Kennels or homeboarder for Saffy.

Hi,

I'm looking for advice on where to leave Saffy for two weeks in July.

She has never been to a kennel or homeboarder so I'm uncertain where to start.

I live just outside Portsmouth, but willing to travel anywhere in Hampshire.

Many thanks in advance.

Saffy and Polly.

[DelsMum]

If she has never been in kennels before it might be a bit of as shock for her.
Is there anyone you know who can stay in your house with her?

[ArchandEbs]

Originally Posted by Saffy

Hi,

I'm looking for advice on where to leave Saffy for two weeks in July.

She has never been to a kennel or homeboarder so I'm uncertain where to start.

I live just outside Portsmouth, but willing to travel anywhere in Hampshire.

Many thanks in advance.

Saffy and Polly.

Hi Saffy and Polly

One thing to remember is if you're bringing Saffy to Australia she'll have to do quarrantine. I had never put mine in kennels so with this in mind they did a couple of "short stays" to acclimatize them. I have to say I hate leaving them - hence my recent post about never wanting to go on holiday

When I've moved to Australia I had to put them in kennels since I've been here. The last time was over 18 months ago.

When I'm searching for a kennel I always go there and inspect them and ask for a vet recommendation. I am sooo fussy about where they go. In the end in Perth I found a good kennel that had a good staff to dog ratio.

The things I looked out for were:

cleanliness of the kennels - how often were they cleaned out each day
interaction of staff with the animals
excercise routine
ask if they have a written procedure and what procedure they follow to ensure Ebs gets her medication and what do they do if a dog appears unwell
do they take gsds - if they don't they obvious have no idea how to manage a dog


Believe me I grill them for ages.

[LOVEGSD]

Some good advice there....i hope you manage to find somewhere you're happy with.

Hi,
Many thanks for your replies.

Point taken about the shock of being left in a kennell for the first time. It does worry me. I am planning on leaving her away from me and her home for 2 weekends in June. One will be a Friday to Sunday morning, the other Friday to Monday. I am hoping that these short stays will gently introduce her into to being left. I plan on using the same kennell so hopefully by the time her two week stay arrives in July it won't be as shocking. Long term, fingers crossed she will be eased into her possible stay in quarantine of 30 days.

The next 6 months I have life changing decisions to make for her and this forum has given us such peace of mind.

Many thanks

Saffy and Polly

[J&J]

A couple of other tips when looking at kennels

look at the over all lay out of the whole complex, some kennels will have more than one block, check how many kennels are per block... Are there any blocks that have some kennels totally under cover, or do all the runs face outside? If there are large blocks of kennels and they are designed in the manner of part covered and totally covered believe me with this type of set up, the noise can get quite deafing when the dogs all decided to bark at the same time...

Check how many exercise fields (per block) are available, this can give a good indecation on how much exercise outside the kennel they might get... 20 dogs using 2 fields, means very limited exercise outside..

Ask if they keep dogs separate or not when exercising, some kennels will do group exercise, but I'm personally not kean on this..

When looking at the kennels, take a look at the paperwork, there should be (normally on the sleeping area) at least 2 pieces, one with dogs, bread and name, departure date also it should have, feeding instruction, foods, medication (if any) any other instructions/comments and a list of any items brought in with the dog (bedding toys etc)

There also should be another form on the kennel, dealing with the day to day, toileting, feeding all should be monitored and marked up by staff through the day..

Another consideration is opening times... Most kennels will work on two periods a morning stint and afternoon stint for pickup/drop off with a lengthy dinner gap between, there is a reason for this gap in the middle of the day...

Kennels are busy places, and you find staff start a several hours before the kennels open to the public, cleaning duties (kennels should be cleaned every morning dirty or not) feeding etc... The dogs will respond with the activities and it can become quite noisey, the dinner break helps to prevent too much stress for the dogs, as they will happliey settle when no activities around the kennels... It's also important that they have plenty of exercise away from the kennel block as this helps to stress relieve..

As this is Saffy fist time, ask what procedure they have for dealing with a dog that is becoming very stressed, they should have a quiet area ask to see this.. Ask what happens if this doesn't help!

Word of mouth is generally a good indicator, mind you saying that sometimes comments can be unfair towards a kennel, and slightly unfounded...

Where I worked we once had some-one who brought a puppy about a month before a extended holiday (one of those once in a life time ones) the pup was booked in at the last minute for 8 weeks (we were aware until they brought pup in, how young he was) I truely think they were under the assumption that when they returned from there holidays, they would have a perfectly trained house trained pup... 2 days after they picked him up boy did we get very irrate phone call concerning his behaviour or should I say lack of it!

[lisyonok]

I prefer using a homeboarder to kennels, and I have used the same one since Mischa was 4 months old. She went to doggy day care for a few hours several times a week first, and by the time I had to leave her there for a week to go on holiday she was a year old, and got used to the carer and the other dogs there. Her carer is a professional dog trainer and doesn't let Mischa get away with murder. I am also confident my dog gets a lot more attention and socialising than she would ever get in kennels, and I can call as many times a day as I need to ask how my dog is doing, I even get pictures of Mischa on her walks emailed to me while I'm away.

[stokeypezza]

i know this is a real worry for me coco goes into kennels in 11 wks and at the moment she does not like ppl she is good with ppl with dogs but ppl alone scare her ,she barks at them. what if she goes for a member of staff or something .i am working hard on her socializing but can i break these bad habits in 11 wks i dont know .
my only other option is the friend i walk with only lives 2 doors away she has offered to have her there ,during the day and bring her home and put her to bed at nt as she knows her and trusts her now.

[SarahLucie]

Hi
I live in Worthing West Sussex and I have been looking for home boarding for my boy.
he spent a weekend in Peacehaven with a very nice lady but I am not sure actually how much time he spent in the house as there were lots of dogs staying but I think he enjoyed himself.
I have also found a place in Hove nr Brighton where he is going to stay for a week in June.
It is run by a guy called Paul and he owns a bearded collie. He does home boarding and also day care and walkies.
He has the dog in his own home as one of the family and they can sleep in the bedroom and watch tv in the lounge etc etc..
Let me know if you want any more detail as I guess Hove is not too far from Portsmouth if it gives you peace of mind etc.... its not cheap at £18 per night but to me its worth the money rather than kennels.
Sarah x

[Kissy1921]

Hi, I am from waterlooville in portsmouth. We have always left our german shepherds with a retired couple, who take in GSD's while people go on holiday.

They have a rescue GSD of their own, and have ran this holiday service for people for many years now, I have been using them for the last 6 yrs.

They are a lovely couple. totally GSD orientated, have a large house n garden in waterlooville, all dogs get walked 2 - 3 times a day, live in the house, and sleep in their bedroom, home from home lol.

They charge £10 per day, but believe you me, your babies are well cared for.

If you would like their phone number, please private message me. They get booked up fairly quickly, so dont leave it too late, but if they are unable to help you they have friends who run boarding kennels in the area that also specialise in GSD's, and have a very good setup there.

Hope I can be of some help xxx