How to Choose a Good Dog Boarding Facility?

When summer vacation or holidays throughout the year come around, many of us bring our dogs along on our trips, since they're part of the family.

But when we have to fly to another country, especially if it's far away, a plane trip isn't always the best option for our dog. That's why we need to know how to choose a quality boarding facility to care for it in our absence.

Boarding Facility vs. Caretakers?

We have two options — either go to a dog boarding facility where our dogs will live in kennels (cages, pens, spaces) and be taken out for walks two or three times a day.

Or, hire a person who'll keep the dog at their home and provide more personalized care. The price is similar in both cases, so let's look at the pros and cons.

Dog Boarding Facility

Dog boarding facilities are businesses that make a living caring for our dogs. That's why they put a lot of effort into caring for them well and making sure they're in perfect shape when we pick them up upon our return.

This gives them a high level of trust, since no reputable business will do a poor job and risk getting a bad reputation.

Most dog boarding facilities have specialized staff (trainers), and in many cases even their own vets. Plus 24-hour monitoring service.

Personal Caretaker

Many people offer to care for dogs to earn some extra money. We can find them on sites like "Gudog" or "DogBuddy," where we can also see other clients' reviews.

Most of these people aren't professionally qualified, but they do have experience caring for dogs. So, if our dog is sociable and well-behaved, there shouldn't be a problem.

That said, if we have a "tough" or escape-prone dog, this might not be the best option.

What Should We Require?

Caring for a family member is very important to us, which is why, whoever cares for our dog in our absence, we should require certain minimum quality standards.

Requirements for Dog Boarding Facilities

For our dog to be well and receive proper care, we should require these minimums from our boarding facility:

• Three daily walks of over half an hour each.
• Qualified staff in dog training/education.
• Veterinary service (external or internal, but active).
• Liability insurance.
• Kennels/enclosures of an acceptable size.
• Maximum hygiene.
• 24-hour monitoring.
• Daily photos/videos.
• In summer, cool kennels. In winter, heated kennels.

Requirements for Caretakers

If we choose to leave our dog in the hands of an individual caretaker, we should also require certain minimums to make sure our dog will be well cared for:

• Good reviews from other clients.
• A spacious, comfortable space to house the dog.
• Demonstrable experience in dog care.
• Liability insurance.
• Availability of vet services in case of emergency (meaning, they have a car).
• Maximum responsibility.
• Knowing the total number of dogs they'll be caring for alongside ours (exclusivity being much better).
• Visiting the home where our dog will be staying / meeting other dogs if they share the home.
• Daily photos and videos.

Be Very Careful With...

Not to scare you, but you need to be careful when leaving your dog in someone else's hands. So there's nothing better than avoiding boarding facilities and people with poor practices.

Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Don't leave your dog with people/facilities that have no prior positive reviews.
• Be suspicious of anyone who makes everything sound perfect — perfection doesn't exist.
• Avoid places that don't show an excellent level of cleanliness.
• Avoid letting your dog mix with other potentially aggressive dogs.
• Don't trust whoever offers the cheapest price — quality isn't cheap.

So Your Dog Feels at Home

Nowhere feels like home, we'll admit that upfront. But that doesn't mean it can't have a good stay, or even have a lot of fun at its new temporary home.

To keep your dog from missing you too much, remember to bring these things to its new accommodation:

• Its food, so it doesn't have digestive issues.
• A toy, its favorite one if possible.
• Its bed, essential for it to feel comfortable.
• Medications, in case it needs to take any.

And above all, when you drop your dog off at its boarding facility, don't say a long goodbye, don't cry, and don't give it sad puppy eyes. Because they pick up on these things, and they'll get very nervous.

Simply leave it at its new home and don't look back. It's hard for you, but it's best for it.