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Vacation,What do you do with them???

12K views 35 replies 28 participants last post by  melaniep 
#1 ·
My wife and I have spent months researching GSD's and have decided on a working line dog.

We have a two year old daughter and my wife and I have been going through all the possible scenarios that we'll run across with the new dog.With most all figured out we have not figured out one...Having our daughter just turning two in the next few years we would like to go on vacations with her along with things like Disney world etc.With zero family around and not really sure about our friends being about to help...

What do you guys do with your dogs when you go on vacation?

Some of them would be road trips that we could bring him along.But things like Disney what do you do???

Doggy day care?Is a DDR dog able to be in a day care for ,Three,Four,Five days???

Any advice would be helpful,This may be a deal breaker for us and that's NOT what we want.
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#7 ·
We usually take them but they spent 10 days last year at our Vet's boarding kennel. We did a short 2 night stay prior to the long one, just to make sure they adapted well.
 
#8 ·
I take my dog on all my vacations but if there is one that comes up where she can't go I would only trust our trainers to watch her. With a working line dog it really might not be a good idea to just leave the dog with any kennel. I've heard pretty bad horror stories of people leaving working lines with kennels they don't know. I do know that Disney World has a "luxury" dog resort where you can take your dogs for the day while you visit the park. I'm sure it's pricey but Disney is usually pretty professional so I'd expect the service to be good.
 
#9 · (Edited)
My previous suggestion is what I always recommend, however, I too tend to plan trips where my dogs can accompany me (mostly road trips and camping). I travel several times a year for work and during those 10 day trips I have the option of boarding my dogs at my job but instead I now opt to leave them with my dad as he has a large, secure yard, a dog run, suitable indoor area, is retired and spends a lot of time outside - will also play long sessions of uphill fetch, etc. I have one wgsl and another presumably wl (10 and 4) - I would not have left the younger with my dad during his adolescent years, but he has now settled somewhat, matured and is able to handle that looser level of structure and need for constant mental stimulation.
 
#10 ·
I have a trusted friend of my daughter stay with my dogs if they aren't going with us. I also have parrots and a reef tank in the house so boarding is not an option.
I don't think I could ever put my dogs in a boarding kennel. I'd rather pay extra and have someone come into the home for their care. But we seldom go away, and always plan trips that involve the dogs if possible.
 
#12 ·
In the past 40 years I have never boarded one of my dogs. I have always paid a trusted dog person to come and stay in my home while I am gone. I have always worried that my dogs would stress going to a kennel and they did so much better with us going away because they stayed in their own environment and always knew we were coming back.
 
#13 ·
We just don't go on a vacation where the dogs can't accompany. Disney and the likes are too crowded anyway. Find a nice mountain cabin or a lake house that welcomes dogs and make it a yearly tradition. It'll mean more to the kids as adults than some hectic trip to some over priced over crowded tourist destination. If your lucky WiFi and data won't be available.
 
#15 ·
Vacation? What's that? Does not compute.

If we're going to a dog related event, the pups come with us.

Daddy is very resistant to boarding and pet sitters don't want to deal with Murph. He's not at all aggressive, just difficult to manage. I've been in GSDs since 1991 and never had one like Murph--hardest dog I've ever had to train and he does not generalize well. Daddy is working with him now. He's a patient man.
 
#16 ·
Thanks again everyone.Ultimately I'd want someone to come to our house and feed him and let him out.I would feel better about that than a kennel.But I will say I've never gone the kennel route so I don't know what to expect.I do like the yearly cabin type vacation thing.Thats the kind of people we are.The whole Disney thing is just something you take your kids to once in their life you know.I thank you for all the ideas.I want to do the least stressful thing for the dog.I also don't believe you can just put a working line dog anywhere.Im going to talk to the breeder and see what they have to say also.Again I thank you guys and gals for the ideas and if there's anything else you can add feel free.Being a first time GSD owner I want to have as much knowledge as I can from the start so my family and I can have a wonderful dog.
 
#19 · (Edited)
We would not do boarding. I would lean towards a pet sitter coming over but I know Max would not let anyone in the house he didn't know, so that would be out. I'm greatful my mom and dad come over feed,water and let the dogs out when we are away on vacation. We do the same for them. I like the idea of renting a house or cabin and would go this route if I had no one I trusted to look after my dogs. This would also makes it easier to go away- it is so hard to leave them. Disney is a trip not to miss. I hope you find something that works for you.
 
#20 ·
Im lucky that my husband's best friend or to the dogs Uncle Jon comes and stays . IT makes everything so much better and Charlie loves him as have all of our dogs. He took care of Lucky when we went to Greece. Try finding a pet sitter or ask around a lot of college students ,grad students are looking for a way to supplement income. Start out w/ a day trip and then a weekend . It might take a few tries but having the dogs at home is what worked best for us.
 
#21 ·
We're boarding our puppy at a facility my fiance used for his previous dog. While they have the typical dog run with shared runs and individual runs, they also have separate rooms outside of the main run area where it's quiet. Jack will be staying in one of these, though it's 50% more expensive. Seems worth it.
 
#22 ·
Yeahhhh...we haven't taken a real vacation in oh ... 10 or 11 years. The last one my son was 14 and we took our dog with us that we had at the time (small breed dog). This year, we're going to take 4 or 5 days and stay at a pet friendly cabin in a state park. Varik is going with us, but I'll have someone come in and feed my cat. I just don't want to chance there being an issue and my being out of town. The only, ONLY person I would leave Varik with is my son. Anyone else, and I would have reservations about whether or not things would work out. Varik is fairly affable, but as a resource guarder and one that doesn't think other people necessarily have any say in what he does ... yeah .. no.
 
#23 ·
Assuming a vacation that isn't dog-friendly: We do doggy daycare/boarding for our dog. Like you, OP, we don't have people who could watch her. I do have friends and family nearby, but I wouldn't let any of them keep my dog; she is more dog than any of them is used to. My trainer doesn't board, and my breeder lives a bit far away and wouldn't have space anyway. We are lucky to have an excellent facility nearby and she goes there for daycare regularly and loves it. Boarding there isn't much of a stretch for her; we just make sure to reserve a room or suite for her so she has space to move around when not out on the daycare floor.

But if I had an option to board with my breeder or trainer, or swap sitting with a trusted dog friend whose dog got along well with mine, I'd consider that also.
 
#24 ·
DDR17 - I'm in the same boat as you. Bringing our puppy home in a few weeks and we have two young children. We plan mostly camping and other trips where our dog can vacation with us. We will occasionally take the the Disney trips etc. where our dog will need somewhere to stay. Don't really have an answer for you but I've already started to connect with different GSD groups in my area. Training Clubs, GSD Rescues, Search and Rescue clubs, GSD Trainers, Vet, and of course our breeder. I expect to get some suggestions and see where that takes us. Not a chance that I'll take him to a big box pet store or anything along those lines. We will find someone with considerable GSD experience. Best of Luck to you!
 
#30 ·
I don't think I'm to far from you.We could watch each others dogs while we vacation :grin2::grin2::grin2:

I'm looking into clubs and still have to ask my breeder if they have or know anyone by me that could watch the dog while were gone.Like I said before the ultimate goal is to bring him with us but some things just aren't gonna work.

Thank you all again for the help.Glad I found this site!!!
 
#27 ·
Like most here, we don't usually go anywhere we can't take the dogs. We rent a friend's cottage for a week in both July and August, as well as for a long weekend in the fall. When we di have to leave them, they either go to the daycare they attend 1day a week (they go home with one of the "nannies" for the night and weekend", or my SIL comes and stays at our place. My husband and I have also gone away separately for a weekend or week, for a "girls" or "boys" getaway.
 
#28 ·
Vacation? What vacation?! haha. My husband and I haven't really traveled much since our pre-GSD, pre-baby days. When we had a small dog, I would leave him at my parent's house. But they can't really take on a GSD for longer than that. If I were only going to be gone a day or two, I'd ask my parents to drop in once or twice a day to take care of them. If I were going to be gone longer than that, I'd probably ask Asher's breeder if she would board, or I'd see if she had any recommendations for reputable boarding facilities. The only trip we've taken recently was to North Carolina, a relatively short drive. We rented a cabin in the mountains and took Asher with us.
 
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