[lillie20]

Need to be traveling soon and not sure what to do with my dog. Two choices are leave at kennel or at home with dog walker. I worry about both, hate leaving him alone, but also can see him stressed in kennel. What do you suggest?

 

[Bonn1997]

Need to be traveling soon and not sure what to do with my dog. Two choices are leave at kennel or at home with dog walker. I worry about both, hate leaving him alone, but also can see him stressed in kennel. What do you suggest?

I actually had the same dilemma and posted this thread recently: http://www.dogforums.com/2-general-dog-forum/55677-vacation-board-hire-pet.html

I'd suggest boarding but spend some time trying to find a good boarding place--one that keeps the dogs in a location with a decent amount of space and lets them out at least 3 times a day. Ask other dog owners what places they use in your area. If your dog has never been boarded before, I think a "practice day" is a great idea before you go on a longer trip. Then your dog will see that this boarding is just a temporary thing. In my area, you can board your dog at a good place for $10 to 15 per day.

 

[MrsJohnnyG]

Dixon HATES kennels so we usually have my in-laws drive down and stay at our house while we're gone.

My FIL works though so that won't always be practical... so I've thought about hiring a college girl to house-sit/dog-sit. She'd stay in our guest room and be there to give the pups companionship, not just food/water/walks. The pups are bell trained so it would be easy for her to know when they need to go outside. I'd have her stay one day prior to our leaving so the pups could get to know her while we're still here (to minimize any stress Dixon would have).

I figure that's the best of both worlds... our pups are so "human-social" that they'd rather spend their days with a human rather than other pups at a kennel, plus they'd be on their home turf so they'd naturally feel more at ease.

 

[erway]

I've heard and experienced horror stories with both situations. Personally I opt for a kennel. When I go out of town, I leave Rascal at the daycare/kennel that I take him to a couple of times a week. He goes to daycare group during the day and then in his separate "bedroom" at night. When Gomez was alive, I left him at home with someone coming over to take care of him and I found out that they only came over twice a day and just long enough for him to go potty and that was it.