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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Finding holiday care - Christmas

50 replies

karenski · 26/11/2020 19:43

Hi all,
We are thinking about maybe getting a dog some time next year in spring/early summer (waiting for Covid madness to settle down first!) and I’m just trying to anticipate any problems. One of my worries is what to do over Christmas - we always travel to stay with family, who would not want a dog in their house, so we would need to find a dog sitter willing to have a dog over Christmas. How realistic is this? The alternative would be not to see family over Christmas which I would hate - we live too far for day trips. I don’t like the sound of kennels much. I grew up with a dog but we never went on holiday so didn’t have this problem!
Thanks - all advice happily received!
Ps planning for fairly small breed if that makes a difference?

OP posts:

Santaisironingwrappingpaper · 29/11/2020 18:58

We had 2 ddogs when visited dgm who had 2.We had to split them up for visits until they got used to each other. We were prepared to do so so we could entwine our entire families.. Worked well long term. Oldest ddog died at 20. She saw a string of other dpets come and go!

rookiemere · 29/11/2020 19:13

@Santaisironingwrappingpaper SIL has chickens, a cat and a small living room. it's not a case of ddog being unwelcome, it would simply not work in reality, plus I don't want to sleep on a mattress on the floor and the Premier Inn doesn't take dogs.

Hoppinggreen · 29/11/2020 19:25

Travel lodge takes dogs I think
Exactly my thoughts Witches but apparently I was the only person to ever think that and nobody else has ever seen an issue with it. AND they charge extra to collect your dog and take it to wherever it’s going. Crazy

Original poster

karenski · 30/11/2020 19:20

Thanks all, lots to think about - I’ll do some local research.

OP posts:

Derbee · 01/12/2020 09:01

If you get a dog, it is a member of your family. Saying that you can’t visit for Christmas with your dog, is like saying you can’t visit with a child because they don’t like them.

I’m sure you’ll disagree, but I think it’s wrong to get a dog, planning to abandon him every Christmas.

YoureAllABunchOfBastards · 01/12/2020 09:06

Travelodge do take dogs. BastardDog loves them.

MIL doesn't want dogs in the house. I tend to stay in the car, or give him a good long walk and pop him in the car on her drive for twenty minutes and then go in for a brew. The best solution we have found is meeting her in the pub instead.

SIL has a dog friendly house but we make sure he has somewhere quiet to sit and chill - again, massive walk before hand and then again before we eat so he is knackered.

rookiemere · 01/12/2020 10:06

There are no travel lodges near SILs. Rookiedog is going to stay with dog walker and her BF that he knows well and has great fun with.

Rookiedog is a member of the family but as he's not human he doesn't know what day Christmas is. DS 14 does and has had a rubbish year so we're prioritising his and our need to spend time with extended family.

vanillandhoney · 01/12/2020 11:17

@Derbee

If you get a dog, it is a member of your family. Saying that you can’t visit for Christmas with your dog, is like saying you can’t visit with a child because they don’t like them.

I’m sure you’ll disagree, but I think it’s wrong to get a dog, planning to abandon him every Christmas.

Dogs have no concept of Christmas

Leaving a dog in kennels or boarding for Christmas is no different to doing it at any other time of the year!

Derbee · 01/12/2020 11:42

Dogs do have a concept of being left though, and being away from their families.

Like I said, people are guaranteed to disagree. But I would never advocate getting a dog knowing that you will be regularly dumping him every Christmas.

Derbee · 01/12/2020 11:43

And I never said it was different to any other time of the year. I would never put my dog in kennels anytime, Christmas or not.

BarryWhiteIsMyBrother · 01/12/2020 11:44

If you are prepared to leave your dog this easily, I don't think you should have one.

Hoppinggreen · 01/12/2020 11:50

I would never put my Ddog in kennels, no matter how nice
He goes to stay with a pet sitter where he is in her home and part of the family. If we can’t arrange that we don’t go, whether it’s a day out or a holiday
People need to realise how a dog really changes your life

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 01/12/2020 12:38

Dogs don't care about Christmas. If a dog is happy in kennels, then what is wicked about leaving it there.

Derbee · 01/12/2020 12:52

@GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman we won’t agree with each other. Kennels aren’t pleasant for a dog who is used to living in a home. And I would never refer to a dog as “it”, so we are on wildly different pages in our opinions

vanillandhoney · 01/12/2020 12:53

@Derbee

And I never said it was different to any other time of the year. I would never put my dog in kennels anytime, Christmas or not.

Neither would I.

But kennels aren't the only option. Dogs can go and stay with family, with a home boarder, with a neighbour. Mine regularly goes to my in-laws house. He's spoilt rotten. He has his own bed, gets to lay by the open fire, gets regular walks with FIL and even has his own cupboard full of treats, balls and toys

A well adjusted dog won't mind being left in a good environment for a while. My dog has changed my life but I won't let him control it to the point that I don't go anywhere without him for 12+ years.

Derbee · 01/12/2020 13:09

I agree there are certain times when your dog can have someone come to stay and look after them, or go and stay with familiar carers. It just makes no sense to me that someone would contemplate getting a dog that means that they can’t ever visit their family because a dog wouldn’t be welcome.

At the moment, the OP said Christmas would be the issue. But I don’t see how they could ever visit family if the dog isn’t welcome, and it’s too far for say trips. Therefore they will be constantly having to decide between seeing family, the expense of dog sitters/home boarding or the ease of dumping a dog in kennels regularly.

I foster dogs, and we have a constant stream of dogs in need of homes because people take them on, and then find they don’t fit in with their expected lifestyles. If you know from the outset that a dog is going to affect your ability to socialise easily with your family, it doesn’t strike me as a situation that is likely to work out long term.

Derbee · 01/12/2020 13:10

And it’s ALWAYS the dogs who pay the price for short sighted decisions made by humans.

vanillandhoney · 01/12/2020 13:15

It just makes no sense to me that someone would contemplate getting a dog that means that they can’t ever visit their family because a dog wouldn’t be welcome.

My dog isn't welcome at my parents' house as my mum is asthmatic. I'm sure there are plenty of people in similar positions - allergies, resident dog, resident cats - there are plenty of valid reasons why a dog wouldn't be welcome somewhere. That doesn't mean you never get a dog though!

My mum actually loves dogs and will come walking with me regularly, she just can't cope with dog hair in the house. If I go and see my parents, I either leave the dog home with DH, or he goes to his 'second home' with my in-laws. It's not a problem in the slightest. My in-laws LOVE having him and actively ask to see him if he's not been there in a few days

Derbee · 01/12/2020 13:17

The OP spends every Christmas (at least) in a place where her dog cannot be.

@vanillandhoney you desperately want to argue the toss, so I will let you have the last word. I’m sure you’re right

vanillandhoney · 01/12/2020 13:22

@Derbee

The OP spends every Christmas (at least) in a place where her dog cannot be.

@vanillandhoney you desperately want to argue the toss, so I will let you have the last word. I’m sure you’re right

Eh? Surely that's the point of a message board/forum - to have a discussion?

Derbee · 01/12/2020 13:28

But not to derail a thread with a separate discussion. Hence me saying, you have the last word on what we disagree about, and then let’s leave it.

BarryWhiteIsMyBrother · 01/12/2020 15:35

A 'second home' where the dog goes regularly and they know the people there, where the set up is another home and there are no other (different) dogs each time, is very different from a boarder's or kennels where the dog doesn't go regularly, where the set up might be different (kennels are not homes) and there are strange dogs. We have sitters come and stay at our home so our dogs can stay here, happy and comfortable.

We'd never leave our dogs in kennels or somewhere where they are not as comfortable and relaxed as they are at home.

And as a fosterer I also see lots of dogs who bounce back from families who think you can have a trial period and if it doesn't work you'll just hand the dog back. That is detrimental to the dog and unnecessarily cruel. Dogs have feelings and miss their families. So if you know in advance that you'd have issues with some relations, I'd not get a dog in the first place.

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 01/12/2020 19:05

Kennels aren’t pleasant for a dog who is used to living in a home. And I would never refer to a dog as “it”, so we are on wildly different pages in our opinions
As I think I said upthread, one of mine prances into kennels as if she's going to a holiday camp: she loves the owner, she loves the kennel staff, is all over them like a rash. She's an intelligent dog, so she knows what's coming (she gets wildly excited when I start prepping to go gundog training), so I find it hard to believe that she spends her time miserable and pining.

As for referring to a dog as 'it'... I think you're hanging a lot of assumptions on one small word.

Currently It1 is asleep next to a radiator on a very comfy bed (cover changed for a clean on yesterday, his arthritis meds re-ordered from the vet this evening) and It2 and It3 are on the sofa in the living room. Tragic unloved lives they lead...

BarryWhiteIsMyBrother · 01/12/2020 19:42

SO one likes going to the kennels - what about the other two?

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 01/12/2020 20:58

SO one likes going to the kennels - what about the other two?
One's not a fan about going in (he walks in alright though we get a dirty look), but apparently he's fine once he's there and he certainly eats alright (and I trust the owner of the kennels to tell me the truth as I know her fairly well). And the youngster had the older bitch with her, so she went in happy and came out happy.

So if you know in advance that you'd have issues with some relations, I'd not get a dog in the first place.
That's your call. Other people make different decisions, which can work out very well. My dogs are too active for my elderly aunt, and can't be taken to some of the ILs, yet, miraculously, we all cope.

I don't have to defend my dog-related decisions to you, so I'm really not sure why I'm engaging.

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