Tips for your pug's stay at the Dog Boarding Kennel

Spanky acts like a tough guy

Tomorrow we head off on vacation. Spanky, well, he gets to go what we lovingly call "Doggy Overnight Camp." But he knows better. While sending Spanky off to the dog boarding kennel is never a fun experience, I’ve learned that a little preparation makes it easier.

--Send your dog’s own food

Even if the dog boarding kennels provides food, it’s better to send Fido’s own food. Kennel stays are often stressful for dogs and it’s no time to fool around with what he eats. Spanky is on a grain free diet and I always send his own food, along with measuring cup.

--Consider putting your dog on a probiotic

Spanky got giardia frequently as a puppy so I was already in the habit of giving him a probiotic pill. I continued this at his kennel stays as probiotics may help stave off diarrhea that sometimes afflicts stressed animals. One time I didn’t include his probiotic and I noticed his poop was a little loose when we picked him. So from then on I have always included it. I send a bag of pill pockets along with the bottle. At home I just smear peanut butter on, but it’s easier at the dog boarding kennel to use a pill pocket. It’s like a treat for Spanky, too. I’d recommend starting your dog about a week before you go on vacation so their system starts to build up resistence.

--Send along doggy’s favorite bed or blanket

If your dog has a doggy bed, by all means, send it along. If they don’t have one, consider sending a favorite blanket.  I don’t recommend, however, sending a plush toy. As dog owners know, dogs are great at destroying their toys and there’s a good chance it will get destroyed at the kennel. At home I can snatch it out of Spanky’s mouth if I see that he’s got into the filling. At a dog boarding kennel they may not be able to do so. One stay Spanky actually chewed a hole in his bed (it was a cheaper one and not his better one) but fortunately they took it away as he was digging out the filling. So make sure your bed is in good condition and not one of the cheapo ones.

Which brings me to the next point . . .

Spanky's fave: rawhide rings

--Send plenty of rawhide or Nyla bones (whatever you may use). 

 Spanky doesn’t chew on rawhide much anymore, but in the kennel, he does tend to chew more, so having something sturdy to chew on is a good idea. It’s good stress relief.

--Lastly, make sure you pooch is up to date on his shots --

 Especially bordatella (kennel cough.) Most dog boarding facilities require it, so if they don’t request it, then I’d question them why they don’t.

Finding the perfect dog boarding kennel for your pug

The first time I dropped off our pug Spanky in a dog boarding kennel was quite traumatic for me. It was a bit like when I dropped off my oldest son at daycare for the first time when he was a baby. Spanky was still a puppy (about 10 months old) and gave me this confused sad look, before being taking back to his kennel. As I drove away, I saw what him standing against the fence in his dog run wondering what the hell mommy had just done to him. Yeah, it was not a happy feeling. But despite this, I knew he was in good hands. And three years later, we still take him there every time we go on vacation.

So let me tell you how we came about this decision and what we looked for in a dog boardering kennel . . .

I had considered leaving Spanky at a neighbor’s house. Our neighbors down the street have a pug but at the time Spanky was still a high energy puppy and I think he annoyed this older pug a bit from time to time. Plus, Spanky had had a few accidents there on our visits, so I wasn’t sure it was the best idea.  Our neighbors on the other side were new puppy owners themselves. The problem here was that their puppy was a free-feeder. Spanky was not. Every time Spanky went to visit them he literally finished off their puppy’s food. Plus the two of them thought it great fun to chase through each other through the house. No, this was not a good idea either.

So I decided to look into dog boarding kennels. Here again, it was much like looking for daycare. The first place was conveniently located, near our home, but the conditions inside horrified me. The small dog kennels were stacked on top of each other and the big dog kennels were just a few feet away. They did have an indoor and outdoor play area that seemed okay, but I just couldn’t get over the kennel room.  Even though Spanky is used to sleeping in a small kennel, it just seem overcrowded. They also did daycare, and just didn’t seem focused on the boarders. I left that place quickly and crossed them off my list.

I found another dog boarding kennel in a nearby town. Like the first place, it had a lot of dogs there in daycare. But they did have nice large kennels for the dogs. The indoor play area was not too inviting, however. Large dogs were in one “corral” and smaller, timid dogs in another. I noticed a lot of urine puddles on the floor. Uh, not good. While they did have an outdoor play area, it was not being used on that early summer day. Too hot, they said. Well, it gets even hotter as the summer progresses so that told me that Spanky wouldn’t be getting much outdoor time. Plus the hygiene of the facility left something to be desired. Time to move on!

(note: if you live in the Boulder/Broomfield area and are interested in which facilities I looked at, please drop me a note. I do not want to publish their name directly on my blog.)

From Grateful Dog website: inside view

From Grateful Dog website: outside dog runs

Getting a little desperate, I decided to expand my search for a dog boarding kennel to the countryside. Living in Colorado, we are blessed with lots of land and I thought perhaps a facility further away might be better anyhow. I came across the Grateful Dog outside the town of Brighton, about 45 minutes away from where I live.  After setting up an appointment, I made the long drive there. But I finally hit gold! What first caught my eye were the large kennels.  A standard kennel, four feet by five feet, good for small dogs like Spanky, were as large as “large” kennels, in some of the other facilities. These standard kennels each had their own four foot by 12 foot dog run. Medium and large kennels were also available. In addition they had several play areas, but only allowed dogs from the same family to play. Spanky’s good at playing with other dogs now, but at the time, he was still quite timid, so this gave me peace of mind.  I also liked that the owners lived right there on site, in a house adjacent to the kennel, and were directly involved the care of the dogs. They seemed to keep the place smelling clean and tidy, so that made me happy too. In addition, they also have a cat and small pet room, but fortunately our cats do fine at home, with the visit every other day of a cat sitter.

One note about kennel facilities: our kennel used to be a part of the PCSA (Pet Care Services Association.) I noticed on their web page that they no longer mentioned that. Well, the reason is the PCSA filed for bankruptcy in November of 2011. So if any boarding facility mentions that they’re a member, I would immediately question the integrity of that facility.

Tomorrow: tips to make your pug's or doggy’s boarding experience more tolerable.

The pug harness dilemna

When I watch dog shows and see pugs trot alongside their handlers, I’ll admit I feel a little envy. As much as I love my pug Spanky, I’ll be the first to confess that we probably didn’t train him well and as a result, taking him on a walk is more like him taking us on a walk.  Sure, we did puppy training and he will sit on command, but getting him to heel or stay is a much different story. He’s basically happiest either a) off leash, or b) being 10 feet ahead of us. If a bicyclist or runner comes by, watch out! Off he charges! Now, I did discover one day at the dog park where a runner was running inside the park, that Spanky actually just wanted to run alongside him. Of course, the runner didn’t seem too happy about Spanky joining him, but then again, it was the dog park and the one place where dogs rule.

About the only thing I guess I’m grateful for is that Spanky doesn’t chase cars. Ginger, the little female pug down the street, has a thing for cars. I see her owner tightening her leash every time I drive by when they’re walking. But Ginger is only about half Spanky’s weight (he’s about 24 lbs. these days) so she’s a little less dog to handle.

So what’s my take on the best harnesses for pugs? While some pug owners can successfully use collars, it seems like most opt for harnesses. If you've got a pug that pulls, and most seem to, then a collar is not a good choice, as it can cause damage to your Pug’s throat, trachea, and eyes. However, others state that the problem is that harnesses encourages pulling.  As Spanky is my first pug, I can't say for sure. It's sort of like the chicken and the egg dilemma.  Is it in the pug's nature to pull or is it the harness that encourages it? Whatever the case, Spanky is now set in his ways.

Spanky as a puppy with a traditional harness

Spanky playing with his friend Bella

Traditional harnesses like the one Spanky had as a puppy didn’t fit him quite right. Pugs have weird body shapes - heavy in the front end with wide chests. Traditional harnesses cut him under his front legs and caused irritation.

As you'll notice in the pictures, both Spanky and his friend Bella both sort of get rubbed by a traditional harness under their front legs. Bella is a good pug though and usually walks off leash.

Spanky with a "non-pulling" harness

 







We then tried one of the “non-pulling” harness where the leash is attached to the front. The idea is the lack of resistance eliminates pulling. But it didn't seem to work for us. They also didn't fit too well either. This time the irritation would be primarily on his right side as that was the direction he pulled to.


Finally, I decided to try a Puppia soft harness.These harnesses are made out of a cushy polyester air mesh that encircles your dog's neck and then comes down over his chest and under his front legs. A ¾ inch wide adjustable strap is attached to the mesh material under the chest behind the front legs and encircles the trunk, looping through another strap which extends from the mesh behind the neck (this is where the leash D-ring is located.)

Spanky proudly models his Puppia harness

We first got one in a medium. Like all pugs, he's got rolls of skin around his neck and with a medium, the loose skin spilled over the harness and he looked very uncomfortable. So I bumped him up to a large. This worked much better. His neck measures about 13 inches ( I say "about" as getting a precise neck measurement on a pug is impossible.) His chest is 22 inches. The medium actually did fit his chest, but since the large is adjustable and fits his neck better, I'm glad we stuck with it. Most importantly, the large does not cut him under his front legs.

I saw on one Puppia size chart that XL is recommended for pugs! I think, based on most pugs I have seen, that large is perfect, if your pug is about 18-24 lbs. Some really rotund pugs might have to get an XL. One thing I noticed is that the mesh stretches out a bit with time. It's also a hair magnet! But on the plus side, it fits him well and causes no irritation. It's my recommendation for pugs!

Bubba -- coping with glaucoma

Back in January I wrote a post about Bubba, our big mellow cat. We don't know how old he is exactly since we adopted him, but we noticed recently that he was having health problems. Well, after several vet visits and several hundred dollars later, we do have a confirmation on a few issues. The vet ophthalmologist we saw this week said he now has glaucoma. Originally in January when we visited our regular vet, his eye pressure was around 8, which was considered normal. This last week it was over 30 -- not good. The vet prescribed us Prednisolone Acetate - a sort of milky-white eye drop. I give it to him twice a day and it's a two-person job - one person has to double scruff him and put a blanket or towel over him to protect me from being clawed, while I try to get the drops in.  Not easy!

His blood panels also came back showing elevated globulin levels. While this could indicate a number of things (which can only be confirmed by more tests, which we opted out on) the vets feel that it's most likely cancer. He has lost weight -- down to about 12.5 pounds from about the 14-15 lb. range, but he doesn't seem to be in pain at this time. He's adjusted to his blind eye it seems and gets around fairly well.

Here's a picture of Bub's beautiful eyes before glaucoma set in:

 

And now . . . (it's not pretty - sorry)