Boarding Options
To Board Or Not To Board
If you are looking to board your dog a simple google search can easily become overwhelming as there are so many options, how does one choose?
A good place to start is figuring out what type of arrangement would work best for your particular dog. While seeing a group of dogs playing together can make you feel warm and fuzzy, it may in fact be an overwhelming nightmare for your dog.
I have created a document to:
Show what options are available
Help you figure out what may best suit your dog
Red flags to steer clear of
Things you want to look for
And questions you may want to ask
Prepare your dog before your trip!
Do trial visits! Let your dog get familiar with the place, people and dogs they may be staying with. This can potentially eliminate any surprises that may pop up, like your dog not thriving in a group setting. You want to find out well before your planned trial.
Start getting your dog comfortable with sleeping in a crate as they will most likely be crated both in a facility or in someones homes.
If your dog gets upset at the sight of your suitcase, you change that if you start well before your trip. Your dog has made the connection that the suitcase is a sign their humans are leaving, so lets change the meaning! Try bringing out the suitcase then giving your dog high value treats or a chew. If your dog loves play, bring the suitcase out just before you have a good play session. You can also just leave that suitcase out well before you leave and move it around the house sporadically.
Start now with making leaving your home and coming back home a non-event. No fan fare. Being emotional/excited… can create an anxious dog that anticipates the leaving and arrival of their humans. Crate or ignore your dog an hour or so before you leave and when you come home ignore your dog for a period of time, I wait for them to become calm and uninterested in me.
BOOK AHEAD OF TIME! Especially around holidays. Most facilities book early during holidays and you don’t want to be stuck scrambling for a place to board and you don’t want to choose a location out of desperation.
Have a back up plan! In case your dog does not do well where they are boarding or incase they get sick or injured you want to have a plan in place in case you need to have your dog picked up. Having a trusted friend or family member “on call” for the just in case will put you at ease if the situation arises.
Below are red flags to avoid and things to look for while finding your boarding facility. They are mostly aimed at facilities that offer group play but certainly pertain to other facilities that may not offer group play. I have a separate section for private pet sitting.
Not all facilities are created equally. Do your homework and tour as many facilities as you can, especially since having back up options is a good idea, compare and trust your gut.
Red flags for boarding facilities:
Overwhelming large groups. It can easily overwhelm and over stimulated most dogs (and humans). Easy for humans to miss warning signs of illness, injury, pre-fight signals. Hard to keep up with cleaning.
Smelly or dirty. Even with vaccines your dog is still susceptible to zoological diseases. If cleaning is not a top priority for a facility that is a red flag. Ask about their cleaning procedures and products, not all products are safe around animals or effective against zoological diseases.
Inattentive staff. Observe how the staff interact and move around the dogs. Are they engaging? Are they ramping the dogs up? Are they aggressive in handling the dogs?
Staff on the floor greatly out numbered by dogs. While there is no regulation set in place of how many dogs can be supervised by one human, imagine the challenge of watching your own dog and a few of your friends dogs at once…overwhelming right!? The smaller the dog to human ratio the more attention the dogs are getting, the easier it would be to notice if a dog is feeling off or injured… just over all more manageable.
Stressed dogs: pacing, excessive panting, crowding gates, avoiding dogs or people.
No one on site overnight.
All dogs accepted. Not all dogs are made for social pack play, care should be taken to make sure that social pack play is right for each individual dogs.
Green lights for boarding facilities:
Smells and looks clean.
The dogs are quiet and not stressed.
Routine and structure where the dogs are given breaks from the large groups and constant action.
Smaller groups formed on how well the personality, play style and sizes matched up.
Outside potty area. You have worked hard to potty train your dog and having them in a place where they do not have the option to potty outside can have negative effects on that hard work.
Training used within the facility. Not letting dogs pull on leash, sit at doors or at least wait, no jumping… manners you would like to have maintained.
Offers individual play time for dogs that won’t do well in group play.
Camera for viewing your dogs through out the day.
Ongoing staff training on pet first aid, dog behavior, socialization…
24/7 staff on site.
Questions to ask a potential boarding facility:
What is the dogs daily routine? Look for down time for dogs to decompress. Potty routines to ensure opportunity to potty outside.
How are the dogs matched to the play group? Look for care taken in matching up play groups to ensure positive socializing. Not all dogs put together, only separated by size.
What are the cleaning procedures and what products do you use? Look for a regular cleaning schedule daily and deep cleanings. Make sure the products they use are safe and effective against zoological diseases.
What are the prescreening procedures? Look for a facility that “interviews” each dog prior to group play to ensure the right personalities are being grouped up.
What is the protocol for an emergency from dog injury/illness to natural disasters? Look for plans that are set in place and make you feel comfortable.
Pet sitters
Below are the things to look for and red flags that are aimed more for pet sitters.
Pet sitting is not regulated, meaning anyone can be a “pet sitter”. It is best to go with a pet sitter that comes recommended from someone you know and trust that has utilized their services. There are websites that offer listing of pet sitters, what are their vetting procedures? Do they do background checks? Take care with this boarding option as you are entrusting a stranger to take your dog into their home or inviting a stranger into your home to watch your pet.
Many of the red flags, green lights and questions listed under the boarding facility section may still be helpful with pet sitting so take a moment to review those as well.
Red flags for pet sitters:
No references. You want to look for someone that can show references and even offers them up. Even better if you can contact someone that has used their services.
No meet and greet. You want to have the opportunity to meet with the pet sitter prior to them watching your pet so you can get a feel for them, see if your dog likes them, and go over routine and procedures you want to have in place.
Not licensed, insured or bonded. These are things pet sitters will have to protect themselves and your pet.
Allows free roam 24/7. Even if your dog is not crated at home, they are in a new environment and you do not know what they can get into. Having your dog crated at bare minimum when the pet sitter needs to leave ensures they are safe and contained greatly reducing the chance of injury, ingesting something they shouldn’t, unfriendly interactions with house pets or people…
This is thier part time job. Depending on what their other job is, it may require them to be away for a typical 9-5.
Overwhelming number of animals in their care. Many pet sitters will watch animals other than dogs. If they have too many in their care your pet may be neglected.
Not able to tour their home. Some pet sitters insurance will not allow pet owners on property but at the very least they should provide skype tour, video tour and at the very least offer photos.
Your dog does not like the person.
Green light for pet sitters:
Lots of references and referrals. You want to see they have experience and happy clients.
Is licensed, bonded and insured. This is for the safety of the pet sitter, you and your dog.
Requires a meet and greet. They take care in ensuring its a good fit for everyone.
Pet first aide and CPR training. This is an easy class for a pet sitter to take that can literally save your pets life.
Has and uses crates overnight and while unsupervised. You want to make sure your pet is kept safe.
This is their full time job. While there are jobs that can accommodate a pet sitters schedule, you want to make sure your pet sitter will have the time to spend with your dog as this is what you are hiring them to do.
Training reinforced. Look for a pet sitter that will help you to reinforce your dogs training like not jumping, pulling on a leash or barging through doors.
Does your dog like the person? This is important for me as I don’t want my dog to be with someone they are not comfortable with.
Questions to ask your potential pet sitter:
Are you licensed, bonded and insured? Look for someone that is and can provide the needed proof.
Have you had first aide and cpr training for pets? Look for someone that routinely renews their training certificate or that has recently gone through the class.
What is the dogs daily routine? Get an idea of what your dogs day to day will look like, does it suit your needs?
What is their emergency plan? Look for plans put into place for injury, illness, or other emergencies.
Do they have any other pets in their home, theirs or others? If they do have other pets in the home, how will your dog do with them? If they have cats and your dog loves to chase cats…maybe its not a good fit.