What you do whe you go on vacation?

[DennasMom]

We have a kennel boarding facility around here that will take all dogs, fixed or not - but it's concrete and chain link... not somewhere I'd want my puppy to stay for a week.
Our boarding facility of choice is more daycare than boarding... and they require dogs over 6 months be fixed, too.

We had our puppy stay at our dog-walker's house when she was ~6 months old. That worked well for us - not so sure it worked for them... lots of work! If I had to do it today, I'd start interviewing dog-sitters... Dog Boarding & Dog Sitters | Rover.com has a list of people - or check with the vet if they know anyone that could house-sit for you and take care of puppy at the same time... get references and interview them well. Maybe have them do some dog-walks to get acquainted with the puppy before you leave him alone with the 'stranger'. If you were in our neighborhood (Seattle area), maybe the puppy could stay with us!

For food - our boarder can take raw, but only 3 or 4 days worth... so we'll have to supplement with a freeze-dried raw version that they can reconstitute. There are a number of options for that style out there. We'll probably get Denna acclimated to that before we go, too.

Good luck. If you can, find someone that will send you text and picture updates - that always helps me not worry (too much) when we're away.

 

[CeeCee]

I, too, am lucky and have a great daycare and boarding facility 15 minutes away from me. They feed their dogs raw and understand the need for large dogs to be intact - especially as they grow. If you haven't already done so, call the dog professionals in your area and see if they can recommend other service providers who will work with you. If that comes up empty - see if your local rescue organizations have any recommendations.

 

[ruby55]

Vacation? What's that? JK...The only vacation I've had in years is a trip to the bullmastiff nationals a couple of years ago. And we took all the dogs. We had a friend come & feed the lemurs & cats.

 

[mmyrto]

In NY you can find petsitters that will take care of the dog in your house. They take them for 3-4 walks feed them and if you want they can even saty in your house to keep them company (of course they leave in the morning and come and go the rest of the day).
I have a great neighbor that i leave Hera with her she has a dog too (Heras best friend). I was away for 2 weeks and she stayed with her, she brought her in our apt if she had to leave cause she didnt want to leave them alone together. I love the fact that she was in a familiar place.

 

[DDBsR4Me]

I don't go on vacation...if I did, I'd take my dog.

I'd really like to go on a cruise some day...but I don't think they'll let me take him with me. He's never been boarded in a kennel and probably would not handle it very well. Theoretically he could stay with my mom, but she has an out of control French bulldog that likes to pick fights.

 

[ravendarat]

The fixing thing is weird to me. I have a 10 month old em and I know I have to go out of town the end of next month so over superbowl sunday I dropped him off at a local borders and left him over night so I could see how he handled it. Then just this last weekend I left him for a couple days once again to see how he did. No problems. When I was setting this all up they asked if he was fixed but it wasnt a problem, they just wanted to know so they could make sure to handle him correctly. I would keep looking and as others stated, try talking to people at the top and point out that she isnt fixed for a reason.

 

[LauraR]

I am not sure where you're from, but in Kansas City I did a search on vets that offered holistic and alternative treatment options. The majority of them also do boarding. Every single one I called had special freezers for their raw diet visitors and required that you provided the food for your dog during their stay. Having them provide some generic kibble was not even an option. They also were pretty lax on s/n, for play time they take dogs out in same sex groupings so they can still be social without the worry of coming home to an oops litter.
Like I said, I'm not sure where you're from, but doing a similar search might help you find some options.

 

[alohaalex]

I am not sure where you're from, but in Kansas City I did a search on vets that offered holistic and alternative treatment options. The majority of them also do boarding. Every single one I called had special freezers for their raw diet visitors and required that you provided the food for your dog during their stay. Having them provide some generic kibble was not even an option. They also were pretty lax on s/n, for play time they take dogs out in same sex groupings so they can still be social without the worry of coming home to an oops litter.
Like I said, I'm not sure where you're from, but doing a similar search might help you find some options.

I will check it out.