What you do whe you go on vacation?

[alohaalex]

I'm going on vacation next month and I called a few boarding facilities in town to see if they can take care of my dog for a few days but when they know that my 7 months old EM (female) is not fix yet they do not want to deal with her. The reason that my dog is not fix is because I was advised that it is better for her to be 18 months old or older for this procedure, these boarding places in town do not care about this and I'm running out of options. I called a few vets in town and they are ok with her situation but when they found out that she is in a raw diet they do not want to deal with this because it is too much work or because they can't keep all the food that she will need for 10 day refrigerated...I have never thought that going on vacation will turn in such a nightmare. FYI I don't have any friends that I can trust taking care of my dog and I would like that a professional will handle this for me when I'm out of town. My options are: take her to a vet and change her diet for 10 days screwing up her digestion (we feed her raw food because she had problems with dry food before) or fixing her. I do not like any of these two options at all. What do you think?

 

[Smart_Family]

Well I highly doubt the boarding facilities are going to want to deal with raw either, even if she's fixed. Can you do premade or dehydrated raw while you're gone?

 

[joshuagough]

Funny you should ask I was wondering the same thing today, now feeding ours raw.. that will more than likely be a issue.

 

[kbuchanan66]

I like the premade. Like can you grind up what you need and make them into hand burger like patties? Both chicken, beef and fish ones? What ever you use? Than you can freeze them and the person just has to take out the one portion and let it thaw before feeding it. They can add veggies afterwards. Just for the 10 days your gone. This would keep your dog on raw with more of a convenience.

 

[tb44]

You could hire a professional dog sitter if that would fit into your budget. Some will stay at the home 24/7 . If you go that route be sure they are a legit company check bbb and that they are insured and bonded.

 

[Smokeycat]

My suggestion would be to see if you can find a dehydrated raw, some of them feed just like kibble.

 

[alohaalex]

Well I highly doubt the boarding facilities are going to want to deal with raw either, even if she's fixed. Can you do premade or dehydrated raw while you're gone?

Actually the boarding facilities were ok with the raw die because they take care of other dogs that are on the same diet but they were not ok with her not being fix.

 

[alohaalex]

You could hire a professional dog sitter if that would fit into your budget. Some will stay at the home 24/7 . If you go that route be sure they are a legit company check bbb and that they are insured and bonded.

No thanks i don't like strangers in my house.

 

[angelbears]

I would keep calling around. Try talking to the manager or owner and explaining why your dog has not been fixed yet.

 

[alohaalex]

I would keep calling around. Try talking to the manager or owner and explaining why your dog has not been fixed yet.

I will try but people don't get it

 

[lynnturner65]

I have been very lucky, our vet complex is huge, they have boarding facilities and daycare and training. They will take an unfixed dog and I'm sure they would feed raw as well, maybe you can find a similar facility in your area. Good luck, we love to travel and I don't know what I would do without my kennel! They even called the other night to wish Zoey a happy birthday!

 

[raechiemay]

I swear I thought this said where do you want to go for vacation...and I thought, some place FAR away from work. lol

 

[Elvismom]

If you know anyone that she trusts, I would ask them to house sit, or at least see if they could come over two times a day. My daughter in law did that for us this last weekend when we had to go out of town. Actually, with my son being gone, she stayed at the house for us but I know that in the future she would make a point to come over at least twice a day. She also takes Elvis for rides to get him out of the house....just a thought.

 

[thelady_v2010]

Mine is staying with the trainer, we go away for 2 weeks next month. The trainer is expensive. After he is trained by the trainer for these 2 weeks, then the price drops to $50 a night, still over 2 times what a boarding here costs. I hope that the trainer will take him unaltered, I plan to talk to him about it soon.

 

[ruthcatrin]

I ditto the suggestion of seeing if the vet will do dehydrated raw, where all they'd have to do is rehydrate it to feed it rather than refridgerate it. The dehydrated stuff isn't perfect, and not cheap, but its better than kibble.

 

[Jakesmum]

We have been fortunate to find kennels here that will deal with all breeds (fixed or not), there are some that don't take certain dog breeds or unfixed dogs and I won't deal with those places, if they don't have the expertise to deal with different breeds or unfixed dogs then I wouldn't trust them with any kind of dog.

 

[Rugers-Kris]

When Ruger was younger and I had to go out of town a couple of times, I used a private trainer here in town as she does it in her home and was ok with the fact that he was not neutered, did not use a crate and was growing giant (She also takes dog that are raw fed). I haven't been out of town since then (May of last year) and in the meantime, my EM turned into a Fila so that is no longer an option for me. I am planning to go out of town in July and I will be driving and taking Ruger with me. I will be renting an apartment style hotel room instead a basic room so that he can hang out there while I do what I am doing and we can treat it just like any normal day.

 

[Robtouw]

The unfixed thing bugs the crap out of me, you can't possibly be the only person in your town that has not fixed your dog! I am fortunate that we have a fantastic facility within 10 min of my home. Be cautious when boarding with your vet. A friend of ours boarded her golden retriever that was not altared with her's and they did not take the measures necessary to ensure she did not become pregnant. They have both a lawsuit in the works and a litter of surprise pups.

 

[Robtouw]

A suggestion for the feeding: http://www.smartpakequine.com/livesmart-hearty-chicken-stew-8663p.aspx?cm_vc=Search Livesmart is a line of foods for dogs that is pretty good, it is basically chicken, beef, veggies in a broth that comes in sealed single serving packages. They also have single serve pkgs that are all vegetables. While it isn't raw, It may be an easy option that would not be as hard on your pup's system as kibble. I've tried the line while traveling and Cruiser seems to like it. There are only a few bits of the line on the website link, additional ones are available in their print catalog.

 

[joshuagough]

I called our vet's office just a minute ago and was shocked to hear they would actually store the meat to feed our EM's while we are on vacation with no additional charge..

I was expecting a ordeal.