Help.....home or Boarding Kennels

We are going to Bali for 17 nights in March and we are trying to decide what to do with our two.
My 23 yr old stepson will be here, but he'll be at work all day long and then goes to bed early on weeknights, he also never hears the dogs if they wake up in the middle of the night (which concerns me with Kita and her changing toilet habits of late), and I don't want to restrict his social activities on the weekend.

But the alternative is boarding kennels and this does my head in as well. Up until we moved to Perth in Oct 2010, Kita had never stayed in one as she stayed at my folks if we were away and we never went anywhere when Izzy was young. Since then they stayed in one for 2 nights about 14 months ago.
I will feel better knowing Kita has someone around more often there than at home, but when I look at the pics from the kennels it really upsets me knowing I'll be leaving them in those brick enclosures

Which do others think is better.....

I haven't a clue, I've never left Moo. Whatever you decide will be the right descion. Sorry I'm no help at all Xx

Thanks hun, knowing I have a place to ask this question helps.

It depends if you get a realllly good kennel or not. i have worked in many and one was appaling i had to report them and the last one i worked at was amazing! The dogs got cleaned and walked twice a day and during the times they weren't walked they got rotated around into the large outside runs so they had a sniff fest for about 30 mins then a rest then walked again! The lady owner was a dog freak so she would be in the kennel at like 10 at night giving everyone a treat and saying goodnight to them all. She was very good at taking them to the vets, making sure they were warm enough and each dog got its dinner (she and we never left the kennels with two dogs in when they were eating)

Think about your house more so...im sure you know how destructive bored staffies can be and im sure you don't want to lock them in one room all day cause it would be totally anhialated!

p.s. I'll be in Bali at the end of Feb! I'll let you know how the weather is ;]

as the above comment, go and check the kennels you are thinking of placing them in. and have a really good look around. it wont be as bad for them as they'll have each other for company.

i do understand your worry tho, its a long time and they are like your children. but most likely they'll be happy enough and they wont miss you and much as you miss them.

hope this helps.
have a wonderful time im bali tho!


x

Dont you have anymore famliy that could look after your Kita & Izzy,

kennels they just remind me of a jail i dont think i could put my dog in one

It really does depend on the kennel. When we went to Ireland, Dempsey was far too young to have all the innoculations etc to go with us, so I put him in a kennel. But it was a specialist BT kennel run by one of the country's top BT breeders. He had a whale of a time & was looked after really well in a comfortable kennel with a large run. Being a pup still, he was also pampered & taken into the house every day for an hour or so.

If we hadn't been able to get him in there we would either have had to cancel our holiday or cancel buying Dempsey!

Steve wrote:Dont you have anymore famliy that could look after your Kita & Izzy,

kennels they just remind me of a jail i dont think i could put my dog in one

They're not all like that, Steve. Some are really good & the dogs get a lot of personal attention.

Not here in Perth Steve, all our family are in Adelaide. We don't have any close friends over here either.
I have a list of kennels to go and see and have some recommendations from the girls at work.

Thanks Caryll
I might get in touch with the lady that runs those Staffy fun days Loopy, Vanessa and I went on as they are a Staffy breeder and she may be able to recommend somewhere.

I just couldn't put my dogs in one dont matter how good it was

I dont know if you have anything like house sitters in Aus. Here we are able to get people in to stay in your home and look after your pets. I used a local company here when Ty was really little and I insisted that the person that they sent was able to stay home all day. I got to inteview candidates and chose a retired couple and it worked out ok. I must admit it is a bit creepy having relative strangers in your home but they were there for my baby and were 'employed' by a bigger organisation and not anyone off the street.

Other than that, do you perhaps have a good single friend who would stay at your place for the duration?

Would be best if someone you know quite well can recommend somewhere.

Caryll wrote:

Steve wrote:Dont you have anymore famliy that could look after your Kita & Izzy,

kennels they just remind me of a jail i dont think i could put my dog in one

They're not all like that, Steve. Some are really good & the dogs get a lot of personal attention.

I agree with Caryll if you find a decent kennel it can make life such easier , with our old Border Collie X he was getting on and the lady that had the kennels had a special place for him down near the house where he could have a bit of peace and she always made a fuss , he was still happy to see us when we got home but never stressed and sulky.
Can't say I'd be so happy to put Tilly in one though as she gives me evils when I leave the house and she knows I'm going to be all day even though the OH is in all day and she will still get all her attention

we had similar dilemma but had to make our decision - Mambo will be going back to our local rescue shelter boarding kennels in March when we'll go on holiday... it breaks my heart but i know he will be OK there - he comes from there, he already knows the people and the place and every time we visit he seems to be very excited and enjoys himself. I know they will give him enough attention and all... but still, I don't want to leave him!

I think you should go for boarding kennels though, from what you said your stepson may not actually have enough time to take care of your dogs as much as the kennel staff can... just make sure you find a right place, maybe someone can recommend you one they've used before? if not, read the recommendations online, look around, talk to staff - I'm sure you will be able to find something good!

One thing though don't take in any beds and blankets that they have if you want to keep them intact! Even non bed chewers will shred them lol most people that came to us brought in a jumper or a nightgown they had worn to giv them a comforting smell.

Its a awfull dilema but really you need to take a break how lucky you are
My son usually looks after mine but hes moved out now
Im trying to sort out something for a holiday soon too Ive looked at kennels but I dont think there for me .
Could they not stay home with your son and you could get someone in to walk them during the day maybe thats what im aiming for at the moment

Always a good choice. There are some good kennels out there and you have plenty of time to research. I aalways think leaving the dogs at home is best if you can find enough people to care for them.

we have the same problem, but in future billy will be going in kennels, cause the last time we picked him up from a recommened dog sitter, he had lost weight was full of bumps ans scatches and apparently attacked another dog, nothing vicious though. At least you know in the kennels there are professionals looking after them, just get one that has been recommended

I came across this site when searching, unfortunately I don't know anyone whose used them.
http://perth.topdogminders.com/
We had a look at a boarding kennel this arvo, but I wasn't that impressed with it. The people were nice, but it's recently changed hands, so not sure......
I can get them into the one we used when we first go to Perth, but I'm still wanting to find the right place.
Some we can't view till the kids go back to school at the end of January.
I spoke to the Staffy breeder and she was going to check with a few other people and I'll ring her again on the weekend. She offered to have them bored with them but they are moving house in March,

I always hate having ot leave them alone. You still have some time to do research in the event you can't find in home care. Really hard to leave them though.

Equi wrote:One thing though don't take in any beds and blankets that they have if you want to keep them intact! Even non bed chewers will shred them lol most people that came to us brought in a jumper or a nightgown they had worn to giv them a comforting smell.

100% agreed , my missus used toi make a new bed for our old boy every time he went in kennels as he would always kill it, but at our ususal kennels at least it was a happy killing