I have to admit when I was younger I wasn’t the best at finding appropriate care for my dogs when I was not around. I would get whoever, whenever whether it was a friend, neighbor or a boarding facility. I really did not understand that I had choices in the matter.When I got some age and maturity on me I realize this was not a good solution.
Even boarding facilities were not very wellOnce I got an acquaintance who I had worked for in a professional setting, she did not have a dog of her own and I remember she simply left my dog outside in the yard when I was gone for the whole weekend and never came back to bring her in. Another Even boarding facilities were not very welltime a neighbor left my dog out in a thunderstorm and forgot to bring it in.
Even boarding facilities were not so great. Some of them were dirty and the workers did not seem to care much about the dogs. At that time I did not know that I had options. I did not know how to properly evaluate an establishment to ensure that it was conducive to my specific dogs needs. I didn’t know of any personal dog sitters that took care of dogs in or out of the home and I definitely did not know of dog walkers.
Through trial error and research I realized I did not want to leave my dog with just anyone and I wanted to make sure they were safe. I even had a dog walker let my dog out off leash and it ended up getting killed because it was ran over by a car. So trusting dog sitters is something I struggle with even to this day.
At a boarding/grooming facility the proprietor brought me the wrong dog out when it was time to go home. So that made me uneasy about that sort of establishment as well. She also could not tell my dogs apart and seem to not even care or try to learn their names. I understand when you take care of dogs for a living it’s hard to keep all the names straight but at least to make an attempt, and I wondered, she didn’t write down any of the specific information I gave her about the individual dogs. What if one needed medication?
All things to consider when you’re leaving your dog somewhere make sure it’s clean. Or at least clean enough to have your dogs there. When dogs are around places tend to be a little messy. That’s understandable.
Make sure the dogs are safe. At one establishment they had a boarding facility on a busy road. They would have to take the dogs all out on leash and they didn’t have a whole lot of workers. The place did not have any sort of gate or fencing. Which made me very nervous.
I feed my dogs home-cooked food so a refrigerator is needed and I like them to get the food that I make. Some places are not OK with that. One pet sitter said she had an extra refrigerator just for pets that were not hers. Which made me feel really good.
When establishment/boarding facility/dog sitter said they would rather all small dogs be on harness rather than collar with the leash for extra protection. I was OK with this because this showed me that they were taking my dog safety into consideration.
One time facility quoted me a right over the phone I came the next week to meet with are usually go to the establishment and meet with the individual before drop off just to make sure everything‘s OK,them and I highly suggest that. Always meet with the person who’s taking care of your dog before you take it for a drop off. Look at the facility if possible and ask as many questions as you need to. This place change the price and pretended like they couldn’t remember all the info about my dog once I got there. Not sure if they change their mind but I definitely changed mine.
I also have a policy if the place gets upset about me asking questions or acts like they’re annoyed. I do not leave my dogs there. One facility got upset because I wanted to know how many people work there and what kind of experience they had. They felt like that was intrusive and unnecessary so I felt like I could not trust them.
Before dropping your dog off make sure you know who all is going to be taken care of your dog. What other dogs splash kids/family members are going to be around. If you want to know the experience that’s OK as well. Also talk about your dog extensively with the dog sitter/establishment. Likes, dislikes, what they like to eat, do not like to eat of course allergies and medical problems. Favorite toys, blankets, where they like to sleep, how often they go potty, and how they react in and comfortable situations.This is all extremely important to keep everyone safe.
Paws of Happiness 