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Going to Hawaii for Two Weeks ... CAN'T take Winston..

3K views 28 replies 15 participants last post by  Ewokpup 
#1 ·
We're going next Summer. I'm really worried about Winston. We usually take him with us on trips. When we can't, he stays with family. The family is also going with us [a big extended family trip].

I looked into taking him but it's really dicey they have lots of rules and if I mess up, he could be stuck in quarantine there.

His best friend Pepper [my brother's dog] will be with him. We thought it would be best to keep them together.

I have time to do some trial runs with kennels or sitters...Do you guys use a kennel or a pet sitter? What are my options? Thanks.
 
#2 ·
I would just stay home and not go to Hawaii:pound: I would see if you can find someone to stay at the house while your gone. A kennel would be out of the question for me. To bad we don't live closer because I'm going to Hawaii in August and need a sitter.
 
#3 ·
In general, I do kennel-free boarding. The place I go has webcams so you can check in your little guy. The dogs get to play all day with each other and then get to sleep on their own beds. In general, they'll let dogs from the same house/family share a room. The webcam is great if you're nervous, so you can always check in and see them having a ball.
 
#4 · (Edited)
the kennel i was looking at has little condos with tv on animal planet and the dogs would be together. they also do individual or group play time and they get a bedtime treat. LOL. should have clarified.
winston doesn't play well with some dogs [he was bitten as pup] so he'd do individual play...
i don't know about webcam. i think there's only one in the group play area. i'll ask. that would be cool.

i love winston but i'm going to Hawaii.

Suzi, i'll fly out and stay at your house. always wanted to see oregon! ;O) and would love hawaii details as we're in early stages of planning...what island? what resort? what things are you doing etc. you can message me if you don't want to post here!

here's the place I'm considering. It's right down the street and gets good reviews. We'd get the penthouse for the two and it includes playtime. :O) my DH thinks I'm nuts of course.

http://www.petsuitesofamerica.com/canine/suites
 
#5 ·
Which island are you going to!?? we are going to Maui SOON and are VERY thankful to be able to leave Tillie with my mom (2hrs away) otherwise I don't know what we would do. There is NOTHING here and no one we have found that would be able to care for her... :(
 
#6 ·
We are going to Oahu/Maui for 14 nights! Please message me or post about your Maui trip!!

My girlfriend uses a petsitter and is going to pass the information along. If we have pepper and winston in our house, that might go well. I just feel safer having them in a contained place like a boarding situation.
 
#7 ·
I have someone who comes and stays at my house with our dogs. My guys need someone to sleep in bed with them. I found a fantastic young lady on www.sittercity.com that I have used for many years now. She is a teacher and has a small apartment. She loves moving in here and staying with my dogs. You could also consider www.dogvacay.com. They have people who watch dogs in their homes on there. Some only watch one or two dogs at a time, so you could have them watch the two of them at the sitter's home. Just a few options to consider.
 
#8 ·
I wouldn't do the doggy daycare. I think it is stressful for the little ones. Plus, I don't think people are there 24hrs. I have someone stay at my house. I feel my guys are more comfortable in their own house. I did find a gal who does daycare in her home. It is mostly small dogs and quite homey. I would consider that before a kennel type atmosphere.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I wouldn't do the doggy daycare. I think it is stressful for the little ones.
If doggie daycare is totally new to the dogs, it definitely can be stressful. The place I board my pup is the same place he goes to doggie daycare 3-4x/month. He loves it there, loves the people, and they love him. He gets SO excited when we pull up to the daycare/boarding place. So, if you're considering a place like that, do a few trials of daycare to get them comfortable. It should be fun for them and you'll be less worried.

Edited to add: Be sure it's separated by dog size and that there's some sort of screening process to make sure the dogs get along.
 
#9 ·
I have boarded mine. I have also had someone come stay with them in my home. I have a pet sitter when I have to travel in my state. I board them when we go out of town. I want them with me in whatever state we are visiting. Enjoy your trip. Hawaii is on my bucket list.
 
#10 ·
check to see if there is a Camp Bow Wow in your area. The have two options. One being you take the dog to them and they have lots of play time with other dogs the same size as them. At night they will retire to their own condo. They also have a option where someone will come out to your house.
We haven't left Maya yet, but I have being checking around so I will be prepared when ever that time might happen.
 
#12 ·
I've visited a dozen doggy daycares in recent months. All were supposedly high end resorts.....I know my guys would be wigged out in every place I saw, except for one. The one that was in some lady's home. She was there all day with the dogs. The barking alone in a commercial place would be too much for my guys. You would be surprised at how affordable having someone stay at your house can be. Also. doggy vacay looks amazing and the prices are reasonable!
 
#13 ·
That's so strange. In the one's I've gone to (tried ~4 in my area), they were all great, all supervised with a person present plus webcam and just varied on pricing. There was some barking when new people showed up, but it quickly died down. At times, there have been up to 4 or 5 other Havanese in the 20 dog limit daycare group. On the webcam, my Mars splits his time between lapsitting, napping up on a chair, and playing with other dogs - he definitely has a preference for other Havs or other similar sized fluffy dogs. Marlowe wasn't a big fan of 2 of the places because there was a big dog group kept nearby, it was a lot more noise with few places to be left alone to nap and in one, the person supervising wasn't very engaging with the dogs.
 
#14 ·
Huh. Your place sounds pretty sweet! I even went to the cage free ones!
One had such a great website. I got there and I was horrified! It was basically a very old kennel. The dogs were in cages in a cold & dark room. My jaw pretty much hit the floor! They had 175 dogs on a good day. I don't think many of the dogs ever got out of their CELL/CAGE.

This is the place. Looks amazing until you take a tour of the dungeon. It pretty much looked like a prison for dogs....

http://www.holidayhousepetresort.com/services.php
 
#15 ·
So a bit of a long rambling reply here...

Coach has traveled in planes from Dallas to California, driven twice across the country. Spent a few weeks (one at a time) at Camp Bow Wow in Dallas in addition to a once a week doggy day care fun.

One day a week at a wonderful doggy day care in Marin (No Cal) when we moved back and then 10 days there when we couldn't take him with us for our son's graduation.

Three weeks with my wonderful groomer who loves him like his own this September when we went to Australia (DH work and vacation).

Then stuck in a Cargo hold so that we could bring him here to the UK. (they don't allow dogs to fly in in the cabin and we weren't going to leave him for 4 months) I wake up feeling so guilty about how traumatized he was when I picked him up at Heathrow. Shaking, ears down, tail down, wouldn't let me out of his sight... but, he was fine in a day. He's happy and adjusting and though I don't ever want to put him through the cargo thing again (luckily don't have to coming back to the states) he has been through a lot of experiences. We can take him anywhere, pubs... hotels, driving long distances.

I think it's kind of like kids and life and learning to be adaptable. Don't get me wrong, there was a doggy day care in SF that I tried out one day for work and I WILL NEVER take him back there, I could tell when I picked him up it wasn't good. But the two other places I've used he loves to go to, they love him.... it's also great socialization for him.

Am I spoiled that my groomer will take him, yes... he now has a place to go and sleep in her bed and hang with her two dogs... he's in heaven, but I wouldn't think twice about taking him to the kennel I used to use.

But, now in the UK, I'm again looking into kennels (stressful) so that DH and I can get a few good weekends in traveling to Europe (hello it's like flying from SF to San Diego for the weekend). I'd love to take him, but the stupid UK rules still apply about getting him back in...

my two cents....
 
#19 ·
I am willing to pay anything for someone to come and stay at my home, and sleep in bed with my guys!! My poor Lily would die of a heart attack if she were away from us AND her home. I too checked out Camp Bow Wow a few years ago. I left Lily and Lexi there, and got to watch them on webcam. Lily was a wreck - so bad that I went and got them in the middle of the day. A few days later (despite having the bordatella shot) they got bordatella!! So - I was not comfortable even trying to send them somewhere.
I highly recommend that you speak with your vet staff. My in home dog sitter is one of the vet techs and I know there are a few others that work there too. Check with other vet offices in your area as well. At least you then know that the person really loves animals! Good luck.
Hawaii is the TOP item on my bucket list! I am sure you will have a fantastic time once you know Winston is well taken care of.
 
#20 ·
I am willing to pay anything for someone to come and stay at my home, and sleep in bed with my guys!! My poor Lily would die of a heart attack if she were away from us AND her home. I too checked out Camp Bow Wow a few years ago. I left Lily and Lexi there, and got to watch them on webcam. Lily was a wreck - so bad that I went and got them in the middle of the day.
Yes, webcams are really helpful in monitoring how your pup likes doggie daycare. Camp Bow Wow was Marlowe's least favorite of the daycares we tried. He tolerated it okay, but he wasn't having fun and couldn't wait to go home. At our current daycare, he gets superexcited in the car and then at the end of the day often runs away when I show up (mostly if his favorite sitter is watching him that day) because he's having too much fun and doesn't want to leave.
 
#25 ·
I agree Linda - like I said, after 1/2 day of watching Lily stress, I went and got her. I could not let them be in an environment like that. When I was there, the big dogs DID seem to love interacting with each other. I didnt like also that NO one is there during the night. If there were a fire, I would want someone there to get the dogs out!!

I sure hope you are able to find someone to come to your house to care for Winston!
 
#29 ·
Miss Yorkie used to stay with a family from church who loved dogs but weren't ready to have one full time. Then they ended up getting a dog and since Miss Y doesn't like Othwr dogs we found another teen for her to vacation with. One has been border twice...once at the vet, which she seemed to do okay at, and once somewhere else...at that place she came back with irritated paws from scratching or clawing at a crate door. I felt horrible. But there was also a big tropical storm that weekend and I knew she was secure there.


Before Bama, I stayed for a week at a friend's house with their two dogs. They paid me, but I would have been thrilled just to hang out with dogs for a week and use their washer/drier (we didn't have one).

I would recommend trying to find someone to stay in your home or let the pups stay in theirs.
 
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