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.