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Vacations

739 views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  JessRU09 
#1 ·
My SO worries that we have too many pets and will never be able to travel (which is something we both enjoy). For those of you with multiple dogs, cats, and other animals -- what do you do when you go on vacation?

I'm not too concerned... my parents have a bunch of pets (they have Princess's mother, two siblings, another cat, ferrets and a bird), and I take care of them whenever they travel, so I'm sure they'd do the same for us.

But there is concern for if we were to move across country, where my parents wouldn't be available. I've looked up various kennels, and they don't seem too ridiculously priced.
 
#2 ·
That's why you see so many RV's on the road....they take their pets with them. When I go on vacation I appreciate the break from the care and feeding...the vacation is for me so, I board with a friend.
 
#3 ·
I have someone come to the house, regardless of how many pets I have. Usually this is a close friend or family member, but I have been known to use neighborhood teens who want to make some money. Generally if they get a good babysitting reference, I feel pretty comfortable letting them pet sit, too. There are, of course, professional petsitters who will do this same thing for a fee.
 
#4 ·
I'm going away next weekend. I'm having my dogs boarded at the vet's, and I'll have my cousin stay at my house to take care of the rest of the critters. If said cousin wasn't available, I've been told the vet's receptionist will petsit for a fee.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the input! I love taking Dexter on trips, so chances are he'd go with us most places. The cats are generally much easier to leave alone (auto litter box and auto food dispenser -- just need someone to check in on them from time to time).

Not like I have the money to travel any time soon -- I'm just a worry wort. :)
 
#6 ·
We've got 2 dogs, 2 cats and 2 guinea pigs. Most of the time they all come with us when we travel. Sometimes if we'll only be gone a weekend, the cats will stay home and we'll just have someone come by to check on them, but the dogs and piggies come with us 95% of the time. We usually travel by RV though, makes it loads easier.
 
#7 ·
I feel your pain...we don't go anywhere overnight. The last time we did was five years ago and one of my sons was home, so he took care of everyone. Now, this son lives 2hrs away so he's no help and the other son lives close by, but he has a wife, daughter and their own two dogs & one cat, one of their dogs does not get along with one of mine so they can't be together. We have three dogs and three birds so we just stay home. Not much we can do about it.
 
#8 ·
I board my GSD, Mastiff and Bc, my friend cares for my jack russell and the labrador will probably go with my friend also... We also have a house sitter come and look after every other animal, but she isn't doggy so we don't leave the dogs with her.
 
#9 ·
Ugh, over the weekend I was working at a Balloon Festival with a wolfdog rescue, and we were stationed right next to a husky rescue. They had a pup there, totally my dream dog... luckily he was already adopted, or I would have had a second dog.

It's a good thing I'm preparing ahead of time... looking into sitters and such. I'm sure by the time I can afford a big vacation, I'll have an even bigger family to be boarded. :D
 
#11 ·
I had 72 milking cows, 60 heifers, 2 horses, 2 dogs, cats etc. and I managed to go on vacation (yes.. I had hired help but all were part time).

I hired a farm sitter (they have refs.) and he took care of my farm as well as I did (and I was a total FUSS). At the time it cost me $200 a day PLUS the regular hired help PLUS I had to provide food and housing (he stayed at my house). This was in 1992.

My point is that if I could get someone to handle all those animals, you shoud be able to get someone to take care of yours! LOL

I have people I can tap for cat care and I either take my dog with me and one cat or board them (cat has to have meds). I have used trusted teens and trusted neighbors and others. Trusted is the key word. It is important to have those people anyway in case you ever get hurt of sick.
 
#13 ·
Yeah I'm not a big world traveler. Everything I need to see is within driving range. I have a 19ft toy hauler We do a lot of camping in the mountains, desert, and lakes. We take the motorcycles out or just camp and always take the dogs. I search out places to go where I don't have to look at people or things people have built. Last year I took a week vacation went out in the desert did a bunch of motorcycle riding and hiking. Took the dogs with me never saw a single person, vehicle, or building the whole week. One of the most relaxing weeks I've ever had.

I have not been on a commercial plane in over 10yrs. If I never step foot on one for the rest of my life that would be just fine with me. I also know I'm the exception to this rule.
 
#15 ·
We've gone on one week-long vacation and one extended weekend without Ranger since we got him 3 1/2 years ago. For the week-long vacation, we boarded him with a woman who takes care of dogs in her home. A little pricey but very worth it. The extended weekend, my sister stayed in our house and took care of him and the cats.

Now that we have Mayzie, I think we're going to try to find a pet sitter to stay in our home and take care of the zoo.

However, we've done lots of traveling with Ranger and have had a wonderful time. The hardest part is that hotels won't let you leave a dog in the room if you're gone (and I probably wouldn't anyway). So you pretty much have to plan your vacation around the places where the dog can go with you.

It's because of this that we're seriously considering purchasing a travel trailer to take trips in. That way if we want to do something without the dogs, they can stay all cozy in their home away from home.

Happy trails! (Or should I say, "tails"?)
 
#16 ·
I'm leaving on Thursday for vacation and I'll be boarding both of my guys. I think I'll pay extra to have Zero have access to the doggie play area. Brutus probably can't be bothered. I've never once seen him play with another dog. His attitude seems to be that he can't be bothered with lowering himself to their level. He's much too dignified of a hound for that. Zero thinks everyone he meets is his BFF so he'll have a blast. It's like $30 a day for both of them so I look at like they're taking a mini-vacation too.
 
#17 ·
It's like $30 a day for both of them so I look at like they're taking a mini-vacation too.
Yea, I've been finding places from $15/day per dog to $50 or $60 a day for really fancy stuff. I think my SO was under the impression it'd be at least a $100 a day -- which is more than some hotels we've stayed in! Ha.

When my family used to have a dog, we brought him with us to Orlando. We stayed in a pet-friendly condo and we were able to leave him there during the day. The only problem was he barked a lot, which bothered the neighbors towards the end of the trip. I'm thinking if we brought Dexter to a place like that, he would be fine -- he's not a barker, and he's pretty calm as long as he has his crate.
 
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