Speaking of dogs and vacations...
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive June 2006:
Speaking of dogs and vacations...
For those of you with dogs, what do you do with them when you go on vacation? That's actually all the more reason I am a cat lover. If we are gone for the weekend we can just leave the cats with plenty of dry food and water and a clean litter box and they are fine. Any longer than a weekend and we just have a neighbor run by a few times to feed and clean litter. No biggie!
Dogs are another story entirely! We usually end up getting a house/dog sitter. I like having someone here and they can check mail, take care of cats and dog, etc. However, with a housesitter it means that my house has to be super immaculate and that is just one additional stress with packing and everything else that does into getting ready to leave. My dog is a basset and she needs plenty of exercise to tire her out (a tired basset is a good basset  and she will scavenge anywhere for any food or even my shoes to eat so she has to be watched carefully. If she no one is here she has to either be outside or crated. I like our dog being able to stay at home, but there is a lot that goes into getting a housesitter. We do know tons of great college kids to get, but still. We've boarded at the vet a couple of times, but I just hate the thought of her being lonely and confined to a small kennel for much of the day.
So what do you guys do??
We usually let Grandma watch him. She loves dogs and has a big fenced back yard. We've also had a neighbor girl come over and feed him/let him out on shorter trips. Friends have watched him at their house on occasion, but we try not to do that. I also have a hard time putting him in a kennel, but I would do it if I had to.
If we are only gone for a few days, we will have a neighbor come by and check on her. However if we are gone for a week we usually board her. She is a golden, she gets quite a bit of play time, loves being with the other dogs, so it is fine, just cost an arm and a leg.
As far as the house being clean, I have the best friend ever come over, so I don't have to clean for her
WE have also left the dog at a sitters house, that is a nice option, but I worry about her behavior more that way.
We have just been leaving our cat home, this past vacation we had someone pop in to change litter and add food. Well my stupid cat got in a mood and used my sons bed (our guest bed) as a litter box. I am so mad at her. It is a year old expensive mattress that now smells like cat pee.
Since we've had a dog, we've always depended on whichever of the kids were staying here at the time. Varies from year to year or month to month! LOL
However, last fall when we went on our cruise, we boarded the dog at the vet, and I HATED doing it! My dog is spoiled (as many of you know!) and she likes attention and is used to a certain amount of pampering - in the way of treats, sleeping in our bed, ice water, etc. She had lost weight when we boarded her and was very insecure when we picked her up.
When FIL passed away and we had to return to FL, and when we went for inlaws' unveiling, I gave Jen enough gas money to come to the house twice daily and take care of her. Even then, she eats less when we are gone.
For our upcoming trip to San Francisco in 2 weeks, I have found a WONDERFUL pet sitter! She will come twice daily, play with her/walk her for 30 minutes, bring in mail, newspapers, alternate lights and TV/radio to be left on. She also covered what to do in case of hurricane evacuation, sudden illness, or possible death of the animal, and had a form that covered personality traits, fears, etc. She was very concerned about doing what we would WANT to do in these cases. She has several contact numbers locally (Jen, my friend who has a key to my house, and Jules). She is a Godsend! I was impressed, because I didn't realize a pet sitter would be so thorough. And she bonded with Kali immediately. Plus, Jen will pop in and out and tend to her as well.
She will still eat less when we are gone, but I feel much better having a pet sitter for her.
And since we are on this topic, Pam (or any others), are there any restrictions, or *special* instructions you leave your pet with a pet sitter?
Can you tell I'm excited to have found someone trustworthy and CARING to take care of my dog?? LOL
When we go away on vacation, which is only once a year. A good friend of mine will watch my dogs at her house.My dogs have never been in a kennel. Ok, thats a lie. The dog I adopted last Aug, was in a Kennel before we adopted her. Any dog I have ever owned has never been kenneled when we are gone on vacation.
As most of you know, I am a petsitter. The dogs I tend to come to my house while owners are out of town. We have 9 dogs here(my 2 and 7 paying customers). 2 go home tomorrow, 2 on Monday. So they come and go. People love my service as I am a stay at home mom, so they know there dogs always have some type of human and doggie company. I have customers who plan their vacations around my vacations, so they know their dogs can come to me. I have had a dog here for 5 weeks with one week to to go. The owners are in Africa for business. I have 2 chocolate labs who are here fo 10 days, while their owners are on a cruise to Hawaii....
We are VERY fortunate in that we live in the same town with family so we have always left our dogs with them. DH and I would have never traveled as much as we did before DD if we didn't have that. My in-laws loved having them, we didn't have to pay for boarding, and we didn't have to worry. It was great! We've left them for 2 weeks at a time and it was never an issue.
Dogs are a pain that way because (for us) we love them like kids. We're very particular about where we leave them!
Cosmo--black lab, has to go in a kennel because he would eat our house The other two are left at home. We have a doggy door. A friend checks in on house/animals.
We have three dogs outside, and two inside dogs. Not to mention numerous other pets. Usually my dad, who lives next to us, keeps my inside dogs at his house while we are gone, and he comes down and takes care of the rest of our animals everyday while we are gone. We leave our ferret in a ferret-proof room to run around the entire time we are gone, because he cannot stay in a cage for even a day without going crazy!
However, this time, my parents are going to come down to the beach and spend five nights with us, so my father-in-law is going to come to our house twice a day to take care of all of the animals while they are gone. He'll let the two inside dogs out to run and play while he is taking care of the rest of them, so they'll get plenty of time. Plus they get new toys and bones when we leave, and they have each other for company.
Thank goodness we have family to take care of our animals, because we could never kennel all of the pets we own, and we'd go crazy worrying about them!
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