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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

What do you do with your dog when you go on holiday???

44 replies

Duettino · 10/08/2022 15:15

Recently come back from another UK based holiday that's had the joy sapped out of it as we have had to take the dog everywhere. He is a big dog, very nervous, not good with other dogs (if they're little he thinks they're prey and if they're big he wants to ferociously play)

He's really annoying in crowds (mostly because other people and dogs come up to him) and places we can go are limited. I also worry about him out in the heat where we would normally leave him at home in the cool. We are desperate to go abroad or just a nice holiday but im not sure how well he will cope in a kennels.

His breed is aloof and wary of strangers, not good with other dogs, takes an experienced owner and he is moody. A miserable cat in a 50plus kg dogs body.

Does anyone else have a similar dog (he is well trained, it's his breed... honest) and what do you do with them and how do they handle it?

OP posts:

Knowivedonewrong · 10/08/2022 17:01

You can probably find a decent, licensed dog boarder who'll take him into their own home. You can ask for 1 to 1. Check out your local Facebook pages for recommendations.

Ylvamoon · 10/08/2022 17:20

In your case, I would go for kennels.
If your dog is protective of his home, having a house sitter isn't safe for the person staying.

Sswhinesthebest · 10/08/2022 17:28

Ours goes to his regular once a week doggy daycare house. I’m not sure he wants to come home after spending his time playing with all his doggy mates.

LadyCatStark · 10/08/2022 17:33

Ours goes to a home boarder too and he loves it as she has 2 spaniels of her own.

dudsville · 10/08/2022 17:34

We've had amazing dog/house sitters in the past. Haven't needed them since lockdown and now having decided not to take holidays. We never used kennels as ours are a range of rescues each with needs we felt couldn't be easily met, but I think some lovely people offer to have them in their own homes as well.

But I do feel your pain, taking anxious or awkward dogs on hiliday and having them with ou all the time is a real problem for some dogs!

LynneBenfield · 10/08/2022 17:40

We take him with us or he stays at home with a live in dog-sitter or one of our adult kids.

(mine is the sociable sort, he either ignores other dogs or plays nicely)

MissMaple82 · 10/08/2022 17:42

The do dog sitters that look after them in their own house. We used to use one.

Original poster

Duettino · 10/08/2022 17:45

@sunsetsandsandybeaches good point regarding hygiene.

We fully knew what we were getting in to and had no issues with Uk only holidays and planned the possibility of euro camps with him but the rules on that seem unclear and again, don't want to stress him out for hours in a car and vet visits for the return journey (so I've been told)

I might moan about him but to be clear, I believe a dog is for life so if we can't go abroad for the next few years, so be it.

OP posts:

shiningstar2 · 10/08/2022 18:27

I so sorry op nut you cannot leave an Akita with other people to his normal household unless he has been thoroughly socialised with them. When you said smaller dogs were prey and bigger dogs challenges I just knew which breed you were talking about. A partial known house sitter in your house would be a recipe for disaster. They are natural guard talks without needing any training. Totally loyal to their own but that circle is small. I felt net plus when you said that even with your mother he spent ages just stating at her. They are prey driven with poor recall and I would say it would be 50/50 (maybe less) whether the fog would see a house sitter as human on charge or intruder to be attacked. Their loyalty to you and yours is unquestionable but to others ..unreliable at the very least.i would be looking for an Akita trainer or rx owner to board the dog ...after much socializing with him/her first. Probably without their own dog at the moment unless you can socialize with the dog and have a one night trial. My advice would be to get planning,/socializing in place well on advance of your holiday. 💐

shiningstar2 · 10/08/2022 18:28

Sorry about typos. 😁

Titsflyingsouth · 10/08/2022 18:29

We generally take our dog with us early or late in the season. But we use a dog boarder at this time of year. Our dog is absolutely NOT a hot weather dog and would be utterly miserable being dragged around on holiday in height of the summer. We are currently away until Saturday. Our dog is boarding with a very nice lady and her cockapoo. Enjoying doggy company, belly rubs, early morning walks and having a cool floor to lie on out of the sun. It's added about £200 to the cost of our holiday.

Original poster

Duettino · 10/08/2022 19:47

@shiningstar2 you're so right. He has only bonded with one person outside of our household. He loves this person and does a huge bum wiggle of excitement but no one else. COVID has really affected him tbh as it was at an important stage of socialisation.

That's another point @Titsflyingsouth so many beaches don't allow dogs. I never saw this until recently. This holiday we drove 40 mins to a beautiful beach, i had to wait with the dog away from the beach as dogs aren't allowed in high season.

OP posts:

sunsetsandsandybeaches · 10/08/2022 19:50

Duettino · 10/08/2022 17:45

@sunsetsandsandybeaches good point regarding hygiene.

I might moan about him but to be clear, I believe a dog is for life so if we can't go abroad for the next few years, so be it.

I think that's probably the reality, to be honest, as frustrating as it might be.

I just don't think it's fair to knowingly put an aggressive dog in the care of someone else - besides, if the worst happened and he attacked his caregiver, you would never forgive yourself. Is it really worth the risk?

PenguinLove1 · 10/08/2022 20:24

If I was you I would google every kennel and dog boarding place within a travel-able distance and visit them and talk to them about your dog. Read facebook reviews and look at pictures of the types of dogs they take in.

I had the opposite issue of having a tiny dog that needs a lot of human interaction so i visited as many places as I could to see what their set up was like and there is such a huge bandwidth in facilities it's unbelievable- i was able to find two places that were a good fit for me and my dogs needs. Both these places recommended starting with a short visit, then an overnight, then a weekend before deciding if my dog would settle for a holiday period - i found this helped settle my nerves about leaving them and got them used to the kennels and workers too.

One of the places i found specialised in difficult to handle dogs and took in breeds other kennels wouldn't - the lady who runs it is very experienced with dogs and works really hard to build trust with each of them, so don't write off kennels i think you just need to do your homework and start visiting and talking to people, it might work out better than you think? .

SirSniffsAlot · 11/08/2022 16:22

A couple of points to mull over...

Dogs often cope much better in (well run) kennels than their owners ever imagine they will.

A good kennel that is built correctly will allow for food and water delivery and for it to be cleaned without having to handle or confront the dog, if that's an issue.

An excellent one will allow for the dog to be exercised securely without handling also. And for that to happen without any direct line of vision to any other dogs. Though, he will obviously know they are there by sound and smell.

Gingerninja4 · 11/08/2022 16:59

I'm lucky as mine is easy going lab .He stays with our fab dog walker but he has known them since 8 weeks

EdithStourton · 12/08/2022 07:06

I would check out kennels. One local to use will take aggressive dogs - the owner has decades of experience and looks after them herself.

And as a PP said, nervous dogs often cope well in kennels. Our old boy wasn't a fan of one place, but was fine with another - it's a case of experimenting a bit.

Campervangirl · 12/08/2022 07:26

Couldn't you get a dog sitter to come to your house, go for walks together, leave them together for periods of time etc so the dog gets used to them or a family member maybe?
You'd have to pay them though.
I feel for you as I have a dog, small breed, very friendly who goes to my dds house when I'm away.
My dsis left her dog in kennels and he got kennel cough and lost patches of hair, the vet said it was stress from being in the kennels

Figgygal · 12/08/2022 07:46

We have a rescue who has bevome very happy in his own home and routine but has separation anxiety and unpredictability chews up our house. He also is reactive in new places especially where dogs are present and off lead dogs set him off even more. Hes not aggressive but a a very loud frustrated greeter and nothing stops him barking.

We have one boarder who he has gone to with no problem she has dogs and he falls in with them. We tried a different one recently and he was up all night and didnt eat so he failed his trial, in desperation to salvage our summer holiday we tried a kennel he was fine in day but barked all night to extent owners had to get him out at 2am and spent rest of night in reception with him where he was then perfectly happy. Needless to say hes not allowed back there either. No friends will have him due to his destructive tendencies, local family have cats, can't risk taking him with us in uk due to risk of damaging things and couldn't take him out with us if we took him but never left him in holiday home because of his unsettled and persistently loud behaviour when out.
We previously looked at dog sitting in our home they wanted £300 for 48 hours!!!!!

So we have one option and desperately hope he doesn't fuck up there.

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