What do you do with your dog when you are gone for extended periods of time?

[iLLt3cK]

I'm talking about the rare business trip / vacation when you can't bring along your 4 legged pal.

 

Where does your dog go? Friend's place? Family? Other?

 

Where?

[Kitch]

Dublin gets boarded at the place I train/daycare.

[JackoDog]

We had to leave Jacko for a week only 2 months after we got him. Since he'd been in and out of shelters 3 times in his 1 year of life, we were hesitant to board him because we weren't sure what his reaction would be. We weren't all completely bonded yet and he didn't fully trust us, so we wanted him to be somewhere slightly familiar with all his things around and people he'd met before. So, he stayed with the in-laws, just a couple minutes from our house. He had his own crate there, his food dishes, food, treats and toys. He'd been there several times before and played with their dog (a chihuahua!) so things were at least a little familiar.

 

The next time - I don't know. He stays with friends of ours if we have days where we're going to be gone for a long time - for instance, if we take a day trip to Seattle (3 hours away). But for future long trips, we'll probably look into boarding him so as not to impose on family again.

[Keegan's Mom]

The longest we have been gone is a one week at a time. We usually split them up because sometimes 2 BC's are too hard to handle for our friends; however, if we are gone for only a weekend, one of our friends will take both.

me

With that being said, Keegan usually stays with our neighbors and Tess usually stays with our friends down the street.

 

But Laura C. kept Tess once for us for a week and Tess loved it there too!!!

 

So I keep the dogs with friends. At last resort we will board Tess at a daycare type place but that only happened once. Keegan never gets boarded and we try to avoid boarding Tess.

[Jo&Tex]

My dogs have special needs. One is blind and one is deaf.

Recently I had to go away for a week. There isn't much in the way of boarding kennels around here and it is challenging for the blind dog to adapt to new enviornments (plus he spent a lot of his first 5 years in a shelter) Tex is a real trooper but you can hear him cursing in doggy languange whenever the furniture is moved around in my house.

The solution for me was to have a college student move into my home for a week.It went well but she found the energy level of the dogs to be overwhelming at times. If you decide on a in house dogsitter - make sure they know that border collies are not fat, old Labradors.....

[sea4th]

Just got back from Scotland. I have 12 dogs. 7 were boarded. The rest were divvied up among friends I knew could handle them, according to their personality. My friend and co-worker watched Flick for me. She bought a hamster for Flick and Flick would spend many hours focused on that hamster. (The hamster was in a cage). The boarding kennel I use is run by dog savvy people, so my mt. dog, Juta, goes there. They know how to handle her, and Juta knows the routine.

 

I took my dogs to where they were to stay a couple of times in advance so that places they stayed already had a familiarity for them.

 

So a lot of dogs = a lot of decision making (and money) on my part, but it all worked out.

[Shetlander]

I use a house sitter whom my dogs all adore. The sheltie literally squeals with joy when she sees her, a sound that's never been directed at boring old me

[juliepoudrier]

I have good friends (you know who you are, and you have my heartfelt thanks!) who are willing to take my dogs when I have to travel. These friends even have to put up with my worried calls from on the road checking on my pooches. I generally divide dogs up so that the ones who don't get along are in different locations, and the ones who work I generally try to send to the friend who has sheep and can take them out occasionally for their mental health.

 

Back when I had just two dogs, both rescues, I boarded them once. Indy was fine, but Willow wouldn't eat for a week afterward and I had to treat her for stress-related ulcers. Ever since then I have relied on the kindness of friends and neighbors for dog care.

 

I have also had people (friends or family, not just anyone) come stay here (since I also have cats, a lovebird, chickens, and sheep that need looking after over extended trips) if I needed to leave dogs home. That's how I was able to go to the Bluegrass this year--a good childhood friend from PA drove down and "vacationed" here in the country. It's so much less stressful knowing my animals are in the care of people I know and trust.

 

J.

[Kat's Dogs]

The BC will (we haven't done a trip yet) stay with a good friend who has Aussies. The little ones go to different friends.

 

I am happier knowing my dogs are with people that know how to handle them.

[MrSnappy]

I have a dog sitter who takes them into her house and boards them there for a fee. As she is also a dogwalker for a living, my dogs get excellent hikes every day too.

 

I have a friend who brings her dogs and comes and stays at my house to take are of my diabetic cat. She is currently without a car, as hers was totalled, so I leave her my truck and this makes it a fair deal as far as she is concerned I don't leave my dogs with her as 4 extra dogs is a lot for someone used to having just 2 dogs, plus I think RD would kill her terrier

 

RDM

[nancy]

We take Fergie to either of two really great boarding kennels near us. She loves both places and pulls me inside. Of course, she loves it when we return.

 

We just don't feel comfortable about giving anyone total use of our house. Our daughter would be willing to come by to feed and walk Ferg. But she's taking at least two evening classes a semester after work, has a 4-year-old, and is married to a park ranger who works odd hours - and they live in the state park.

 

But, since all our parents have recently died, we don't have the flights north or south. So boarding comes down to the 2 week about every other year for our Yorkshire pilgrimages.

[hoku's mum]

Hoku goes to a cage free boarding place an hour from here (bit of a schlep, but worth it to know he's having fun, is safe, and will be pooped out when we get home ). They are great, do a temperament test before they will take your dog. They are all our playing in a couple of big fenced yards for much of the day, and they sleep in a couple of rooms full of pillows and over stuffed couches and chairs. He is so happy when we pull in there. Of course he is so happy to see us at the end of his vacation, too! Gussy gets to stay here at home, as a friend who has her 'best friend' lives on our property, and she just moves next door.

 

Kristin, Hoku and Gussy

[urge to herd]

Buzz and Shoshone go to a 'doggy bed and breakfast' where they also go for daycare a couple times a month. They can't wait to get out and start playing when we get there. The owner also has a dog bakery business, so they get healthy treats as well.

 

Samantha intensely dislikes any sort of kennel situation. She literally had to be leashed and pulled from the truck at any kennel. Then we asked our friend Jenny, who also works with me occasionally, if she would take Sam overnight when we need a place to park her. Jenn and her family just can't afford a dog, so they all shower Sam with attention when she spends a couple days there. Works out great for them and us. Sammi starts barking and wagging her tail madly whenever she hears Jenn's car in our driveway.

 

I do a lot better when I'm away when I know my dogs are in good hands.

 

Ruth n the BC3

[Keegan's Mom]

I will say that when I was in college, I used to housesit for a family that had 3 dogs, 2 cats, a hamster, and a lizard. I enjoyed it very much as I got to do my laundry and have company on the weekends when all my friends had boyfriends to hang with...I had animals!!!! I didn't have a car so they would also let me use their car.

 

I would consider doing the same if I ever found the right person.

[M.L.]

The longest I have been gone and needed to leave my dogs is 9 days. I leave them with my best friends - the people I trust and who know my dogs pretty well. I'll usually leave Ginger with one friend and then Willow and Bailey with another. Three dogs is a little much on top of thier dogs too. I have never left them at a kennel, I worry too much about them. I would leave them at a kennel if that was my only option, but I hope to be able to avoid that. I actually enjoy taking them along on trips with me. We have roadtripped to San Franciso and all over Arizona. It can be a pain but in the end we all have a lot of fun.

[Sue R]

I love to take the dogs on trips with us. They travel well and are no problem.

 

Celt and Megan went to Idaho for our daughter's graduation from college a year ago last spring. They enjoyed romping in a variety of places and smelling a number of new smells, but I think we all liked Wyoming best. The dogs could have a lot of freedom as it was the off-season and we saw no one else.

 

They've all been to coastal North Carolina with us, and we've really been able to enjoy the Outer Banks. In some places, dogs can be off lead at certain times and places but, in the more travelled areas, leash laws are strict. They just love the sound-side and the big tidal creek by the family farm.

 

When they can't go with us, we have a wonderful doggie bed-and-breakfast that I trust and that they seem to enjoy immensely. It has indoor/outdoor runs and a couple of nicely fenced and maintained off-lead play-yards. Our vets also have a nice boarding facility with big indoor/outdoor runs but no free-run play-yard, so I do prefer the other place where they get lots of playtime outside if the weather permits.

 

If the dogs can't go with us, we don't generally go anywhere for more than a few days, and that only when necessary. Right now, our adult daughter is living with us and so they stay at home with her if we have to be gone without them.

[BustopherJones]

We have had the same vet for many years. If we are going to be away overnight, our vet will not tolerate having the dogs left at a kennel; she insists that the dogs stay with her at the office/hospital instead. The staff love both girls, so they are well cared for; if the stay extends over a weekend (very rarely), the vet will take Annie (the BC) home to her farm for the weekend.

[Catu]

Most of my trips are related to the dog, so they travel with me, but if not I have dog trainers friends and some of them have kennels in their houses where Chemukh can stay.

 

I'm going to travel for over two weeks in 9 days, Chemukh will stay with one of my SAR team-mates where she will live until I find a good home for her and another of my team-mates will stay in my house and take care of Auca, wich is the one I'm going to conserve at my return if life says no other thing.

[Maralynn]

Missy stays with my family or my grandparents (I keep the sheep on their farm). She can be a bit quirky, so I'm not really comfortable leaving her anywhere else. She does travel well, and is content to sit in the car, weather permitting. I'm planning on taking her along to CO for my brother's wedding in a few weeks.

 

I'll leave Kip crated at my grandparents, and ask my cousins (who live practically next door, and will be caring for the rest of the critters) to come over and play with him several times a day.

[Meg's mum]

We left Meg for 4 days at my closest friend's house when she was only 11 weeks old. She had worms and we didn't know it when we left her. Poor people. I felt soooooo bad. This time teenage stepdaughter will be invited to stay.

[ErinKate]

Mine stay home. Someone has to be there to take care of the horses, so they take care of the dogs too. They are barn dogs, so they don't need to be walked, just fed and watered.

My old JRT, my inside dog, goes to grandma's. I don't know what will ever happen to my dog if my mom dies.

[Nellie's Dad]

Most of our trips are with Nellie so we don't have to worry about it. We have a pet sitter come in for the cats and to take care of the house.

 

In a couple weeks we will be going to Boston for a long weekend without Nellie, so it will be a pet sitter to come and take care of her a couple times a day. We used to count on family until we found out that they would come once every three days to let the dog out. The last trip without Nellie they said to just bring her up to their house with her crate and she could stay in the crate in the garage. That is when we got the petsitter and now we don't have to worry as much.

[Carson Crazies]

DH and I actually haven't been away anywhere that we haven't taken the dogs since June came. I would imagine at this point we would either send the dogs to stay with trusted friends, or invite my younger sister to come stay with them.

[Allie+Tess&Kipp]

If Tess & Kipp can't go with me, I don't go.

 

Allie + Tess & Kipp

http://weebordercollie.com

[MrSnappy]

Originally posted by Allie+Tess&Kipp:

If Tess & Kipp can't go with me, I don't go.

Don't you find that limiting?

 

I think of all the wonderful things I have gotten to do - shark diving in Hawaii, scuba diving in Mexico, a soccer game in Italy, a 60's Weekender in Vegas - that required my dogs to stay behind. I adore my dogs, but they are just fine when I leave them for a week here or there to go travel!

 

RDM