The people who run boarding facilities offer advice on what to look for, how to test out a kennel, and when to book
By Kate Oczypok
Dog owners want to make sure their furry family members are safe and active when they stay at kennels while the owners are on vacation. If you’re planning to take a summer vacation and need a safe place for your dog to stay, here are some tips from NoVA dog boarders that will help when you make reservations and when your pooch goes to the dog kennel.
Brandon Power. owner of Healthy Hound Playground in Sterling, recommends visiting a few dog boarding facilities to make sure you are comfortable with the facility and staff. Some critical items to look for include a clean and well-maintained facility and a well-trained staff. There should be separate daycare areas for small and large dogs and for low- and high-energy dogs.
Owners know their dogs and should plan accordingly.
“If the pet owner has an older, fragile dog, heavily medicated dog, or an alpha dog that does not play well with others, then the pet owner should research what kennel best suits their needs,” says Charles Richardson, partner at A Dog’s Day Out, which has locations in Ashburn, Springfield, Van Dorn, and Vienna.
“Our newest Springfield location offers a traditional kennel for dogs that prefer interacting with people over other dogs throughout their stay,” Richardson says.
Like humans, dogs aren’t going to be as nervous if you familiarize them with a boarding facility in advance. Many boarding spots offer day care. Scheduling a day or two at day care can be beneficial. That way your pet can socialize and get to know the routine.
It’s also worth boarding your dog at the facility before you take your vacation, or perhaps booking a few days of day care in advance to make sure it’s a good fit. It also could be helpful for the days when something comes up at the last minute and you need an emergency boarding.
“We just had someone who had a loved one pass suddenly and they were looking for a place to board their dog so they could get out of town to go to the funeral,” says Nelson Greene, regional manager for Dogtopia’s Fairfax and Falls Church locations. “Those things will always happen, but the better prepared you are and know it’s your dog’s regular day care, you’re going to be happy that your dog is going to be OK.”
Many area dog boarding facilities tend to book big holidays early.
Greene recommends starting the process of boarding your pet now for the Fourth of July.
“It may seem a little bit early, but most places are going to fill up for those bigger holidays like Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Christmas, and Thanksgiving,” he says. “They’re going to book up early, especially with our regular dogs.”
The same goes for A Dog’s Day Out. Richardson says that holidays and the summer months are when the company is at its busiest. Reservations are booked at least four to six weeks in advance. Richardson recommends dog owners make their dog’s boarding reservation before making their own vacation plans.
For the rest of the year, places like Healthy Hound Playground in Sterling recommend booking about three to four weeks ahead of time, according to Power.
Some kennels have food for your dog. Others ask you to bring what your dog would normally eat. At most places, you can buy food, if what you brought runs out.
“We encourage owners to bring their own food, as not to upset their dog’s GI tract that might occur due to an abrupt food change,” Power says.
Dogtopia recommends owners pack enough food for their pet’s entire stay, plus two additional meals. “The reason for that is dogs will often be a little confused or on strike and not want to eat and they express their displeasure by knocking their bowl of food over,” Greene says.
Extra meals also help in case a flight gets delayed or a family can’t pick up their pet at their original scheduled time.
For pets that become ill at their facilities, Dogtopia first calls their owners and if they can’t reach them, they call the dog’s emergency contact.
According to Power, Healthy Hound Playground makes every attempt to have the sick animal seen by their primary veterinarian. “If they are not available, we will ensure veterinary care is provided through one of our partner veterinarians,” he says. “Our staff will provide regular communication with the owner to ensure the desired veterinary care is provided accordingly.”
If your pet is on medication, be sure to review with staff how your pet likes to take their medicine.
“We don’t have a veterinarian on hand, so for us, we only administer oral and topical medications,” Greene says. “We can’t give injections or suppositories.”
Dogtopia’s goal is to keep the dog’s routine as close to home as possible. If your dog normally likes their medication wrapped up in a piece of turkey or cheese, be sure to provide the food when you drop off your dog.
Most facilities accept dogs of all ages. However, if you’re worried about leaving your senior dog, ask how other senior dogs have fared at the facility. Dogtopia does not have any age limits. “It’s hard to put age restrictions on dogs because I’ve had dogs that are 12 to 14 years old and are still very active,” Greene says.
For Dogtopia, it’s about the dogs being able to adapt and happily exist in their environment. “We don’t want them to stress out because if they stress out too much, then our places become a place they don’t want to be,” Greene says.
Healthy Hound Playground keeps a watchful eye on all its dogs, especially seniors. “We make sure they are receiving enough breaks from play and the proper amount of downtime to minimize the chance of injury due to over-exertion,” Power says.
At A Dog’s Day Out, playrooms are separated for the oldest and least mobile dogs. Richardson has noticed that younger dogs tend to look up to their elders as humans do. “The other dogs never bother their elder packmates,” he says.
Overnight staffing at dog kennels varies. A Dog’s Day Out does offer overnight care at half of its facilities, based on different local county regulations. Healthy Hound Playground has provided 24/7 care for over a decade.
While Dogtopia does not have overnight staffing, it does have security cameras with motion sensors and microphones on them.
“Our microphones are set to a certain level that is basically a crying dog,” Greene says. “So, if a dog moves a certain amount away from where they’re supposed to be sleeping, or a microphone picks up a certain noise, I get an alert.”
Sometimes Greene gets false alarms. Dogtopia welcomes its furry guests to bring a toy with them if it doesn’t make any noise. “The most common noise is a squeaker toy and a squeaker to a microphone sounds like a dog barking,” Greene laughs.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
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