Home boarding,would you consider this one?

[MsMiaWallace]

So I've been researching different home boarders to look after our pup for when we go away in June.
I found one local to us, fully licensed by the council etc & with good reviews.

So we went to have a look yesterday.
The people are lovely & professional. The house was a bit of a mess though.....
Not dog mess as in people mess. Kitchen was very messy for example.
Our dog seemed well away though & like I said they seemed to put dogs first etc.

Would you still book with them?

Well obviously their time goes to their charges not the house!! Sounds perfect!

I did wonder that!!

You are sending your dog not your child!! Mine go to a very messy house, but the lady is dog obsessed and loves them almost as much as me. That's what I look for, a little bit dog crazy!

My two go to a minder who has numerous dogs of her own, has llamas and donkeys to care for, lives in what I would consider to be semi squalor ( and i am NOT houseproid myself) and looks like she has not washed for weeks (she has, she just looks it).
My dogs adore her. She puts a paddling pool out for them when its hot, puts kids tv on in 'their' lounge when its crap weather and tucks them up on a leather sofa each at night time. She is as mad as a box of frogs, but absolutely perfect😁
I woild be more wary of a sitter whose house was immaculate tbh, means they have different priorities.

I would worry more about how many dogs they accept, whether dogs spend time crated because they have several, how secure their house and garden are, whether they have double trap on their external access points and references, to be honest.

That said, if it's bad enough for you to comment, I don't think it gives a very professional image and I would be worried that they are unprofessional elsewhere too.

Yes, I would. Unless you're worried about your dog chewing the things which have been left out?

My dog has stayed with various carers through holidays4dogs - some have immaculate houses (with strategically positioned throws and doggy rugs), some are quite messy ... that aspect really doesn't matter at all. So long as the 'mess' isn't indicative of the sort of disorganisation which would lead to lack of safety, it wouldn't bother me.

I wouldn’t because I’d worry about things like fleas and worms and organisation around the doors . I assume she had arranged for you to visit and you hadn’t dropped in ad hoc so it seems a bit odd to me that they hadn’t tidied up .

Personally, for me, no.

I find it unprofessional and it gives the impression of laziness/lack of attention.

My dog walkers house is pristine.
A lot of the items in it are quite old and faded, some damaged but the actual house is clean and tidy and fresh.

She still manages to give the dogs long, interesting walks and attention (I know because she sends photos and videos).

She only boards dogs from same household at one time. She has 1 dog of her own.
So it's very 1-2-1 with dogs.
I did ask if ours could be introduced to hers when we visited but she said no as her dog is 10 & it's her domain & they would get introduced when walked together.

Mess and dirt are very subjective. I would go on your gut instinct and trial a night or two before you actually need to use them.

I expect houses to be 'lived in' but not chaotic.

I wouldn’t mind the house but I wouldn’t want to leave my dog there if it hadn’t met the resident dog
When we were looking for a boarder one resident dog reacted really badly to my dog ( out of character apparently) and we had to leave sharpish. Dread to think how they wouid have coped if we had dropped him off and gone on holiday

I couldn't give a crap as long as they were one tenth as besotted by my girl as I am. I have two doggy daycare people and they adore my dog.

I've looked at holidays4dogs.
They don't seem to be licensed etc tho.

You're probably going to have to make a compromise somewhere with the dog boarding. A bit of mess - so long as it doesn't include leaving out potentially dangerous items for the dog to access - wouldn't concern me. Someone who has a home so spotless that a toileting accident would be a disaster would concern me, as would someone who has outdated ideas on training and is going to punish your dog.

They have their whole dining room dedicated to the dogs.

I guess when I used one before her home was spotless & it stood out where the money from home boarding was going. (Which I know is not good). She also boarding loads of dogs at one time.

This one is more 1-2-1.

What do you mean they have their dining room dedicated to the dogs?
I am bit confused, do they not get access to the rest of the house?

I find the meet the resident dog on a walk odd, if not a little concerning.
My dog met my dog walkers resident dog in the house for a 24 hour trial period to see how they got on.

Do you have to do a trial stay first?

My dog walkers whole house and garden is open to the dogs. Which is what I would expect really.

My walkers house is spotless, and she boards lots of dogs.
But I don’t think that is a bad thing necessarily if they know what they are doing.
My dog is quite reactive, or used to be, but never showed any reactivity with her!
I trust her completely.
My dog goes absolutely wild with excitement when she sees her.
I get lots of pictures and videos showing what a great time she is having.

I ment dining room dedicated 'bedroom' for dogs.
Yes they do get run of the house.

• I've looked at holidays4dogs. They don't seem to be licensed etc tho.*

They should be - they increased their charges from jan 1st to reflect the extra costs resulting from changes to the DEFRA rules.

The more you write the worse it sounds , I’d find someone else .

My DM has owned a leading dog boarding establishment in the SW for the past 10 years. Huge, huge alarm bells that she hasn't let your dog meet her dog.
When "interviewing" new dogs, that's my DMs prerequisite.
I'd 100% look elsewhere.

A messy house wouldn't bother me. The fact that the home boarder won't allow you to see your dogs with their dog bothers me a lot

My dog boards with a home boarder a few streets away from my place. I had already met the home boarder lots of times walking his charges locally and he had been recommended to me by various other dog owners. Even though we sort of knew each other, the first time I asked him to take the dog, I had to send her for a trial day beforehand to see how she behaved with him. I have never been invited into the house but the great love his other charges clearly have for him was enough for me to trust him. She passed her trial day and then he wanted her to try a trial night's stay to see how that went. Also, when she first went there he had about 4 other dogs staying and he took mine through to the back garden after I'd left (I wasn't invited to come and see!) and then introduced the other dogs one by one. He has a very calm personality and the dogs utterly trust him. My dog has fallen in love with him and if she sees him anywhere when we are out she wants to rush up to him and cover him with kisses (this is reciprocated). I've no idea if he is licensed but he is great with my dog. The trial day (and the, separate, trial night) were a great idea in my view and I think I'd always do that with a new home boarder in the future if we ever need someone else. My previous dog home boarded through an agency with various (previously) unknown people and some of them were a bit mad so I'm much more careful now (they never mistreated my dog but weren't necessarily the best people to look after her emotional needs).