What do you do with your dog when on vacation?

PinkPiano

We normally board our dog but we got another dog in December and he hates being in a crate so it breaks my heart to think of boarding him.  I think he'd be really upset but we board at our vet and I know they are caring there and would try to make him comfortable.  I'm still trying to think of other alternatives though.  It would be WAY too expensive to have our petsitter come for a full week plus that would be too much alone time.  I wouldn't mind paying someone to stay at our house but don't know of anyone to do so.  I also considered taking one (or both) with us on vacation and boarding them when we get there but that may be too stressful for all of us and also I couldn't check out the boarding place prior.  Any other ideas?  I won't be able to enjoy my vacation if my dogs aren't settled in nicely somewhere. 

 

YellowUmbrella

We use a petsitter - they stay at our house overnight (9 pm - 9 am) and come by once during the day for 30 minutes. It's a little pricey but the peace of mind is well worth it.

KatiesCats

Our dogs stay with our neighbor.  She is awesome, and it's like $18 a day.

Before we lived here, we were in California, where we knew no one.  Cal stayed at his daycare place.  He was out playing with the other dogs all day (except for midday naptime), and then had a "condo" at night with his bed, water, food, etc.  It wasn't a crate, but it was a sort of pen.

sakelp

We take our dogs to Petsuites. Its a lot like Katie described. They are in larger pens, and our dogs stay together in one large pen. We pay extra $ for doby to get playtime with other dogs, and for cosmo to get some one on one play time or the "love me tender" package, which basically is her getting petted for 30 min.

it's easy, we love the people there, and it's not THAT much money in the grand scheme of things, to know your dogs are happy and safe. 

AmeliaPond

My parents are watching our guy this summer while we go on vacation, but if they can't do it the next time, we'll probably arrange for boarding or a sitter through our greyhound rescue--they have a message board with boarding/sitter info.  I know I'll feel better if he's at a house with other greyhound buddies, I couldn't bear to board him, knowing how much he hates being crated.

groovingirl

Do you have any doggie daycares around?  I board my dogs there.  They get to play with the other dogs during the day and they have their own quarters to sleep in at night (about the size of a large crate, with a bed).  Just a thought.

LolaNJoe

My local doggie daycare offers a boarding alternative where they pick up the dogs in the morning, take them for a long day of daycare, and drop them back off at night to sleep where they usually do in the house. They also check my mail, water my plants, and turn on/off lights. Maybe a daycare near you offers something similar?

ndolehan

My MIL takes care of our dogs for us. We take them to her place and she takes good care of her grand-pups! She loves them!

If you have a good friend/family in the area that might be willing to care for them, that's a great option. Especially if it's someone they already know the dog will be more comfortable around them. 

SillyStraw

Our dog stays with our neighbors when we go on vacation but before we had that sweet connection we would board her at a doggie daycare like the others described.  At this place the dogs are all out playing from 7am-7pm.  If you could find a place like that it might work OK for you - usually the dogs get so tired out from the day they sleep all night.  If you do this, I would suggest taking your dogs there a couple times for daycare just during the day so they get familiar with the place.

Caz1221

Our dogs stay at the "hotel" that is run by our walking company.  During the day, they have morning and afternoon play group sessions with the other dogs, and at night and for midday nap time, they have a "condo" space just for the two of them that has dog beds, water bowl, etc.  They already know most of the staff since it's our walking company, so that's great.  It is pretty pricey (a little less than $100 per night for the two dogs), but we just factor that into our vacation budget since it's by far the best option for our pups. 

dexteroni

Dexter doesn't like crates either.  He stays with family whenever possible, but if we just want to take a weekend and no one can watch him, he'll go to a day care that has cage-free boarding.  Of the two that we've used, one lets all the dogs sleep in one big room with a bunch of couches and dog beds, and at the other, each dog goes home with a staff member each evening. 

M6girl

We take Hilo (my dobie) to a kennel.  When we're in NC we would take him to his breeders because I know they'll take great care of him.  They give put him in a 5x20ft run so he can ...run. Then let them out in the play area to play with each other. I haven't had to leave him with them yet but they are ideal for us.  Actually I think they'd probably let him be inside their house with his mom lol.  

If we are in FL and had to leave him then we'd put him up in a kennel that seems to be pretty decent. We've boarded him for a day before and he seemed to really enjoy playing with the other dogs but they said he howled really loud when they put him in the 5x8 ft pin lol. He doesn't like alone time. So I may be looking somewhere else that will let him stay with other dogs.  I trust Hilo to be home alone without a crate all day so I don't really want to leave him somewhere that will put him up in a small area even if it's only part of the day.

They're both pricey at $35/day but it's worth it for me to not have to worry the entire time.  Of course our first choice is his breeders so we try to drive up to NC and fly out from there. 

Jenni232323

We're lucky enough to have my MIL close and he just goes over there and has his own vacation playing with her poodles. We actually bought a camper so that we could take him with us on vacation - most all state parks allow dogs.

If my MIL or taking him with us wasn't an option, I would trust him at a local 'pet resort' that I did tour for a backup. It's at a couple's house and they converted their barn into a real pet resort with suites for the dogs. There's outside play area, cameras, pools - http://colemanfarmspetresort.com/ - the lady that runs it is great, Rufus liked her so I'd trust her with him.

GoldenPeaches

I pay a friend to watch him at her house. My dog and her dog play all day and night and he comes home and sleeps forever. He loves it!

MBandBud

We used to have a petsitter some here, but then we found out that our petsitter will actually take the dogs to her house - and it's cheaper!  I really like this b/c they get more attention and are not alone for so long.  They are very comfortable there now that they have done it a few times. 

MeredithE

I board her at the place she goes to Doggy Daycare. Confession : I won't take a trip longer than a week because I can't stand the thought of her possibly believing that I am not coming back. Last time we left for 9 days and I felt so guilty I had a nightmare something had happened to her and woke up crying. Yeah I know I am nuts.