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Original poster

Upset with dog gone to boarding kennel?

50 replies

Sabrina145 · 21/06/2023 15:16

Help! I’m so upset because my dog is gone to boarding kennels for the first time. 🙈 he’s never been away from home in five years. I didn’t drop him because he’d feel that I was upset, so my dad brought him for me. I sobbed once he’d left! Anyone else? I know he will be fine and it’s a good place. Family run and only take small number of dogs so they get one to one attention , balls thrown for them in the exercise area individually etc. but I can’t help worry about him- he gets anxious and nervous at times and is very attached to me. My dad said he was barking going in and I’m terrified he’ll just keep barking! Calm me down please 🙈

OP posts:
cryinglaughing · 21/06/2023 15:21

I own a small kennels.
He'll settle. When a new dog comes in, it's like a new kid at school, all the other dogs are excited to see what they look like.
Give them a few minutes and they calm right back down.
We don't like dogs to be upset/stressed so we do our best to keep dogs happy.
Honestly, in 5 years we haven't had one dog that didn't settle.
He'll be fine, enjoy your holiday and try not to fret about him.

Mariposista · 21/06/2023 15:40

Hi OP. Bit late for this time, but why don't you consider home boarding. I have a 3 year old labrador who is a big soppy mummy's boy and I hate the idea of kennels for him. I send him to lady who boards him in her home, and he sleeps in her kitchen, plays with her dog. She was actually someone my mum loosely knew and we checked her out, but you can use apps like Rover to find someone in your area.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 21/06/2023 15:50

Our dog barked all the time at kennels - was always hoarse when collected! - but always fine. And that was for over a fortnight.

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Dogs
gogomoto · 21/06/2023 15:57

My ddog isn't keen on going into kennels but the owner says he's fine

Leo227 · 21/06/2023 15:59

Are there no home boarders around you? mine would never be comfortable in kennels and being left the way they are.

SoupDragon · 21/06/2023 16:12

He's there and safe whilst you are away (I assume!) He will be fine until you get back.

I feel this way every time I drop my cats off at the cattery but I know they'
l be fine and are safe (after a shambolic holiday when they were looked after by a neighbour and one cat got an eye infection and the other ran away! Not the neighbour's fault at all but tricky to sort out 😂)

cryinglaughing · 21/06/2023 19:59

Leo227 · 21/06/2023 15:59

Are there no home boarders around you? mine would never be comfortable in kennels and being left the way they are.

Left the way they are?
What does that mean?

Buyyouflowers · 21/06/2023 20:07

Did you look into home boarding? I’d never leave my dog in a kennel. I love her too much to leave her in one.

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 21/06/2023 20:48

I love my dog too but I'm quite comfortable with putting him in kennels whilst we are away . I looked round a few and there was a noticeable difference between the one that we use than the poorer ones . Like the one you speak of OP, it's family run and I do believe the owner really loves the dogs. He always seems excited and happy to be there. I can see that he may find it harder not having been away from you during 5 years but hopefully he'll settle and be fine .

Leo227 · 21/06/2023 20:53

@cryinglaughing in a kennel as opposed to walking around a house, lounging on a sofa with someone around them all the time etc like they are used to at home.

cryinglaughing · 21/06/2023 21:21

@Leo227 ours lounge round on raised beds with cushions.
Unfortunately, some people are very closed minded about kennels.

My dogs always went to kennels, I owed it to them to have them in the safest place possible.
The amount of dogs you hear escaping from home boarders is too many for my liking.

There are 2 in our area today, 1 is home, the other is still loose 😔

Leo227 · 21/06/2023 21:32

@cryinglaughing if you have special kennels that's great, but I've never seen any ones that aren't literal kennels with dog beds with a runs attached where the dogs are expected to entertain themselves in between walks - which wouldn't work as an environment for my dogs who are used to living In a household. whereas the licenced 5* boarders never leave them unattended.

Fuchs1a · 21/06/2023 21:36

My dog drags me up the drive to the kennels she goes to. She jumps all over the lady who works there and trots off without even a backward glance.

Whattodo121 · 21/06/2023 21:50

I have a nervous border collie (who is currently curled up on my feet in bed) and after some fraught settling in sessions she’s now stayed at kennels twice very successfully. It helps that the manager is a qualified dog behaviourist who adores collies and has put in a huge amount of work to build her confidence. They only exercise one dog at a time, she has her own space and is actually more relaxed there than she would be in someone else’s house where she would be on constant alert. The other kennel workers ply her with cocktail sausages every time they walk past her enclosure, and they send me lovely videos and photos on WhatsApp of what she’s up to. We went away for a wedding last weekend and it was such a relief to know she was safe and being looked after.

cryinglaughing · 21/06/2023 22:21

@Leo227 whereas licensed 5 star boarders never leave them unattended

😂

SoupDragon · 21/06/2023 22:45

Buyyouflowers · 21/06/2023 20:07

Did you look into home boarding? I’d never leave my dog in a kennel. I love her too much to leave her in one.

That is really not a nice thing to say when the OP is clearly worried about her dog being in kennels. You should be ashamed.

SoupDragon · 21/06/2023 22:47

Leo227 · 21/06/2023 21:32

@cryinglaughing if you have special kennels that's great, but I've never seen any ones that aren't literal kennels with dog beds with a runs attached where the dogs are expected to entertain themselves in between walks - which wouldn't work as an environment for my dogs who are used to living In a household. whereas the licenced 5* boarders never leave them unattended.

I left my dog with a licensed, highly recommended 5* home boarder. He was booked in again last year and then I discovered it had been shit down for animal cruelty.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 21/06/2023 23:08

cryinglaughing · 21/06/2023 21:21

@Leo227 ours lounge round on raised beds with cushions.
Unfortunately, some people are very closed minded about kennels.

My dogs always went to kennels, I owed it to them to have them in the safest place possible.
The amount of dogs you hear escaping from home boarders is too many for my liking.

There are 2 in our area today, 1 is home, the other is still loose 😔

A kennels were in the news last year for leaving a pug inside a van for several hours in the middle of summer and literally boiling it to death.

You're right that there are bad home boarders but there are also bad kennels too.

TheWorldisGoingMad · 22/06/2023 15:56

Personally, I could never do kennels. Homboarding Iv'e done, as the dog is treated as one of the family. In the home and not in a kennel. I would feel the same way as you.

If a dog has never been in a kennel, it can be a highly stressful time for them, because they have no idea if you're coming back. If he's not usually a barking dog, the fact that he was barking on the way in, could indicate stress or being overwhelmed.

How long is he in kennels for?

Buyyouflowers · 22/06/2023 16:19

SoupDragon · 21/06/2023 22:45

That is really not a nice thing to say when the OP is clearly worried about her dog being in kennels. You should be ashamed.

Show quote history

She clearly isn’t that worried or she wouldn’t of left them in a kennel!

Hugasauras · 22/06/2023 16:23

Your dog will be fine, OP. We left DDog in one for the first time in 10 years recently as none of our usual family and friends options were available. I didn't want a home boarder for various reasons. The kennels were clean, nice outdoor runs, they were on the edge of a forest so went there for walks twice a day (she is used to going out with a dog walker anyway) and they had cameras in the kennels so you could check on your dog. She doesn't seem to have been traumatised by her experience so I would do it again if we had to!

Raindropsarefallingheavily · 22/06/2023 16:28

Ddog personality dependant in how they settle ime. One of mine hated it and I cried when I left her! The guilt! We take her and 1 more with us now. Still have 2 who do love the kennels. And go twice a year.
How happy do these look?

Upset with dog gone to boarding kennel?
Upset with dog gone to boarding kennel?
Tendu · 22/06/2023 16:31

Buyyouflowers · 21/06/2023 20:07

Did you look into home boarding? I’d never leave my dog in a kennel. I love her too much to leave her in one.

Riiiight.

SoupDragon · 22/06/2023 16:51

Buyyouflowers · 22/06/2023 16:19

She clearly isn’t that worried or she wouldn’t of left them in a kennel!

Show quote history

are you usually this nasty to people?

SoupDragon · 22/06/2023 16:53

Buyyouflowers · 22/06/2023 16:19

She clearly isn’t that worried or she wouldn’t of left them in a kennel!

Show quote history

Oh, and it's "wouldn't have" not of.