No more holidays without the dog?

[HolidayRat]

Has anyone else struggled to find suitable options for boarding their dog?

We've had two failed trial nights with two different home boarders, scheduled another who has just cancelled on me. When do you just accept that holidays without the dog are off the cards?

Dog is nearly 2, first home boarding trial was when she was around 10 months. Tried again about 18 months. The main issue is she won't settle and barks/howls.

She has no issues being home alone for up to 4 hours and she's not generally a barky dog. She settles fine in other places when we've gone away so new places don't appear to be an issue.

We were expecting to keep most holidays dog friendly but we thought we'd be able to have the odd few days away. I don't know what else to try.

Our house is a renovation project at the moment so house sitting is not really an option and not sure it's something i'd be comfortable with anyway.

Do we just give up on the idea of going away without her?

Can you build up to it more with the dog sitter? Do they just do walks or do they offer day care too? Can your dog do some full days, then work up to an overnight? We left out dog this summer with her usual doggy daycare people. I really missed her but I knew she was in good hands and in a familiar environment.

I have a nervous rescue that prefers kennels too. I think it's because she gets her own space and peace and quiet - she likes to sleep a lot.
It's a 'quiet kennel' so not much barking. Has a paddock too, which she enjoys. But she has been at a more basic, barky kennel that she didn't enjoy at all. Finding the right one is key I think.