I leave mine with my mother:) They are very used to her and she calls herself grandma with my pets as well as my kids. My dogs love her:) Neither one is too good with strangers, and I would be afraid to leave them with anyone else, I wouldn't, I would have to get a pet friendly motel room or just not go.
I watch my mothers dogs for her as well, and her constant companion didn't like it too well, she would look out the window a whine softly in her throat with a distressed look on her face,I would call her and she would come over lick my face and go right back to looking out the window, I felt so bad for her. when mom got back that dog was so happy she jumped from the floor straight up into moms face (they do a jump and grab thing) it is like she has springs on her feet, so funny to watch.

We have a petsitter. I have 6 pets, 3 cats and 3 dogs. Oldest dog has many health issues and takes 16 pills a day. I would never board them anyway, but with the old gal, that wouldn't even be an option.

Find someone you totally trust or your vacation will be filled with phone calls and worry. Does your nephew have dogs of his own? Also, how old is your nephew? If he doesn't have a dog of his own, he won't have any dog radar. Try to have him spend as much time as possible with your dog before you go. If it were me, he'd come once a day until I left and When he comes, have him walk your dog on a leash, do some tricks, in other words, have the dog learn to listen and take direcdtion from him. It will be money well spent. Also, animals act differently when you leave them even with a petsitter they know.

Why is your nephew nervous? Make him a list of all of your dog's routines, including exercise and play times, usual potty times, feed times, amounts of food, where the leashes are, etc. Having everything written down and gone over may spark a question that your nephew might have, but not have thought of. I think communication with the person who will be watching the dog is the best idea, then they know what to expect. Give him the vet's phone number and animal poison control numbers posted on the fridge as well as numbers where you can be reached. I would appoint someone as a backup that your nephew can call with a question or problem, perhaps a friend that is also a petowner and is practical and clear-headed. Also, call your vet's office to let them know that your nephew will be in charge of medical decisions in your absence should the need arise.

Does your nephew drive and will he have access to a vehicle when he is caring for your pets. If he would need to go to the vet, he needs transportation to get there. My petsitter drives, but she would never be able to get one of my large dogs in her car. When I go away, I leave her with the keys to my suv and the same sits in the driveway for her use should the need arise. I really wouldn't want her to transport my pets in her car since she doesn't have the proper restraints for the dogs.

The more info you give your nephew regarding what to expect, the more confident he will be. Will your nephew stay at your home with your dog or just do a walk and water a few times a day? I prefer to have a sitter who stays at the house during the night, but many people use sitters who only come 3-4 times per day.

I know, you are probably thinking this woman's a nut. I am overkill on the pet thing, but that's just me and I want my pets to be as comfortable as possible when I am not with them. It's basically the same as leaving your child with a sitter.

Best of luck to you and enjoy your vacation!

I have someone stay at my house the whole time I'm gone. We were gone for a week last Mrach and I had 3 people come cover the week. Someone was always here. Expensive and tedious to plan but worth it. I would stay home if I couldn't get someone. I do know very good people though so that helps.
Widows from my church, a single girl, that type of thing.

You may want to try to find another family in your area with a similar need and form an exchange? My neighbor and I care for each other's pets when we are gone and it works out really well. Our dogs all know each other and it's almost like "summer camp" for them.

My nephew wasn't nervous, the dog was. He and his wife have a dog about the size of Cody but put him in a bedroom during the visit. My nephew is over 30 so it's not like he's not old enough. And he's responsible.
I was just curious of how folks with multiple pets handle it.

It's a struggle - we haven't been on a vacation in years.

Before we moved, we had finally found someone trustworthy who would stay at the house.

We still haven't been able to find anyone here. There are lots of petsitters, but so far none who can do overnights. That's the only way I'll leave our six dogs.

We are planning our first long trip without the furkids in June. We'll be gond 16 days (Europe). Through my vet, I found a petsitter who will come and spend the night (water plants, collect mail). But she needs to be gone in the daytime, so I'm looking for someone to come in daily and take them for a walk and chase tennis balls.

The petsitter charges $50/night. Don't know yet what a dog walker will charge, but am guessing about $20. Expensive, yes - we consider it part of the cost of the trip.

Hopefully it will work out. I'm interested in how others handle the same situation. My son and DIL (responsible and mature) have offered to take them, but they have 3 kids (one is developmentally disabled) and she has her hands full already, so I declined.

Why doesn't anyone board their dog? We just got a dog and I was planning on boarding him when we're out of town. I know a lot of dogs don't do well with boarding, but assuming ours does, is there something wrong with it?

Is your dog going to your nephew's house, or is he staying at your house? I am reading it that your dog is going to their house. If so, I think the two dogs will work it out, but they should be exposed/introduced to one another before the stay.

Since I have 6 pets, I can't send them anywhere.LOL Overnights are hard to find. My sitter is a older single mom, two sons, one is a senior in high school, other is freshman in college so she can do overnight without worry about her children. She has brought the senior with her at times. She is a teacher, so her schedule is great for summer vacations. Although she tutors, it's no different than if I were here and went to the office for a few hours.

Check your church bulletin board also. There are people who are just pet sitters waiting to happen. Widowers, single moms of older children, vet technicians (check with your vet's office manager), college students, friends who want to barter for same, anyone who is responsible and good with animals who wants to earn some extra money.

If we didn't have our petsitter we wouldn't go anywhere. I always call her first before I finalize any plans. My MIL has been great when my sitter isn't available. Problem is she won't take any payment. Last time I left her a GC for Barnes & Noble on the fridge and brought her something nice from our trip.

I think when you first get a pet is the time to find the sitter. It's much harder when you are pressed for time and have to find someone.

cork2win
I have boarded my dogs in the past. However, confining them in a kennel for 16 days (imho) would just be cruel. Also, one of them came home with a bad kennel cough that hung on for ages (and she HAD been immunized).

For a couple of days, it would be OK, but overall I think kenneling is pretty stressful. (They are away from everything familiar and without their own humans - they don't get a lot of personal attention)

Cork2win:

I board my dogs, and one cat who needs special food and daily medication. We had a few bad experiences (the worst were actually with vets' offices!) until we found the right facility.

We currently have three dogs, one of whom is new to us and hasn't been boarded yet. But the other two actually like to be boarded, and Madison actually seems somewhat sad to leave. She's our hyperactive dog, and the place they are boarded now provides TONS of backyard playtime, so she's thrilled. Thor is a big time mama's boy, and misses me when we're gone, but does just fine being boarded (I think he'd be more miserable at home without me).

The cost of overnight pet-sitters is just too much for me, and with the wonderful care they get at the boarding facility, I can't justify paying 3 times what the facility charge just to keep them home. Granted, there are situations where dogs won't do well being boarded, but in my case, all around everyone is happy. The dogs think of it as a vacation for them! They can do what they want, when they want, tons of new toys, lots of room to roam...We send them with tons of treats too :)

Just do your research. Schedule a tour of multiple places, or if you know their "open" times, just show up and ask for a tour so they're not expecting you. Send your dog(s) on a trial run or two before your trip. I actually feel safer with my dogs being boarded than I did when they were being cared for at home.

Our method is a little confusing. We've yet to go away on a long trip, so I cant answer.

But for 3-4 days, we take our little girl to our friends house (we also watch theirs, when they leave) and the big guy stays at home, and either our old roommates, or the same people watching our girl, will come a few times a day to let him out/feed/play time. He's pretty independant, and I sometimes think as long as he can sleep on the couch, he really doesn't care if anyone comes around ever. We'd leave the little one at home with him, except she needs to be crated, and I just dont like the idea of her only being out a few times a day.

And who ever comes to look after big guy, feeds and waters the cats.

We have pet birds. One of them always goes on vacation with us. We have a pet/house sitter for the others. We used to board them at pet shops but stopped doing this because of bad experiences and not wanting our birds exposed to strange birds that might have diseases. One place dropped a cage with our bird in it. It hurt hurt her wing and bent the cage. Another dropped the bird itself and he died. They waited until we got back to let us know. They said "they didn't want to ruin our vacation".

Our sitter stops in twice a day. She cares for the birds, brings in the paper, waters the plants, opens/closes the curtains, checks the mail and generally makes the place look lived in.

One time one of the birds got a foot stuck in a thread. The sitter noticed he was in the same spot in the evening as he was when she stopped by in the morning. She put her hand near him to see if he could move and saw that he couldn't go anywhere. She had to use scissors to cut him loose. As soon as he was free he went right over to his water dish. We are very grateful that she caught this before he broke a leg or died of thirst.

When we go away, I always leave a detailed list with the following information:

The name and number(s) of the relative/vacation rental owner we will be staying with, as well as our own cell phone numbers.

A list of what they eat, how much, and where to buy more.

Number and address of our avian vet. We have a credit card number on file at our vet. There is a note on our account that says in the event of any medical emergencies, this sitter is permitted to authorize treatment for any medical services necessary. We don't ever want a pet sitter to not take a pet to the vet because they fear they might not be reimbursed.

Instructions on where to take the birds if there is a fire, or what to do if anything happens to us that delays our return. Accident, natural disaster, etc. Its good to have something in writing (pet POA?) so one can be sure a pet will go to a particular person instead of a shelter, etc in the event that we don't come home at all!

One last thing. We have had issues with missing items in the past so we put a lock on one of our bedroom doors and transfer things of value here until we return. We also have a friend who is willing to stop by a few times to make sure the sitter is doing her job.

I have three dogs. Big, bigger and biggest. All very nice.

I hire a house sitter. A nice trusting source is your vet. Lots of times they have people working for them who house sit on the side. If this doesnt work, ask them if they can recommend someone.

SG

cork2win - I don't board my pets (6) because I think it would stress them out. I like them to be in their home. It is stressful enough that we are gone. I don't like the idea of them confined to a cage for any length of time. I also have an old gal who takes alot of meds and has many medical issues.

I have heard too many horror stories, and these are stories from the "Four Seasons" of boarding situations. The places that charge you extra for play time and this time and that time. They offer massages, etc. It's not for us. Fleas, kennel cough, pet's coat covered in newspaper print when picked up. That's not what I want for my pets.

I'd rather use a trusted petsitter who stays at my home. My dogs and cats stay in their home and all is well. Petsitter brings in the mail, comes and goes as she needs, but someone is here during the night. It works well for us. Everyone has to do what they are comfortable with.

zone8grandma - We traveled to Eastern Europe and the Northern Arctic for 3 weeks, 1 week home and then away again for another week. My petsitter sat for about a month last summer. There is no amount of money that could cover my peace of mind while I was out of touch. Many days at sea we could not communicate with home, and the trust I have in my sitter was priceless and made it alot easier to handle. I think I paid around $2,000. I just build the petsitter cost into the cost of a trip. I have pets so I have to make provisions or not go away.

Would it be possible for your petsitter to come home for lunch to let the pets out for a break? That way you wouldn't have to hire a walker in addition to your sitter. My sitter pretty much lives at my house when we're gone. She uses the pool, etc. She leaves for work from here and comes here at lunch time and after work. During the summer she tutors (is a teacher) so she just does her thing and then comes home to my house rather than hers.

I don't know in what part of the country you live, but $50 a day sounds very reasonable for someone that stays overnight. A walk and water here is $25 per visit. If you have someone visit 4 times per day, which would be a minimum for me, that would be $100 a day and they aren't even staying overnight! I think you will have a much better vacation knowing that your pets are in their own home being well taken care of!

Enjoy your trip.

We have three cats. I and my husband have been on a vacation together to India only twice in the last five years. The first time (10 days), a friend stayed at our place to take care of them, the second time (a month), we boarded them with a lady our vet recommended. Our problem is, one of our cats, Nikita, doesn't quite like strangers, and the lady didn't see Nikita the entire month. Max made friends with the lady's 30-odd cats in a few days, and was very happy there. The lady rescues and re-homes cats too. All the cats are clean and healthy, and her behaviour with the cats convinced us that she would be good. She charges a refundable deposit just in case a visit to the vet is needed. And she uses the services of our vet for her cats too, so that's a definite plus.

We'd initially call her up once every day just to see how things are going, and she was very understanding about it.

The most trustworthy sources would be the vet, and your friends. All the best to you. Have a wonderful vacation !!

Thanks, Labmomma,
When the petsitter came for an interview, we (including the fuzzbutts) were all impressed with her. She's clearly an animal lover (she has 12 cats that she's rescued). So I do feel that $50/night is very worthwhile since the furkids will be sleeping in their own home in their own beds. She asked all the right questions about their routine. Initially she was going to take them to her house during the day, but has decided that that was too much and suggested that we get a dog walker to come take them for walks and play exercise. So I'm searching now for someone to do that.
I may have to go out of town for a few days in May and it would be nice to have someone come during the day to walk them and play with them while DH is at work. These dogs (Golden Retrivers) are SO oriented towards human company.

I'm hoping that this lady will become our regular petsitter - so we can take more vacations. The last 5 years vacations have been camping trips with the fuzzbutts.

I skipped to the bottom, so sorry if this advice has already been given:

Get your dog(s) used to a boarding kennel! I will never, ever have another dog that doesn't get trained this way. I have 2 dogs, now 12 and 14, that have never been to a boarding kennel, so they would absolutely freak out if I put them there.

When I did have to leave town, I used various friends' kids, who stayed at my house. They were between 17 and 25, loved animals, and did a good job overall. *bad job story later.

Now all of those sitters are too busy or are in college. I luckily have a retired neighbor who loves my dogs, and will come over 10 times a day if asked. But really, I wish I'd started sending them to a kennel early so they could get used to it. I'm going out of town in May, and praying that my best friend's cousin's daughter can stay here!

As for boarding kennels, research them way before you need them. If I had done things right and gotten my dogs used to going there, it would be easy for me right now. There is a place here that is 'open', meaning that the dogs are all kept in a big area instead of in individual kennels. Someone is there 24/7 to monitor, and they do have separate areas for small dogs and big dogs.

If your dogs get along with other dogs, it's just a fabulous place! They get to romp and play inside and outside, and if they aren't in the mood for socializing, there are doggie couches all along the perimiter for hangin' out. They also have 'doggie daycare'. You can drop your dog off for the day to just run and play. My sister takes her dog their once a week. Her dog LOVES it, and sleeps like the dead when she gets home:)

* Oh, the "bad story". We had been using a friends' daughter to stay at our house with the girls. One time we came home a day early, and not only was our house trashed, but one of our dogs had pooped inside. They NEVER did that, so it was obvious that she'd been gone a LONG time. We never had her back.

Back to the great kennel here, their website is linked below. Great place, great idea for a business if you don't have something like it in your area! They also have a grooming service, so you can drop your dog off for daycare or a longer stay, and get them groomed too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Happy Tails

We do have a nice kennel that the boys and our dear departed Megan went to with good spirits. They loved to get out and play several times a day in the playground with the other dogs. Toby and Casey shared a run when they were not out in the play area. The place is called Bed and Biscuit.

Our new girl, Sabrina, spent her first five years in a kennel. She was owned by a dog hoarder/collector. From the way she is still so timid and handshy, we think she was more than just neglected. Now that you mention it, I wonder how we will be able to leave her at the kennel? Hummm... I may need to think about all of this. DH's dad lives with us, but we don't leave the dogs here. If anything at all happened to them, he could be hurt trying to make it better. He is 90 and has osteoporosis. I don't even want him to have to go out in the yard! I cannot imagine how he would handle a dog fight or an escape. Nope, the dogs are not at home with Dad when we are gone overnight.

I'm lucky,DD is next door and our animals are together alot anyway so we trade off. If we both have to go some where our house cleaner would watch the big dogs and we'd take the little ones with us.
vickie

A boarding kennel is out of the question for Cody. He spent his first 6 months of life locked in a cage. I won't ever do that to him again. I've seen one of the kennels here and the "play" area is a mud covered yard area. I could imagine I'd spend weeks dematting and cleaning him. He's a Maltese and white and mud don't go well together.

I don't board my dogs for one major reason, it's more expensive than getting a sitter. Now, I don't have someone come overnight, but I've used the same sitter for the last 6-7 years, so my dogs are very familiar with her, and they get extra walks and playtime when I'm gone and so some of the time I think they want me to go on vacation.

I don't think boarding kennels are bad, but when you are paying upwards of $25 per day per dog (and more if you want your dog to have extra playtime etc.), it gets to me more expensive than using a sitter when you have multiple dogs.

Petsitter and a neighbor. The petsitter comes 3 X a day 18.00 for a 20min visit and my neighbor comes in between those times.

I can't board as one of my dogs can not be vaccinated against distemper. (allergic reaction)

My second dog came from the Humane Society when he was five years old. After we had totally bonded, we discovered that he is dog aggressive. He's wonderful with people, but cannot be around other dogs without attacking them.
The only way he could be boarded is if he were to be caged the entire time. Not an option for him.

Ruby stays at my sister's house. If that is not an option, my parent's house. She does fine in both places, although clearly she would rather be with us and watches the door intently for our return. We kenneled her once at a GOOD place, in fact where she came from. She did not do well at ALL. She was sick and weak, they bathed her but didn't dry her because she was stressed so she was cold as ice when we got her. I think they gave her the wrong food, because they sent all we brought back home with us. I won't do it again. She gets shy around strangers and strange dogs, and doesn't like the noise and the barking.

Then we have a pet sitter come in to feed the cats, the bird, and the fish. She scoops the litter and brings in any newspapers or what have you. We really like her. Ruby loves her to death, but I only have her come once per day and that is not enough for a dog.

My sister had her in-laws take care of her cats, and asked me to stop in once or twice to play with them for a while. I can tell you, her MIL and FIL never even once came to feed or water the cats. It is a good thing I noticed, so I came every day and did it. Later they claimed they came every day and saw the dishes full so never COULD do it - but yet could not tell me where the dishes were located (I had moved them away from the door).

I think there can be bad, and good, experiences no matter what you arrange.

We have 5 dogs and a cat. We moved from Atlanta to a tiny town in the north Georgia Mountains in 2000 and up until now haven't found a reliable pet sitter so we haven't been on vacation. I'm happy to say we think we've found a good sitter but when I recently started looking for a pet-friendly place in Beaufort,S.C. just for my husband I and our 13 yr. old Pekingnese I STILL couldn't find anything.

It's very frustrating. I truly can't believe that hotels, and vacation rentals haven't figured out that doggie and Kitty guests are the best guests. I say that from experience as the owner of the pet friendliest cabin company in the whole known universe. I Can't tell you the company name that would be advertising.

For those who do want to travel with their pets there are places out there, but finding them is not easy.

Hope I don't get sent to Disney for this reply!

I usually leave my dogs at home with a trusted friend in the neighborhood coming in several times a day to care for them.

Once when I had no option but to board in a kennel, though, we took the dogs on vacation with us and then boarded them near our rental home (I hadn't been able to find any homes available that allowed pets.) Then we visited them during the week and took them out to the dog park and to play on the beach.

It really helped with their stress that they saw us often and saved me three more nights boarding fees of $120 during the travelling time. I felt better having them close, too.

We have a RV so where we go our dog and cat goes also. Some places do have rules on how many dogs and some have on the size. Lately we have seen an increase in the breeds of dogs that a camper may not have. We have a beagle so we are fine anywhere we go. Some places are more animal friendly than others so we always ask before making reservations.

We've lived in several small cities in a number of states due to DH's job. We've utilized boarding kennels, pet sitters that come in, pet sitters who "adopt," multiple friends on certain schedules, exchanges with friends, and...I think that covers it!

Although we've had a few bad experiences with kennels over the years, by and large the experiences have been good.

Previous posters indicated that one should tour facilities and I heartily recommend that. At our last city, we drove past a kennel that was 5 minutes away to take the dogs to a kennel 45 minutes away just because the care was so much better.

Know your dogs (or other pets) and know what a facility offers. If your dog can't play well with others and the kennel only offers open, group playtime, well, then that's not the facility for you. If your dogs enjoy lots of time moving around and getting some fresh air, then kennels that keep them inside except for 2x or 3x/day potty breaks aren't appropriate. In my own area, a lot of vet offices are like that.

On the other hand, if you have responsible friends or relatives close by that can care for your pets or temporarily "adopt" your pets while you're gone, consider yourself very, very fortunate.

Finally, if your pets have any special needs or temperament issues, be especially careful who you entrust with their care. The easiest solution may not be the best.