Summer is coming and many people will be going away on holiday. If you have pets, clearly the best option, especially for dogs but also for some cats who have learned to travel well, is to take your animals with you. This may not always be possible in which case the next best option would be to ask someone to petsit. A few fortunate individuals have the possibility of leaving their pets to be cared for by a person in a home, but this option is not so common. If there is no other option but to place your dog in kennels, I would ask you to please thoroughly inspect the facility and ask as many questions as you have to make sure that this is the right place for your pet.
Being left alone in a strange place with unfamiliar people is going to be a stressful event for most dogs, so minimising that stress should be a priority.
- If your dog is used to living inside the house, at the kennel with he/she be inside or in open kennels outside?
- Are the installations clean?
- Can you take your dog’s own bedding and favourite toy to make the place feel less alien?
- Is there an enclosed exercise area?
- How long per day is each dog allowed to use this area?
- Will your dog’s normal feeding times be respected or will he/she have to conform to the kennel régime?
- Can you take your dog’s usual food?
- Is there someone on hand 24h to attend to the animals?
The first five days of kennel stays have been shown to be extremely stressful for most dogs. They have to get used to a foreign environment, unfamiliar people, confinement, possibly other dogs on either side, so it is important, in my view, that the kennel staff should be empathetic and prepared to help minimise the trauma for the dogs. There is nothing more soul-destroying and heartrending than to hear dogs bark and howl and cry 24 hours per day and nobody goes to interact with them, talk to them and let them know that someone is hearing their distress and cares.
