[Lola1969]

Hey ya'll,

My husband and I will be gone for a week at Thanksgiving and will have to board Ozzy. We've had him for about 1.5 years now and he has never been boarded or ever been away from both of us at the same time. A dog sitter is out of the question as he is pretty territorial and I know will not appreciate anyone in the house if we are not there.

So, I have checked out all of the local kennels and decided on this one:

http://www.duderanchpetresort.com/


My plan of action to prepare for boarding is:

1. Take obedience class there starting in September. This way he is used to going out there once a week and has positive associations with the place and can get to know some of the staff

2. One month prior to going put in daycare once a week. This way he gets used to the fact that we WILL come back for him

Reading these forums has been very helpful. I just have a feeling it wouldn't be a good scene if we just dropped him off there cold turkey and left for a week. He is very attached to both of us and I'm already totally worrying about his.

Any other thoughts on what I can do?

 

[Heidibu]

Your plans sound good! Just taking him for classes and day care in advance will assure him its an "OK" place and that you will be back and he will go home.

When you actually board him, you might want to take one or two of his favorite things for his kennel.

Most importantly...don't be anxious.

 

[littledmc17]

Why is a dog sitter out of the question?
There are certified bonded sitters that would work.

Your plan sounds great, personally I know I could never board Brady again

 

[lougatzo]

I know exactly how you feel. Our trainer boards as well, so being familiar with the place helps. We also did daycare there (left Rosie for a few hours then picked her up) and it works.

Make sure they have a vet on-call. They may not eat for the first 2 days, but will eventually get hungry enough.

Try to relax and enjoy your vacation.

 

[Lola1969]

A dogsitter is out of the question since Ozzy is very territorial of his yard and house and does not like people in the house when we are not around, especially someone he wouldn't know (and it takes about a year to get on Ozzy's "OK" list)

I don't want to take any chances of something happening - he's a sweetie off his turf though.

 

[Ewilliams]

It sounds like you have a great plan. The place you picked seems to be very dog savvy. I woudl not have a problem leaving my dogs there.

 

[Mary Jane]

If you can, take Ozzy for one or two overnights in addition to the daycare-so that the first overnight absence from you isn't seven whole days. Give him a dirty T shirt of yours or your husband's for some comfort.

When you leave him at daycare-just hand the leash to the attendant-however they do it- and walk calmly away. Don't make an event of leaving him.

It will probably be fine.

 

[Kuklasmom]

Ditto to all of the above; they are excellent suggestions!

Of course, I don't know all of the policies or the popularity of the boarding facility that you've chosen, but, at the risk of stating the obvious, I encourage you to make Ozzy's boarding reservations ASAP.

As we all know, Labor Day and Thanksgiving Day are very big travel holidays and boarding facilities for our four-legged friends tend to fill up fast!

Have fun!

 

[Lola1969]

Geez, I hadn't even thought of making a reservation yet! Great suggestion, will do so today!

 

[GSDBESTK9]

I don't know how far this kennel is for you, but I highly recommend them. Plus, they are GSD people.

http://www.creaturecomfortinn.net/

 

[Lola1969]

That place looks wonderful!

However, it's a few hours from us and my plan was to take an obedience class at the facility as well as a couple of days at daycare for him to get acclimated. Too far of a drive for all of that additional stuff.

Thanks for thinking of us though!

 

[Aryg2461]

So I have worked at two doggy daycare/boarding facilities and i would say definetly bring something that smells like you and DH, also the suggestion of leaving your dog overnight is a great one. Ary would come with me to daycare when i worked and i had to leave her for a week so i made sure i left her overnight beforehand to see how she'd do and teach her that i would come back! Also to make things easier ( i dont know your boarding facilities policy) label everything you bring including any toys writing or sewing your dog/your name on it. And also if you can have a friend or family member who is close by for an emergency contact or someone who can pick you pup up if the need arises.