Kennels or home boarder for a velcro dog on holiday?

[Jinglejinglejingle7]

Im looking into dog care for next summer for our 2 year old springer spaniel. Hes never been away from us. We are trying to decide on all the different options. I like the look of a kennels/ dog hotel nearby but worry about the nights. It has lots of land for him to run in, his own room & outdoor area. Dh thinks a dog boarder would be better.

Dog is a velcro dog and does like people- well us! He sleeps next to us in his bed.

Looking for advice or first hand accounts.

Trials! That’s all you can do. My dog is very attached to me but he’s done well with a variety of home boarders. Also depends on how your dog is with other dogs as well because lots of boarders take multiple dogs or have their own. Mine really doesn’t like the kennels even though they are lovely and is much happier in almost any home. But you have time to do trials in the kennels and with boarders and find one that works. Do single nights with them and see how it goes. Most boarders won’t take bookings without a trial anyway.

Boarder absolutely for a clingy pup. We sent ours to doggy care building up to the holiday.

Home boarder - you may even get one that lets him sleep with her/him.

Ok thanks, we might have to get him neutered I think then.

We might do a day trial at border and a day at kennels, then a night. So hard if were not there to tell and didn't want to start dropping him at different places but guess only trial and error will work. We're starting early- might leave him for a few nights at Christmas if we can but otherwise it will be next summer we leave him. (Going to break my heart leaving him but can't never go abroad with dcs because of dog!)

Home boarder 100%.

I know it’s hard but honestly I think it’s good for him and you to learn for him to be okay away from you. It builds some resilience in him and helps you go away without feeling guilty. Mine sleeps with me and the first boarder I used had a no dogs upstairs rule, but put his bed in with her dogs and he slept perfectly. A good boarder is a great thing and will make you happier when you go away and develop his coping skills.

We had the same predicament with our four year old maltipoo who is also an absolute velcro dog! We’ve spent the last couple of months working our way up with a dog sitter from Rover. She has dozens of five star ratings and loads of repeat pet owners so I got in contact with her and met her initially to have a chat about our dog. I loved her and decided to book a series of walks/doggy day care visits so we could build up a relationship with her and our dog could really get to know her, she’s been amazing - our dog adores her and she always spams me with photos and videos during their time together. Our holiday is in September and our dog will have stayed with her multiple times by then. Kennels would never have worked for our little one, she likes a human to curl up with on the sofa and come over for cuddles so this is the only thing that would have worked for us!

Just your last sentence on this - it was the same for us. We’ve done multiple UK Airbnb breaks and always take our dog with us (I think we’ve done 7 since our daughter was born last July), but we really want the children to be able to go abroad and this was the only way we could feasibly do it. It will probably be a once a year type thing but it breaks my heart too - our dog comes everywhere with us ordinarily

Have you considered having a sitter stay at your house?

We do this via trusted housesitters (not sure if you live in a desirable house/area, you’re more likely to find a free sitter if you do)

Otherwise there are paid sitters who will do this. We find that the dogs are really happy to be with us, we’ve never had any issues with any pining for their owner and we are total dog lovers so we really enjoy being with them.

We have a sitter stay at our house. They normally have a wfh job. My dogs definitely prefer being at home and are happy to have a human around

My dog went to home boarding and kennels and didn't like either.

I offer home boarding and most of the dogs who stay with me don't want to go home.

They all get very well looked after.

Not all home boarding is equal.

@ImpatientlyWaitingForSummer do be aware that Rover is just an advertising platform, they do no checks to see if the home boarder is licensed.
The insurance they provide is limited.

You would be better to look for a licensed home boarder whose set up will be in line with the Animal Welfare Act and will have full insurance.
Your local council may have a list of licensed boarders.

Ask your Rover person if they are licensed and ask to see it if they say yes. It is part of licensing conditions that the license number is on all their advertising blurb and it is displayed in their home.

I was called by a frantic owner on holiday on Greece who wanted his dog "rescuing" from a situation with a Rover boarder.

Good information above re licenses etc.