Re: First visit to a kennels... We use an amazing retired couple in south wales, they charge £15 per 24 hours, and Benson is treated like their own, living with their own dogs. He loves it there! He first went there at about 5 months old, I got regular phone calls, it was obvious that they really enjoyed Bensons company.
Re: First visit to a kennels... Sorry you had a bad experience for your first time away,really glad Lily didn't pick up kennel cough.
Re: First visit to a kennels... [quote author=Jen link=topic=7053.msg96930#msg96930 date=1406232753] My mums cousin has two lurchers. She has a dog sitter who comes and stays with her dogs when they go away. Obviously there is risk to this as you are leaving and trusting a stranger in your home but if you are ok with that then that would probably be a good solution for Lily especially if the sitter comes to get to know her first. Then she will be at home with someone she sort of knows and will get to know better. Is that the kind of service the dog sitters in your area offer ? [/quote] The service I have come across involves placing Lily in a dog-loving dog-sitter's home, with or without other dogs as appropriate, within the local area to where we live. It is about £22 per day, so compared to the kennels (which was about £16.50) I think that is ok, for peace of mind if nothing else. There are regular phone calls and a post card from your dog to tell you what they are doing. He comes to see your dog in her home environment and learns all about her routine, feeding, personality, etc. Sounds lovely, am waiting for a call from the chap.
Re: First visit to a kennels... That sounds like a great idea and I'm sure lily will get to know the person and will enjoy going rather than the stress of kennels with other dogs stressing and barking etc. Compared to the price of kennels it's not bad at all and like you said especially for peace of mind and not having to worry. She will be getting attention and care which Im guessing isn't practical in a kennels no matter how good they are so well worth the money. Hope you get set up with somewhere and it all works out sounds ideal. ;D
Re: First visit to a kennels... First meeting with the chap is Friday at 2, so I will let you know how it goes
Re: First visit to a kennels... We went with dog boarding latterly as our last two got older, i hated the thought of leaving them in kennels so much that we just didn't go on holiday without them, instead finding dog friendly hotels or caravans. Our first trip to Mallham in North Yorks was amazing, they loved it, but on returning home our eldest at the time developed a horrendous cough which the vet said was kennel cough - we hadn't had them vaccinated against it as they hated it and they weren't going in kennels, but the vet said they can pick it up anywhere that dogs go, so we will have it done routinely with our two new pups as we plan on taking lots of coastal/countryside holidays and taking them with us as we can't bear leaving them. Hope Lily likes her sitter, our two adored their dog boarder and her house, no problems eating or anything and just settled in perfectly - we also got texts and photos so we could see for ourselves
Re: First visit to a kennels... [quote author=Looby Lou link=topic=7053.msg98473#msg98473 date=1406815928] i hated the thought of leaving them in kennels so much that we just didn't go on holiday without them, instead finding dog friendly hotels or caravans. Our first trip to Mallham in North Yorks was amazing [/quote] Yes actually our original plan was to take Lily with us on holiday, but we left it so late this year and couldn't find anywhere! We are now going to visit the in-laws who live in Yorkshire but as they are elderly and are not used to dogs, I am not comfortable taking her with us as she is such a bouncy lab. So, the options are: dog sitter or... stay at home and not visit the in-laws... hmmmm ;D
Re: First visit to a kennels... It's always a good idea to have somewhere you can leave them, things like family weddings etc make it necessary at times. Ours was a trip to New York for our twin sons 21st birthdays, so we had to find somewhere we were happy with or i would never have settled being so far away. The lady even had her xmas tree and lots of furry decorations in her lounge where the dogs were allowed, and they were still in tact when we returned - i was stunned Max hadnt trashed them lol
Re: First visit to a kennels... [quote author=amandamumma link=topic=7053.msg98519#msg98519 date=1406832182] So, the options are: dog sitter or... stay at home and not visit the in-laws... hmmmm ;D [/quote] Oooo- tough! ;D ;D ;D ;D
Re: First visit to a kennels... Hello all, OK. So the dog-sitting chap came to see us on Friday. It was a very intensive and thorough 1.5 hours and Lily acted like an absolute yob; we had to get her to sit using kibble as bait. I could tell he was impressed : That aside, the set-up sounds really nice. Couples/families from the local area are hosts and you can select a shortlist of those you might fancy looking after your dog. Most of the people are middle-aged to elderly (but fit and well). Some of the people we recognised, which was nice. How it works is: he asks all about your dog's details/history/health/vaccinations/routine/exercise/diet and all about her, e.g. what lead you walk her on, etc. When you have registered and given the dates you need cover, he will check availability and, if it is do-able, arrange a one night sleepover to see how the arrangement turns out; if it is a bad match then it is not the end of the world and you haven't committed your dog to a week of misery for everyone. The idea is to establish a relationship so that the dog goes on a nice holiday to a home with people she knows when you go on yours, so you can send her to the same place whenever you go away The chap is there to transport the dog, provide support to the family and dog sitter and do vet visits (should it be necessary). You can choose a household with or without dog(s), which is good. However, I did get an email to say there wasn't anyone available to look after Lily in August when we are supposed to be going away but would be happy to organise a trial sleepover later in the year. I am not sure if it means there is no availability or just no suitable family willing to sit my girl at the moment. She is still bouncy at 8 months :-\ and I think I expected her to have quietened down by now... so I think that leaving it for a while is a good plan.
Re: First visit to a kennels... It all sounds really good I know a lot of these kind of people get booked up months in advance - my friend uses one and has to give at least 3/4 months notice as they are so in demand. To me that shows they are good Fingers crossed it goes well when she does go
Re: First visit to a kennels... It sounds a really good and organised arrangement. It probably is quite short notice for August so I wouldn't worry about that. Hope Lily enjoys her hols when she does go. ;D
Re: First visit to a kennels... It sounds very thorough and professional,I think it will be a great solution for when you next go away....maybe something might come available,you never know x
Re: First visit to a kennels... Ok I will try not to take it personally... and hope she can go later in the year. I think I might have to forego the trip to visit the in-laws after all!
Re: First visit to a kennels... [quote author=amandamumma link=topic=7053.msg100086#msg100086 date=1407410078] Ok I will try not to take it personally... and hope she can go later in the year. I think I might have to forego the trip to visit the in-laws after all! [/quote] Darn!
