Kennels

[BigYellowBear]

We are due to go away for 5 days next April, we have a labrador who will be 5 years old by then and has never been in kennels.
She was left at a year old for 2 nights with her breeder but since then has been with us.
The kennels I'm thinking of looks amazing, social areas, baths, interaction etc etc and I have had good reports from people that use it.
BUT my heart is already breaking at the thought of leaving her. Will she think we've abandoned her? What if she cries the whole time? What if she won't eat? What if she escapes or gets hurt?
I'm tying myself in knots over this.
Can anyone reassure me 🙏

We put our two year old in kennels for the first time this year and I felt the same as you, was very apprehensive. Got a recommendation and went to look round, all seemed great, really good vibes, lots of pics of the dogs interacting and playing on their social media channels, very clean with enthusiastic staff. I actually cried when I dropped him off but I needn't have worried. He came back with his tail wagging looking very healthy and lovely and clean from his bath that they gave him. Lots of pics on their Fb for us to see whilst sat on the beach in Spain of him having lots of fun.

I'd not hesitate sending him there again.

I do think it's all about picking the right place though.

Just come back from holiday and left our Weimaraner in kennels. I stressed out so much about it for weeks beforehand. I tried to get home boarding but there was just nothing available in my area.

In the end we went to view a kennel and left her there. I still stressed for a few days but then they sent us through pics of her and messaged to say how she's getting on. So relieved that she seemed happy there. She'll now always go back to the same place when we go away.

Give one a go! 😀

We run a rescue and also have had kennels in the past. Although we looked after the dogs very well, the fact is, many dogs really, really struggle with being in kennels. Personally, I wouldn't leave my dog in kennels. Find home boarder/pet sitter in your home type care for your dog. Good luck.

I use to manage a kennel for several years and did not find that to be true at all.
Certain breeds (Great Danes) cope less than others but in general most dogs just got on with it and settled nicely.
As long as they are getting exercise and attention, they don’t really stress.

I've booked her in for kennels, I'm going for a visit and she will go for a day visit to see if she likes it.

Just thought I'd update. Ddog spent the day at kennels today.
She was very excited to go in and went off happily with the lady. I left her for 7 hours,
They said she was abit overwhelmed at first so they sat with her and introduced her to the smaller dogs, apparently she loved it. They had an hour free running in the field and then sensory playtime in the afternoon.
She was so excited to see us and has been asleep ever since.
I feel happier, but will do another day to see if she is still as enthusiastic.

Our ddogs recognise Gej country road en route to the kennels and get all excited. Nd they don't even look our way when we leave them in the garden area.

Our dog has stayed in a big dog hotel place (converted farmhouse where the dogs get first dibs on all the sofas and run free in the fields for hours), a smaller luxury kennels (individual ‘rooms’ with radiators, single beds, double glazing and Classic fm!) and a traditional
kennels. The traditional kennels was an emergency and everywhere else was booked. When we got there it was dark, dingy and loud, and we very nearly turned around and took him home. But after 2 nights there we arrived to pick him up and he was racing around with his friends, hanging out in his run and watching the world go by. The big place was a bit overwhelming for him, and he loves the luxury kennels (typical).

We foster dogs and I am continually amazed by how resilient they are. They always settled well with me, but they also happily trotted off with their new owners after months with us, without a backwards glance.

Im sure there are some dogs that wouldn’t get on with kennels (or some modern equivalent) but I think they are better than home boarding as each dog has its own space and they are safe. With lots of dogs from different backgrounds this isn’t always guaranteed.

Like people, it depends on the personality. We had a lab who loved the kennels and went in wagging. Had a great time in the paddock, playing with other dogs and chasing around.

Cut to our latest dog.... lurcher who hates other dogs and cries if he's not with his people. I wouldn't torture him with kennels. He stays with family.

I feel much happier now she's had a day there successfully, the owner has put photos up of all the doggies boarding today.
One thing that bothered me was the noise, lots of barking as soon as we arrived but doggy didn't seem to care.

I'd definitely do as many days as possible so she gets used to the scent of the place. Scent is a primary sense to a dog and they remember from it. Also maybe take something with your scent on and leave it. I used to foster dogs and it's. Very individual being based on each dog. I'd say most settle within 48 hours but I didn't leave them at all. and obviously the set up of the actual kennels itself is important. I'd also want someone there to have some canine psychology experience, too.

@Letsnotargue I agree with you as I too have experience fostering. Home boarding is all very well but if two dogs are mixed together who don't get on, it can be a nightmare. They can be fine outside, with space, but once all piled indoors together, it can be a recipe for disaster.

I wouldn't use kennels as my dog would hate it, he doesn't like other dogs (or people tbh) very much other than the select few he's decided are alright.

I had a dog sitter come to our house when I was really stuck a couple of years back, even then he went hunger strike for 48 hours 🙄 and he likes the dog sitter!

I think you know your dog best, it sounds like he's a sociable chap and would be absolutely fine at kennels.

I was incredibly hesitant to put our dogs in kennels, he's a rescue from abroad and had spent his entire puppyhood in kennels so I didn't want him to think he was going back. He's also dog selective so I was worried how he'd interact in the small groups as he does love it when he meets a dog he likes. Honestly he loves the kennels, they always seem to find dogs he enjoys playing with and put videos up and photos of them when they are curled up in their beds for the evening. He's always happy to go back there and I think it's probably easier to book than a home boarder generally.

The kennels you mention sound great, the only thing my trainer mentioned was making sure dogs have time out on their own so they aren't with others all day to make sure they get rest which it sounds like you're do?

In terms of the noise, our kennels are silent until a car pulls up, and if you ever call them I notice I can't hear barking in the background. So I genuinely thinks it's just people turning up that set them off but they have set pick-up hours so the dogs get rest.

My dog adores his kennels!! We decided when we got him we weren’t going to get to a stage where we couldn’t go anywhere (we have friends who don’t go on holiday as a family to non dog friendly places, usually fine except the mum brought them to Disneyland without the dad because of the dog which I thought was crazy!). He’s only been in 3 times but he goes in and comes out happily. We brought him in for a few hours to start with. Could you do that as a trial, then a day in February/March? Best of luck!

We have rescue dogs (currently have our 4th) and each has been put into kennels.

We've introduced each one gradually - a few hours in daycare, then an overnight and so on. All have loved it and the current one gets excited as we pull into the drive and drags us in, greets her krnnel humans joyfully and goes off with them without a backward glance.

WE also put her for a few hours' daycare in between our holidays, just to keep up the relationships with staff and reinforce the notion that we always come back!

I know many people don't like the idea of kennels and prefer to have family, friends or home boarding for their dogs; however, I'm a great believer that you never know when you might need kennels in an emergency. For example, neighbours have a delicious cocker spaniel who has only ever gone - on rare occasions- to their son. One of the couple is now seriously ill, husband is disabled (so cannot walk dog at all) and whilst we have taken on walking the dog every day for the foreseeable (we couldn't care for the dog at home as ours wouldn't tolerate her), they now realise that she needs to be got used to kennels in case of emergency (son lives quite a distance and works- he's only been able to take the dog with pre-planning and a lot of notice).