pup while we're away. Our closest neighbours (half a mile away) are one of the previous pet-sitters but are no longer available. The other is a shepherd and not the friendliest of chaps to ask...
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Hi Kitty How disappointing for you! What's your plan now? Can you take pup with you?
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Thanks Sam, yup we have the kennels as mentioned - providing the visit goes well next week!
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Oh I misread your last post! I thought you were saying the kennels couldn't have her after all! So glad I was wrong!
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Latest update if you're interested... Breagh visited the boarding kennels today. She was left there from 10am - 2pm, just long enough for a gentle introduction. Apparently she had a good romp with another dog in the grassy penned area, followed by her lunch (which we sent in with her) then a sleep. So, can't have been too stressful then The young kennelmaids were very good with her and, of course, loved having a puppy of which they could make much. I'm feeling a lot happier about leaving her for 6 nights in September; I'm sure I suffered far more than Breagh ;D
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Ah, that's great It is so nice for the dog to be able to get to know the kennel before being left there for any length of time. Glad you were both happy with it!
Re: boarding kennels - advice? Sounds very positive, good for you! And it's really good that you have somewhere where you know the puppy can go in case of a sudden emergency (this is an issue for me, living abroad; should there suddenly be a family crisis or something in the UK, I would have to take the dogs with me, beg a friend to look after them, or put them in kennels).
