Advice on putting a dog aggressive dog in kennels for the holiday

Hi all,

Jerry is 4 and this will be the first time he has to go in boarding kennels while we are on holiday.

He's my baby and quite frankly my holiday will probably be ruined thinking about him all the time.

Anyway, he's very temperamental with other dogs (perfectly soft with people) and I know kennels never mix the dogs to be on the safe side but I'm just wondering whether he'll be OK.

Has anyone else got a dog that's not great with other dogs that leaves them in kennels?

I suppose I'm just after advice and success stories?

He's probably not likely to be going hell for leather at the dog on the other side of the fence but it's more walks etc that I worry about.

Some of the kennels we visited a while back offered a day trial to see how your dog coped as some really don't take to it, is that an option for you? At least that way if you can see him settled you won't be worrying on holiday

Have you spoken to the kennel staff?

if the kennels/runs are situated so that the dogs can see their neighbours then I, personally, wouldn't advise it. he'll end up in such a high state of anxiety that the experience could make him worse.

some kennels won't take DA dogs, though.

I think that's a very good point. Dog aggression (which I believe is often based in fear/anxiety) can be very stressful for the dog, so being surrounded by barking dogs might cause problems for him not only in the kennels but afterwards as well. I don't have experience of putting a dog of mine in kennels but I volunteer at a rescue centre, visiting weekly, and see how the stress can build in some dogs. Not all, but some.

Have you looked at other options, such as leaving him at home with a couple of visits/walks by a dog walker, or getting a house sitter in?

Here's a couple of alternatives you might want to look at:-

https://uk.dogbuddy.com

http://uk.holidog.com

Just a couple of suggestions for home dog boarding, there are more out there simply googled dog boarding  

Thanks everyone. I told the kennel staff at both about him being temperamental. Hes not crazy mad aggressive but enough so that you need to know how to manage him in the event of another dog bounding up to him. They both said that the dogs don't mix at all so he would be fine. I assume they must have this often enough.

The only other option I have is leaving him with my semi elderly parents but he wouldn't get a walk for the 5 days but to be honest I'd rather that as I don't trust many people to walk him as you have to know how to distract him in the event of another dog approaching which we do all the time and he's fine but you know what other people are like and I'd rather not put anyone else in that situation.

I don't have anyone who could stay at my house with him and dog walkers round here won't take him as they walk several dogs together which would be no good for him.

I feel like the first person in the world to ever come up against this lol.

I've rang round people who look after the dog in their home but again they all said they look after more than one at a time or have their own dog so again, no good for Jerry.

I leave Misty with my parents when we go away. She's too strong for them to walk her too so she doesn't have a walk however they do stimulate her mentally with lots of games and tricks. They also have a massive garden for her and in the summer she spends all day sunbathing and they get the hose out which she goes nuts for and tires her out. It's not ideal not going for walks but she is with family and its that or kennels and I couldn't put her in kennels as she would be too stressed. There are many games you can play in a garden to. My personal choice is family every time but I do understand that kennels are a great solution for holidays etc. I do hope that you find a solution and enjoy your holiday.

I would opt for leaving Jerry with your family as well. Even if kennelled dogs go for walks every day, they spend the rest of their time on their own in a small, strange environment, and that's probably 23hrs or so a day. I'd rather have no walks in a friendly environment with play time, things to chew, mental stimulation toys, etc., above the kennel environment any day.

i would opt at leaving your dog with either a boarder with your dog being the sole dog in the house or getting someone to live with your dog at home and looking after him while you are on holiday staffies don't like sudden changes and don't enjoy kennels much either. home boarders are usually criminal record checked and the also offer a time sometimes where you can see how the person that will look after your dog interacts with the person. whatever you decide good luck.

Vicki29 wrote:Thanks everyone. I told the kennel staff at both about him being temperamental. Hes not crazy mad aggressive but enough so that you need to know how to manage him in the event of another dog bounding up to him.  They both said that the dogs don't mix at all so he would be fine.  I assume they must have this often enough.

my concern would still be that he will be able to see/hear the other dogs - probably 24 hours a day. it could seriously affect him!

Vicki29 wrote:
I feel like the first person in the world to ever come up against this lol.

I'm sure you're not, but it feels like it, doesn't it?

can your parents look after him, but just allow him several visits to the garden instead of walks, and maybe throw a ball or toy for him to chase?