what do you do w/ your cairn(s) when you go on vac

[grillywarren]

Hey All,

Just curious on what everyone does with their babies when they

go on vacation? If they cant come on vaction with you. I think I a touch nuerotic when it comes to leaving Grilly. He has never stayed with anyone but family, and we have continually

moved further and further away from family. My dh thinks I am crazy because

I will (and have) driven over 6 hours (one way) to bring the babe to his

grandparents house I would love to know what everyone does...

when we move again (in a couple of months) I need to find another alternative.

His personality would not allow for a kennel. How about a pet-sitter?

HELP Please!

Thanks...a crazy cairn mom!

Ellie

(How bad will I be with two-legged kids!!!)

[bradl]

So far we've always used a house-sitter.

[Carolinasmom]

That is such a toughie. Carolina has never stayed at a kennel either. I think she would think that we abandoned her and I would feel so guilty. If only we could explain things to them and they could understand!

We are lucky though b/c my parents (who live 5 min. away) have a litter mate so if DH and I travel, we take Carolina to their house, (and when I work, she goes to "Doggie Daycare" there as well! On our latest cruise, when my parents were going with us, both dogs were going to stay with my in-laws, (they too live 5 min. away) until they decided they were going out of town too! We were in a panic...what to do with 2 cairns for 12 days?!? My parents have a doggy door and great neighbors so...both dogs stayed at my parents' house with the neighbors checking in on them several times a day, staying to play for awhile, and locking the doggie door at night so they wouldn't go out with the raccoons who are bigger than the dogs! The dogs did really well with this arrangement but they were together and in a familiar setting.

Now I know that was of no help to you! Do you have a friend or neighbor who could keep your dog? Does Grilly stay in a crate when you leave the house or can he be trusted with the run of the house? (Our dogs haven't been crated since they were puppies.) If you have a doggie door and neighbors who are able to check on Grilly during the day and maybe keep him at their house at night, would that work?

Ok, just reread your post and see you're moving so you won't know your neighbors! A pet sitter is a good idea. I am anxious to see what others suggest!

[Eliz222]

We went on vacation, for two weeks, 2 years ago and I couldn't leave Scout with a kennel. I am also an avid gardener and couldn't bear to leave my plants to die in our midwest HOT summer! We hired a friend of my DD's to stay at our house and take care of the house, garden beds, and Scout. It gave me great peace of mind knowing that Scout was staying in her own home.

[Guest posting as: pookiegirl]

Hi,

The perptual dilemma!.

The last time we went away, we had made arrangements for a doggie condo for our little girl. It is a private suite approxiamtely 8X8 feet with its own television, doggie bed (looked like a toddler bed) and a glass door to look out of.

The staff did one on one playtime 3-4 times daily. In the evening, there was snack time with a bed time story. Do you believe it!

The only thing I was very concerned with is the staff left every evening at 7:00 pm. It is located in the lower level of my vet's building. I was reassured that a monitored alarm system was in place.

I obsessed over the remote probability that there might be a fire at nicht, and would anyone respond quickly enough.

Finally, my sister knew I was a basketcase, and offered to take Zoe for the 6 days. WhEW!!! I did not ask her to begin with because I thought I might be imposing. She was kind of disappointed that I did not ask in the first place. We really need to communicate better.

Now with our second baby on the way, I don't think I will ever take a vacation again.

[kayharley]

What's a vacation?

[hallswel]

My Mom watched Rebel when we just can't take him with us. We recently got a pop up camper so that we can go places and take the dogs with us. They seem to enjoy the trips. I don't know what I would do? Probably a house sitter we have some great young people that live near us I might try one of them if I had to.

[grillywarren]

Great responses everybody!

A pop-up camper is a great idea! I love to camp

and Grilly has never been. Hmmmmm...

i need to talk to the dh...

[sbudd]

So far, I've only left Banjo for 1 night at the vet's. I thought that I'd break him in slowly. I've got to leave him again for 1 night this weekend and then 1 night next weekend. I don't like leaving him, but my parents have 2 rat terriers and don't feel like they could handle Banjo and I don't trust my kids (age 26) to take care of him properly. At least I don't have to worry about him at the vet's. They're open on Sundays, so I can pick him up as soon as I get into town. I don't know any pet sitters, so there's no other alternative.

[Guest pjoes_Girl]

I used to leave my boston at a nice kennel, clean and caring, and she was ok there, but barked until she was hoarse...But this lil Cairn..I don't think will be ready for a kennel for a few years..and I'm not sure i'll find a house sitter willing to take caire of both of them...my kids don't even like to take care of him. I'm really hoping he will get settled down a little more soon...before I have that decision to make. I know my mom wont' be wanting to do it. Oh, and make sure you pay your housesitter pretty good too, just think, if you used a kennel you would be paying plenty, and this is even better! ( Plus you want them to be willing to do it next time too)

[Carolinasmom]

A pop-up camper is a great idea!  I love to camp

and Grilly has never been.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Carolina LOVES to go camping! We have always tented but last summer we too bought a pop-up camper. We go four-wheeling and hiking and she's always game. I have some great pics of her snuggled on my lap sitting around the campfire, (when there are not fire bans!) and she of course has to wear her sweater b/c it gets COLD at night in the Colorado mtns.

She also loves to go to the lake on our waterskiing boat. As soon as DH starts the truck up in the summer she goes nuts b/c that usually means we're going to the lake! She even has her own life jacket!

[Toto times 2]

I have to admit I haven't been on a vacation with my husband away from the boys ever. We go away for a couple of days when the other stays home with the "kids" and family vacations always include the dogs. We camp quite a bit. We do have an excellent place here that I might use in a pinch. A good idea if you are thinking of boarding is to drop in on the place unannounced. If they are hesitant about letting you look around steer clear.

We took care of our cousin's cairn while they went to Florida on vacation and he ended up staying with us forever.

[Padfoot]

We do the kennel thing and have from the start. I think the key is to find a good kennel. I'm not completely thrilled with the one we're using now, but only because I got spoiled when we lived about 45 minutes south of here; there was a great kennel there, out in the country, with indoor/outdoor runs that faced into a wooded area that was populated by the kennel owner's livestock -- pigs, peacocks, chickens, you name it. Our then-Cairn, Calvin, was highly entertained. I'm convinced it was like a vacation for him!

The kennel we take Viggo to now is quite nice, but basically he's indoors all day, except for the 2-3 times they let all the dogs out to run. The kennel employees know him, and like him, although they tell me he barks incessantly the whole time. But we've never left him for more than 3 days, so I'm satisfied.

We'll be travelling this summer for about a 2-week stretch, so I am going to be shopping around for a new kennel for that trip. I may even make the drive out to that other kennel that's out in the country. My other thought is this very nice complex that is about 20 minutes away, where I took him for training classes last year. I can pay a bit extra per day and get him some individual attention, or training, if I want. It will be a splurge, but since we're going to be gone for so long, I think it will be worth it.

My advice would be to tour all your local kennels just to have a look. That's what I did before settling on the one near our house (convenient, and the staff is nice). Even if you don't end up kenneling your dog, you at least know what your options are, especially if one day you have need of a kennel on the spur of the moment, and there's no time to set up anything else.

I have thought of having someone come to our house to look after Viggo, but honestly, I feel more comfortable with him in the kennel. He is a real escape artist, and I can just see him slipping out the door when someone comes to the house, or out of the gate in the yard if someone opens it unexpectedly for some reason. Then he'd be gone, and we'd never see him again. At least with the kennel, I know he is safe.

[bradl]

Those are some excellent points, Padfoot.

[Scully'sMom]

For those of you who had a house sitter for your pets, how did you find them? I'd be afraid of someone ripping my stuff off in my house. (Gee, can you tell (a) that I work for law enforcement; and (2) I live in the city where you're instantly suspicious)????

[Guest webstar]

Well it looks like I'm not the only one that panics the minute I hear vacation and Molly can't come. I did find a terrific girl that i could trust Molly with but she is moving 200 miles away. And really with our little darlings it is who will trust them too. We cairn lovers know how endearing thier demanding ways are, but not everyone shares our entusiasm over being walked over and slept on. Who would take a nap every afternoon to satisfy the lap loungers need for love. Who would cuddle with them in bed at night. Its hard to enjoy yourself knowing how much you will be missed. I could never leave Molly in a kennel I don't think she would survive. She is use to having me 24/7. When she was little I left her for a few hours and when I got home she was hoarse and had a cough. Even now when we are going out the door to go in the car she waits to make sure I'm coming. She will go alone with dh but he has to carry her out. She would go willingly with my friend because she has 2 dogs to be with. She has the run of the house when we are out and never gets into anything. I hate the word vacation. Molly's Gram

[bradl]

Hm, one time we had the Junior Handler daughter of a dachshund-breeder neighbor. When she grew up and 'left the nest' we had a soon-to-be-married pair of reservists that Peggy worked with. After they mobilized we were fortunate enough to get a member of our earthdog club who is a former vet tech. She brought her two dachshunds when she stayed (she charges less if she can bring her dogs) and her puppy and our puppy wrestled and romped from sun-up to sundown. Two of three came about because of being active in dog sports and dog clubs. To find dog people, go where dog people are, I guess.

I do think some of the doggy daycare and boarding kennels these days are amazing. I've read about some doggy daycares for instance where you can dial-up a web cam on your web browser from work (or wherever) to see what your pup is up to during the day.

[Padfoot]

The kennel we use has the webcam thing, but it's very pricey. We do the "silver" suite at $18 a night. Then there is a gold suite for $35 per day, and the platinum for $45. The $45 per night gets you the webcam. Nice, but just too expensive for us.

[bradl]

Heh. How much to just send a postcard?

[pookiegirl]

padfooet,

Your kennel was just a little bit more reasonably priced than ours, at $58.00/n, and we didn't even get the webcam. What bothers me about this setup, is the staff leaves at 7:00 pm. Even though there is a monitored alarm system, no human being is there watching/caring for the pets.

We have also explored the possibility of a housesitter. A neighbor of ours owns a petwalking and housesitting service. The cost of an overnight was $100.00.

Unfortuantely, as much as I would have liked to use the overnight service, it was much too costly for us.

Barbara

[Guest pjoes_Girl]

I feel like i may have ripped off my housesitter. WE used our friend's son, from church, and he was happy with 100 for the week...he was closer to work at our house too though, but still I may have to up that fee! hehe

[grillywarren]

hey everybody!

As far as kennels go.... yes I have seen some great ones. We visited one that had suites with individual ceiling fans, and movie night! The only problem

is that Grilly doesn't like most big dogs (especially German shepards....which I love)

He had a really bad episode at a doggie daycare and hasn't been "friendly"

to all dogs since. He is very discriminating We have been working on it

with training and trainers.....but that kind-of rules out the type of kennel

we could put him in. So... I think I will continue to investigate the petsitter.

Our realtor, who lives in the area, has used someone for years...so, we may

be in luck.

[Binx75075]

If any Dallas people need recommendations on a place, send me a PM.