Adding Blake to our lives has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. He just brings so much joy into our lives. Some worries too, but they are far outweighed by the joys!
One thing that is a bit tricky is going on holiday. We don’t have any friends or family nearby who can, or will, look after him. And Blake dislikes car journeys, so we can’t even take him with us. So we’ve not been on holiday together since we got him.
Except for our trip to New York. My parents very kindly came over from Denmark to look after him. But obviously, that’s not possible all the time. Especially not if we want to go to Denmark to visit my parents. :-)
The place where he goes to doggy day care also has kennels where dogs can stay but we don’t think he’d react well to that. It would remind him too much of being at Dogs Trust. Of course they treat them as well as they can at Dogs Trust but it must be a stressful experience nonetheless. We don’t want him to go somewhere that would remind him of that.
So we’re looking into home boarding. We’ve found a few nearby that sound promising. No idea how he’d react to that, being with strangers, but if he liked the people he’d probably be just fine without us for a few days.
To be honest, I’m not sure how I’d react to him being with strangers! :-)
Have you tried home boarding for your dogs? Or cats maybe?
We use a home boarder for our 2 dogs when we travel. It kills me but I think it is much harder on me than them. I would never leave them in a kennel situation just so I could take a vaca.
Yes, this is why we've only been away together this one time since we got Blake, we just couldn't leave him in a kennel. We're hopeful that we can find a nice home boarding place for him. As long as he gets attention and treats and walks I'm sure he'll be fine. Like you said, it'll probably be harder for us (me!). :-)
I have cats rather than a dog and when we go on holiday I found a schoolgirl (6th form, studying for her A levels) who lives nearby and is willing to come in twice a day to feed the cats for pocket money
. They are both rescues and would not be happy to go into a cattery. My hairdresser recommended the girl. Is there someone locally you trust who could suggest someone who could pop in and feed him/ perhaps walk your dog?
Sadly, there isn't really anyone nearby who could do that. And I don't think it would work too well anyway. Dogs need more company than cats, I think. They're pack animals so it would be mean to leave him alone apart from walks and feeding for an extended period.
My mom did home boarding with her dog (recently passed away at an advanced age) often over the past few years. I believe Mom had Gus do a few short stays (over one night or even just for several hours) so he could get to know the boarder before leaving for a longer period of time. He did better there with a person and other animals than he did staying at Mom's house by himself and having my brother look after him.