Pension - Day care - Pet sitter

[FrederykBlot]

Hello

 

following the message concerning me being alone this weekend because of my gf having a bachelorette party, I have questions about dog pensions, because for the wedding he will spend a night in a pension as we couldn't take him

 

 

They said they only take dog at least 6 months old for the night

But we have to do a day without night test before, and at the time he won't be 6 months

 

 

I was wondering, is it ok to put him in a day care while young ? 

Is there a minimum recommanded age before we can let him to someone for a day ?

Is there some specific things I should be careful about ? (except for chosing a good one, which is a given)

 

 

We may have planned to put him a day or so here and there as we will receive people during summer and would want to do big trips...

Having a little break can be good for our sanity, and to reload our batteries, I won't lie :)

But can this also serves as a training ? putting him with someone else in charge from time to time can make him use to that fact that sometimes we won't attend to him, and that's ok, we will be back soon

Like a few hours with a pet sitter, then a day in the pension, then a night, then a weekend...

It woud prepare the field for the time we want to go on a vacation that is not dog friendly instead of tossing him first time during a week with strangers

 

 

I'll be glad to hear opinions about that

Thank you

[JMFS]

I board my bigger dogs and have had no issues in the past.  They only asked that I come do a tour of the place to ensure it was up to my standards.  They have boarding and then I can add on day care.  Here's the link so you can see what ours looks like:  https://cuddlebugspetresort.com/

They take pictures daily of the dogs playing (that's an add-on I gladly pay for) and post them to Facebook (I had to create a FB account, but it's comforting to see pics of your dogs being pampered and playing so it was worth it).  When I was on a cruise they emailed pictures to me each day as an extra favor because I couldn't sift through all the pics on FB with the limited wifi plan on the ship.

Abbi goes to a personal sitter who takes care of one dog at a time because Abbi can't have immunizations any more and requires so much extra care (she's 15 and her legs have been stitched up and wrapped up numerous times for months now - toileting is a challenge).  So there's that option.  We were connected to that gal through Abbi's veterinarian and they offered to give the sitter a break once in a while if Abbi tired her out (the sitter is in her 70s but probably healthier than me with all my arthritis issues, lol).

Rover.com is another place we found a sitter for Abbi.  We ended up not going with him again because he had two friendly little Shitzus (Abbi does best with humans and humans only) and we're fairly certain he did not follow instructions fully.  We gave him full bags of treats in lieu of portioning them out into more bags (we're environmentally conscious when possible) and the bags did not come back to us so we're thinking he either overfed Abbi or his pups partook.  His dogs also charged out of his door as soon as he opened it when we first arrived - not a good sign to me.  When we initially met him we did so at the dog park at a picnic table away from the actual dog enclosure (lack of immunizations) and held Abbi.  She didn't mind his dogs and eventually settled into his lap as we talked so things Looked good, but after all was said and done the husband wanted better for his Abbi girls.  If we Had used him again I would have portioned the treats and labeled them with the days and times, lol.  We did get updates from him every day and for well-trained dogs who don't rush out of the door I think he'd be fine so it wasn't a Terrible experience, we're (the husband) just very particular about Abbi's care because she's so old and sensitive to change.

Here's an example of a Rover.com search.  You can use the slider for dollar amount, enter your dog's size, set preferences for other dogs / cats / children in the home, etc . . ..  I used my hometown as the example with a small dog and up to $35 per day  Rover Search for Austin

There are other search engines like Rover, you can ask your vet, friends, other people you meet with dogs, etc . . . who they use or would recommend.  Cuddle Bugs has day care, boarding, and you get freebies for x number of days you board / use day care.  On my birthday I get $25 towards grooming, for example.  Before Cuddle Bugs I used a gal who lived close to us.  She boarded / did day care in her home but the county got involved and she had all sorts of headaches trying to get set up again and stopped responding to me so I had to go searching for someone else.  My guess is she gave up because our county likes to make life difficult for people who don't have lawyers to go to bat for them.

So there you go, lots of options in case you're not entirely convinced with the place you are looking at currently.  :)

I will say also that Cuddle Bugs is very good at ensuring they match dog personalities for play time.  They keep the small dogs and big dogs separated as well.  They always have staff watching during play time.  I even get Gertie the 20 minutes of personal cuddle time every other night and Yappy Hour (a Kong stuffed with peanut butter then frozen) on the nights she doesn't get cuddle time.  She gets a nail dremel when she gets there and I call ahead to let them know when I'm picking up so they can bathe her for me - wash off all that dog slobber from the playing, lol.  I give them a sheet with special instructions and add-ons, which they then transcribe and put on her kennel with a picture of her so they don't get dogs mixed up.  I don't even have to bring her bowls - they have tons of them that they wash after every feeding.  Any toys or bedding I bring in for her they label with masking tape and her name so we always get back what we bring in.

After boarding, Gertie is docile for a few days - moreso than usual, lol.  Based on our experience I say yes, day care / boarding can be a good thing.  Especially for the socialization aspect. 

[Adrienne]

But can this also serves as a training ? putting him with someone else in charge from time to time can make him use to that fact that sometimes we won't attend to him, and that's ok, we will be back soon

Like a few hours with a pet sitter, then a day in the pension, then a night, then a weekend...

It woud prepare the field for the time we want to go on a vacation that is not dog friendly instead of tossing him first time during a week with strangers

Jennifer has a lovely place where she boards her dogs. My dogs went to a similar place where they were pampered, taken out to play a couple of times a day and walked when we were on short trips. 

First time I boarded my Rottweilers though, I made the mistake of boarding them at the vet. I thought this was the best since Einstein at that time had to take meds for his Valley Fever and I wanted to make sure he was in good hands. Well, they forgot to give him his meds (I sent him with 5 pills and the bottle was returned to me with 5 pills) and they both didn't eat for 2 days because they were too stressed (and who can blame them), because being at the vet was no fun place to be. 

Once we found the other kennel, they always ate and the owners reported they played so that told me they were emotionally OK. 

To answer your question I feel that creating a solid relationship with a pet sitter /kennel owner is a big plus. Taking him there for half a day every now and then can help. When boarded, dogs are in a more familiar place than a totally unfamiliar one and with a familiar face rather than a totally new face so this helps them settle. 

Rover.com's France website is: https://www.rover.com/fr/

I suggest to screen carefully and use pet sitters with a good amount of experience and glowing reviews. Some are even vets and dog trainers. A homey environment may work better for some dogs than a commercial kennel with cages, but there are also drawbacks, like pet sitters keeping the pets in their homes may have other doggy guests and not always they may be screened well or they may not have a perfectly puppy-proofed home etc. etc. Commercial kennels though may offer more safety and they have insurances etc. I know some have sophisticated features like 24/7 cameras where you can see what your dog is doing.

Asking around and word of mouth from other locals can be a good place to start to get some ideas. Some Facebook groups can help too where you may get other people's opinions for places, but of course, opinions are opinions, so they may not always reflect the reality so I always take them with a grain of salt. 

[FrederykBlot]

Thank you both for your answers and details

 

I feel more at ease now. As the first one I've contacted had a minimum age limit, I was thinking it was something necessary for better management

I finally contacted other pensions that have no age limit, and little Loki will likely have some days there during summer

We're gonna make some pre-visits in the upcoming weeks to see which one suits better our style

 

 

Quote

To answer your question I feel that creating a solid relationship with a pet sitter /kennel owner is a big plus. Taking him there for half a day every now and then can help. When boarded, dogs are in a more familiar place than a totally unfamiliar one and with a familiar face rather than a totally new face so this helps them settle. 

That was my thinking, and I'm glad it makes sense

 

We're having my parents-in-law, and we would like to show them around a little, but we the sun these days, and how young he is, it wouldn't be able to take a full day of walking in some cities, or in hikes... and as they come once a year or so, just being stuck in the house or in the close area would be a bit sad

 

[Adrienne]

Sounds like a great plan!

[FrederykBlot]

Done

Loki going to his first sleepover in two weeks, while my in-laws will be here

 

What brings me a little confidence is he will be with his play date buddy.

I guess it will help him to cope with our absence

 

I really also had a good feeling with the pension and the manager

 

We'll see ! Crossing fingers !

(But at least I will wake after 6:00 for the first time since end of April 😂😂)