# Question of boarding options



## sillybluecreature (Oct 6, 2013)

Hello all! You've been so so helpful to me and Whiskey over the last couple months. We've been flying by our puppy moments so quickly and we're reaching our first vacation away from her. We booked our vacation before we even knew we were getting a dog, otherwise we would not have booked such a long one (20 days). 

We've interviewed a bunch of great places and are now faced with *choosing between them*. The biggest difference is: a couple function as a daycare during the day and have around 10-20 dogs for her to play with in a huge outdoor grassy yard (including digging pits). I assume she'll spend most of her day out there playing and would only be supervised as much as someone can watch so many dogs. She would be sleeping in a room with couches, beds, and crates. She would be out hiking once a day for a couple hours in the woods.

The *other choice* has her in a home environment but without the yard. She wouldn't be playing much with other dogs other than her daily hike (with many other dogs) in the woods. She would be staying in the house of an owner with very few other dogs (if any). 

Is it better for a puppy to have more play time? Or more human one on one attention? Is it better for her to be in daycare, socialized and tired? Or sitting around and relaxed at home? My partner favours the daycare option and I favour the one-on-one option. She would be 6-7 months at this time. Thanks all!


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## CatK (May 29, 2013)

I would think it would depend on the dog, but mine would prefer one-on-one in a house with lots of walks and opportunities to play with other dogs. He likes his home comforts and a cuddle is totally essential to his happiness. I think he would love the daycare for a day at a time, but become daunted and over-stimulated quite quickly. I wouldn't want to put him in that environment for the first time for such a long time in case he didn't like it.

Follow your gut, and I wouldn't make big changes to what he is more used to at this point. Best of luck!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

That's a tough one.
So much depends on the dog, and the actual care while they are there. Have you let visit the places for a few hours at a time, to see how she reacts to them?
Dogs will happily (tali waggin) go back to a place they enjoyed, but give tail tail signs if they would rather not be left there. So try both places before your trip, and see which one is the better fit for her.

On a day care I would be looking at the dog to person ratio, and how many of the people working there are teenagers, how many employees are trainers. Nothing wrong with a couple of teens working there, but I would not want the majority of employees to be teens.
Do they evaluate the dogs in their care before boarding them?


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

We have struggled with boarding. My female has a real hard time with it. My male does better. A kennel we were using actually let them come into their home at night & sleep in their bed. But I recently heard that they have lost a few dogs, so.....I had to search for a new alternative.

We considered home boarding but with 2 dogs, not sure many places could handle them.

In the end, we hired a pet sitting service (whom we vetted very carefully). 

They come by during the day around noon to feed them, walk them, play with them. Then they come back at 7pm and spend the night in our house and stay until 7 am. They sent me texts and pictures of them full time. Our dogs got to stay in their own home where they feel loved. They got to sleep in their own bed. When we got home, they were totally peaceful and happy, as if we'd just left for dinner and come back.

I will only use a pet sitter from now on. It was a perfect experience for my babies.


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## sillybluecreature (Oct 6, 2013)

To answer your questions we've only visited them once as they are pretty far away and we need to rent a car. They all have excellent reviews and I haven't heard anything bad from them. 

We were initially looking into a petsitter at home but the person would need to live in our home (as she is a puppy and can't have the house to roam) which brings more complication. 

She's happy to play with other dogs but spends much more of her day sleeping next to us. I think I'm leaning towards the one-on-one since I want to guarantee she's got her daily pets and snuggles and also on the slim slim chance she starts her first heat that someone will notice it!


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

First thing - visit the kennel - they should show you around - if time out - 1-2-1 time - off lead - are a cost option - run away !!!!! it's just about the money 2 them !!!!!!!!


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