Doggie Stay-cations

Going out of town and leaving the dogs? Where oh where to leave them? Who do you trust and what can you afford? From standard kennel and pet resorts, to dog walkers and overnight sitters, there is an option that will most likely work for your dog and your budget.
When I was a child, we would take our dog to the vet to be boarded. I am pretty sure my Sheltie was kept in a cage and let out in a little yard a couple of times a day. You could not pick up your dog after 5pm or on Sunday. That was pretty much how it was done and the fact that he came home safe and sound was really all my parents were looking for. Today, we have a whole new outlook. I also believe, price is not as big of a factor as it used to be. We are no longer leaving our dogs to go on vacation, we are sending them on a vacation of their own.
Our first dog was a Chow my husband and I, um, acquired (a story for another day). He had a good temperament, but had his issues. Boarding was not a good option. We were lucky enough to have a friend come stay with him most of the times we were away. If it was a quick weekend, we could get away with a dog walker coming by. He was fine alone and could hold it forever. When we got Luey, it was a different story. Luey would not do well left alone for any length of time, nor was he a fan of the doggy daycare type environment. Our luck continued that we had good friends either willing to come stay at our house or take him in. We saved money too by swapping dog sitting services with each other. Adding a puppy changed things a little. Dealing with puppy issues and puppy energy is not for everyone. We had an occasion where we could not find a friend available for the weekend, so we simply split the dogs up so it was not so much work for one person. I know they enjoyed their one on one time as well.
There are professional pet sitters you can pay to come spend the night in your home if you do not have a friend who can do this. I have seen many people willing to open their homes to a small number of dogs and take them in as one of their own pets. They sleep on dog or human beds and just become part of the house hold activities. These might be good options for shy or nervous dogs.
Then there is the “pet resort” environment. These can be found as standalone facilities or a part of someone’s home. Rarely is a crate or dog run to be found, instead the rooms are furnished with comfy dog beds, usually music and/or a television, a half or windowed door so the dogs do not feel closed in and frequent outside play time with other dogs. Many offer grooming services, even spa like treatments, so your dog is pampered, beautiful and clean when you pick him up. Often, you can even watch your dog via “dog cams” over the internet while you are away. At a family event this past weekend, my Aunt and Uncle from Virginia were telling me what they saw their Bailey doing at “camp”. From what they described, it really was pretty much like camp.
It might be a good idea to check out some local options now, before the time comes that you have to decide where your dogs will vacation while you are away. Do some online research and then check out your favorites. Dog walkers and pet sitters usually insist on a meeting in your home before they commit. Pet resorts and hotels might have certain hours where they have the extra staff to walk you around. I would recommend checking for proper licenses and insurance, but small scale operations might not have this, even though they are very loving and reliable. Use recommendations from friends and trusted sources and most of all, go with your instincts. If something does not sit well with you, keep looking. There are worse things than wondering “does my dog even miss me”?

There is more than one way to skin a cat

If you do a search or browse books on a term such as “dog training”, you will be slightly overwhelmed by the various options and opinions. Many of the methods out there do tend to fall into general categories such as positive reinforcement, dominance theory, luring , shaping, clicker etc… the modern version of two broadest categories can be simply defined as “the Ceasar Milan way” or the “Victoria Stillwell way”. Please understand that neither Ceasar nor Victoria developed their methods from scratch. They are both based on long term dog theory, the dominance theory (Ceasar) being in existence longer than the positive reinforcement methods of Ian Dunbar(Victoria). Researcher beware – there are very strong opinions on both.
I encourage anyone who is interested in any dog training to do their own thorough research. Personally, I feel that there are pros and cons to both methods and which ones to choose or what combination of trainings to use depends largely on the dog and the handler. I also believe that as a trainer, I should understand and appreciate each method for what it is and while I can have an opinion, it comes down to what my students want and need. I would of course refuse to use older, harsh training methods that border on abusive. This can be a fine line, a very gray area to some, but I use my common sense.
Maybe both fortunately and unfortunately, there is a lot of emotion that plays into most if not all of the decisions we make regarding our dogs. Take care not to let emotion make the decision for you, but use your emotion to help you make a training decision you are comfortable with and not what someone tells you to be comfortable with.