What to look for/ask when visiting a kennels

[Lowlight282]

We're going to view a local kennels tomorrow and I was just looking for some advice on questions to ask then or things to look out for. It comes well recommended. Many thanks.

Do you mean to adopt as in rescue kennels? Or a breeding kennels? Or a boarding kennels?

Boarding kennels.

I would ask what the routine is.
How many times a day do they walk the dogs?
If so is it on lead/off lead?
Do the dogs socialize with other dogs?
What happens if dog gets unwell?
Which vet do they use?
What are the meal times?
Are any staff 1st aid trained?
What's the ratio of staff to dogs?
Do they supply food or you?
Do they need to have KC vaccine?

Sure you've thought of most of these. I haven't used kennels for a long time but these are the things I would have wanted to know,

As Girl said plus
Noise : I would be stopping a little distance from the kennels and listening - very noisy kennels imply a lot of stress to me. Clearly there will be barking as anyone gets close, but the dogs should generally be settled
Smell : it’s going to smell doggy , but some premises are set up with better drainage , ventilation etc around the runs, so that the pee is confined to each run . If the staff are hosing out a run, you don’t want the run off into neighbouring runs.
Accommodation : is there light; are the dogs able to see each other ( not a good thing in my opinion) .
The only kennels I use now are lovely, tv/ radio in each kennel. Kennels large enough to take 2 or 3 from one family. I have stayed in worse hotels.
Ultimately you know your dog, will he be happy there?

To see inside the actual kennel.

Just in case you have not considered this - how about home boarding? I have a (rescue) dog that the rescue people told me could not handle kennels at all (she'd been 4 months with them and they'd ended up having to send her home with a member of staff each night to stay their flat). When I was a child, we used to send our English Bull Terrier to kennels when we went on holiday and later found he'd been badly treated there, so it has always put me off anyway. I have used home boarding for this dog and its predecessor and it is a much nicer environment for them. If you do want to find a home boarder, there is probably a dog group on facebook in your local area who might know of home boarders - also try the vets for dog walkers (who often do home boarding too). A good home boarder will "audition" your dog first to see if it gets on all right at their home (mine had a day trial and then an overnight trial). Like dogwalkers, you can "feel" whether your dog takes to them and whether you do too. I found my current home boarder by meeting him out on dogwalks with his group of (very laid back, happy) guest dogs (some home boarders will board dogs as single visitors if required).

Thanks for all the advice.

I was really happy with it. Middle of the countryside, large secure field for exercise, the kennels were clean, no smell, not particularly noisy and as we left the kennel area all the dogs settled down. Heated in door area, radios for those who like them. They don't let the dogs mix which I think is a good thing, they can't see eachother from their areas.

Only 2 female members if staff who I instantly warmed to.

We will look at home boarding too, just looking at all our options and trying to figure out the best fit for our boy.