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I've been trying to sort out boarding for Mollydog and Az (yes, again!)   I don't go away much, but from time to time it's nice to have a weekend away without hounds.

They used to go to a home-based boarding place locally, but the problem with that is that they do fairly long walks there.  They did well for a while, but it's just too much for them now.  They can really only cope with a mile or so, and so need a place that understands that mostly what they want is to mooch about gently and snuggle in their beanbags and have a gentle trot a couple times a day.  Last time Mollydog just slept and slept after she got back; she was shattered. 

So I contacted these people: www.barkingmad.uk.com.   It all sounded great to start with, they match you up with what is more or less a paid foster home, selected for the needs of the dogs.  They can stay with another dog in his own home, or with someone that doesn't have dogs at all.

We had a good chat about the hounds needs, and  it all sounded fine.  It was a bit pricy at £30 to register and then £29 a night for the two of them, but I can afford that for the right place (I don't travel much!).  It seemed well worth it, as Az has separation anxiety problems and is afraid of traffic, which rules a lot of places out as he does need a quiet place where there are people about a lot of the time. 

But then she said that they have an absolute rule that they pick the dogs up and deliver them back again. You never get to meet the people who will be looking after them, and have no idea where they are taken!

That seems like a hell of a risk to me!  If my hounds are going somewhere to stay, then I absolutely want to know where they are, what the setup is, and have met their carers, I don't want to even consider anywhere where they turn up at your house and just take the dogs away. How would you know where they had gone?  They could put them into a cheap kennels for all I'd know!

In other news, teeny Susie Shortlegs has gone to her new home today.   It seems rather quiet without her bustling about grabbing at flies. 

Date: 2010-07-26 03:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thecatsamuel.livejournal.com
I'd be worried too - it's perfectly reasonable to want to meet their carers. After all, you would *never* leave them in kennels if you hadn't seen it and met the staff, would you?

The cattery I used for Sam had a no-appointments visiting system so you could drop in anytime (in their open hours) unannounced and they would show you round. I really liked that - I thought it showed how confident they were in the standards.

Hope you find somewhere nice for them.

Date: 2010-07-26 03:44 pm (UTC)
ext_189645: (Mollydog goes boing)
From: [identity profile] bunn.livejournal.com
That sounds good. :-)

I did check out kennels for Molls when I first had her, but she was so obviously stressed by the sound of barking that I didn't have the heart to go through with it, she thought I was returning her to the rescue I think :-(

She'd probably cope better now, she's a lot more relaxed and would probably fit in anywhere - but Az is a sensitive soul and his separation anxiety makes him a poor candidate for kennels.

Date: 2010-07-27 01:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thecatsamuel.livejournal.com
I'm going to have this problem with Stefan - I don't want him thinking he's been sent back again!

I don't suppose there's anyone nice and local who can come in for a bit each day and look after them? Is it worth advertising for that? Hope you can find a solution.

Date: 2010-07-27 02:34 pm (UTC)
ext_189645: (Sunset)
From: [identity profile] bunn.livejournal.com
We do have a pop-in person for the cats, and find that works pretty well - with 6 cats, it's cheaper than boarding too!

But dogs are a bit more needy (well, mine are) they really need to have people around them most of the time. :-/ We could get a live-in dogsitter who would come and stay here while we are away, but philmophlegm isn't keen on the idea.

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