Who takes care of your furbabies while you''re out of town?

[musey]

We're heading to Hawaii for a long weekend at the end of the month, and faced with the task of finding someone to take care of our dog. We usually just take him with wherever we go, but as most of you probably know, Hawaii has very strict importing rules, so we can't take him along.

We took him to a well recommended free-roam kennel for a 2-night stay in October, and he came home with kennel cough

which ended up costing us about $80 to get treated, on top of the $45/night fee for his stay. If we use the same kennel again, he'll be getting the vaccine (I don't know how much this costs... any clues?).

Anyway, we've been looking in to alternate options. Unfortunately, we have no family within 2000 miles and our friends all live in non-dog-friendly apartment buildings, so our options are limited to stay-at-your-house pet sitters and kennels.


What do you do when you go out of town? And if you live in the LA area, do you have recommendations for pet sitters, etc.?

 

[sumbride]

We have a petsitter that visits once a day to feed our cats. This is one of the many reasons we don''t have a dog.

Our petsitter does do "multiple visits" for people with dogs, coming by several times a day, but it''s expensive.

 

[Dee*Jay]

We used to send our two to a local place but EVERY TIME we got them back at least one of them had some sort of ailment. Bacterial infection (yuck--I won''t even tell you all the *pleasantries* of that one!), ear infection, something else I can''t quite remember right now... And our place requires that all dogs have the required vaccinations and that you provide a copy of the vet bill showing that they are current, so I can''t even imagine what they would be suffering from if everyone didn''t have current shots.

Now we have our dog walker come and stay at the house. They LOVE her, it''s a familar place, and she''s actually cheaper than bording both of them on a daily basis.

 

[Erin]

Mom and Dad watch him because he's diabetic and I won't trust just anybody to keep him on his strict schedule of diet, exercise, and of course insulin 2x a day.

 

[BriBee]

I''m lucky enough to have family close by that can watch our animals. However, there have been times that this still doesn''t work and we usually have a friend come and stay at our house and watch the animals. It''s a tough chore since we have 2 labs and 3 cats, so we always try to pay them (if they''ll accept) or else we try to bring back a nice gift from where we''ve been or give a gift certificate to a nice dinner or something like that.

 

[Kaleigh]

I have a petsitter that I've used for the past 8 years. She comes 3 times a day. Turns on the lights, collects the mail etc.. And can call her at the last minute which I love.

 

[Selkie]

I found a good pet sitter through this site: Pet Sitters International.

 

[risingsun]

We have a friend, who is a vet tech, who boards our dog. We call it "doggy day camp," since she has four dogs of her own. We have our pet sitter come in to care for the two cats. They do well. I don't like putting any of the furkids in the kennel for fear of illnesses and isolation.

ETA: Sorry, this didn't give you any answers to your specific questions.

 

[monarch64]

DH has a single male friend who LOVES coming over and having a house to himself for a few days...he rents an apt. but doesn''t have a w/d in his place, so he is usually ecstatic to get the word that we are leaving town. He watches the dogs before and after he works, gets to do his laundry, and has free run of the whole house (he loves DH''s big screen in the basement and I suspect instead of playing with the dogs he plays video games or watches sports all day long)...he''s a good house/dog sitter all in all. I wouldn''t trust anyone else really. We usually stock up the fridge/freezer with everything he likes to eat, and pay him $200 a week.

We''ve used other friends/neighbors in the past and had horrible luck...we once came home to one of my ex-girlfriends sneaking out the back entrance to our house and driving away while we watched...we went inside to find that our male beagle had thrown up all over the kitchen, and also there was evidence that other dogs had been inside (bigger paw prints) they had apparenty had a heyday in the muddy back yard and romped all over our brand new furniture. She''d snuck out with nothing to say, and DH never could pin her hubby down to anything. So be very careful of who you let watch your furbabies.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

My brother-in-law always watches the babies. They just love him to pieces!!

 

[zoebartlett]

Do you have a neighbor who could come in and check on the dog twice (or three times) per day? That''s what we might do the next time we go away. I like the idea of keeping the animals (dogs, cats, etc.) in their own familiar territory and having someone check on them.

 

[Rhea]

In the US our kitty had a pet sitter that came to check on her every day. In the UK I''d love to have a service like that but have yet to find one so our kitty goes to stay with my in-laws.

I really liked the pet sitter because it was always the same one so kitty had time to get used to her and kitty also got to stay in an environment that she''s comfortable with.

 

[luckystar112]

We board our two dogs. It's a blast, let me tell you.

A week's vacation costs about $500.
The only bad thing that happened is one time one of our dogs got kennel cough...the very first time we boarded him. Both dogs have been fine since though.

We also have two cats and some fish. Our neighbor stops by while we're gone to put food in their bowl. I REALLY hate giving this guy the responsibility, but no one else has time to do it. This last time, we came to one of our fish dead, and cat poop and pee everywhere because he apparently didn't see the need to be nice and clean it up for us/clean the litterbox. Granted I guess that's not his job, and it's not like we pay him (he just does it as a favor for FI) but STILL! Oh, and I noticed he had gone and taken two of our bowls from our kitchen cabinet and filled them with food in addition to the cat bowl that we already have. So basically he figured if he just filled a bunch of containers with food he'd only have to stop by every few days (which means that our fish weren't being fed everyday, which is probably why one is dead!).

 

[Efe]

We have a dog nanny that comes and stays at our house. It works out to be cheaper than boarding, which I have never done ''cause I would worry the entire time I was away. Why don''t you check with your vet for a recommendation or talk with the people that work there. Sometimes they do this on the side to make extra money and you know that they love animals so will more than likely take good care of them.

 

[LAJennifer]

We are in Los Angeles and have cats. We use http://thepetstaff.com/ . A 30 minute visit is $20 - though I''m sure a dog might require a couple of visits a day. Anyway, it is an excellent service.

 

[pinkstars]

My BF and I watch his parents dogs whenever they go out of town. Sometimes they hire a dog sitter which comes in during the middle of day and might take them for a walk, but usually it''s just us.
We also watch his brother and SIL''s pets if they do anything, which is fun since their animals are younger.
And we''ve house sat for friends of the family and our own friends. I like to think we''re pretty good at the job.

 

[Catmom]

A friend of my daughter comes in and house sits and takes care of our pets. They are used to her and don''t have to leave our house. We are incredibly lucky that she will do this for us.

 

[blinkydoll]

Musey--- do you have a thread of pics of your furbaby? is it a Pom?

I am running into this dilema --- we are heading down to florida at the end of this month and we have a little yorkie-- and we have never left him like this before---- we can''t bring him bec my aunt in FL has a bird and it just wouldn''t work out-- stress the bird out etc---- so I am thinking of having someone come to the house and feed him and our 2 kitties everyday-- and hopefully play for a bit etc.
We are worried he will get so sad without us.

here is a pic of my little Peebles--- (thought this thread needed a pic--hope u don''t mind?)

 

[firebirdgold]

Well, before we moved, Monster Dog stayed at a 'free-range' kennel that he just loved. I need to find one locally soon for weekend get aways, but for longer trips he now stays at camp inlaws.

He has stayed at regular kennels many times before and was just fine. I always pay for extra walks though. Of course you have to have your dog vaccinated for kennel cough. I'm surprised any kennel would accept your dog without the vaccine?


Monster dog has stayed at the kennel right next to the LA airport. They're very nice people and he enjoyed himself. lax kennel club My parent's dog used to stay there alot until they found this fancy free-roam doggy resort in Topanga Canyon (I think).


The kitties are fairly self-sufficient. We get a friend to stop by every day or two but he doesn't do litters. I used to kennel the cats too, but the last two times our older boy came home injured, so that's out. I think I'll hire a pet sitter for the kitties for our next big trip. (Thanks for the idea!) I couldn't ever do a pet sitter for the dog though. He'd probably eat him/her the first time the poor soul tried to get into the house!


ETA: dogs are very adaptable to new enviroments and routines, unlike cats. Dogs need people, cats need their homes. I feel M.dog is happier being with people and other dogs, but he always has his bed and his things.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 1/14/2008 1:03:16 AM
Author: blinkydoll
Musey--- do you have a thread of pics of your furbaby? is it a Pom?

I am running into this dilema --- we are heading down to florida at the end of this month and we have a little yorkie-- and we have never left him like this before---- we can''t bring him bec my aunt in FL has a bird and it just wouldn''t work out-- stress the bird out etc---- so I am thinking of having someone come to the house and feed him and our 2 kitties everyday-- and hopefully play for a bit etc.
We are worried he will get so sad without us.

here is a pic of my little Peebles--- (thought this thread needed a pic--hope u don''t mind?)

Can''t Peebles stay in a different room from the birdie? I know birds can get very stressed out but isn''t there some solution so you don''t have to leave little Peebles?

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

Is there a possibility of having one of your friends stay at your place while you are away?

When we go away we usually have one of our friends stay at our house and they seem to enjoy the break from roommates and having an entire house to themselves. Our usual friend takes care of the dog and the cats. Unfortunately we have a limited number of options with our dog as he is MEAN MEAN MEAN and can not be left at a kennel and can not be left with a petsitter who does not know him. The most recent time we left him, our usual friend who watches him let us know the dog freaked out on him and tore his jeans when he attacked him for no reason! (Just as an aside, the dog is my SO''s and came with the package. I personally can''t stand the dog and wish we never had to deal with him in the first place because he is SO MEAN!).

We also like knowing there is someone at our house. This way if anything breaks or bursts or jams or anything while we are away, there is someone in the house to make sure nothing gets too out of hand. I also have my neighbors, who I am good friends with, keep an eye on our house/pet sitter to make sure he''s not turning our home into party central.

 

[musey]

Blinkydoll, I don't have a thread but I attached a picture of Colby

He's a pomeranian/papillon mix. Our building is full of dog breed "purists," so we joke that our pup is a paperanian love child

 

[musey]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone!

We ended up mass-emailing our local friends to ask if any of them knew of a good pup sitter, and one of them volunteered herself. We were kind of surprised to have anyone willing, because we''ll be gone on a Thursday and Friday (so it''ll conflict with work, etc.) but she says she''s obsessed with our dog and jumped at the chance

She''ll be staying at our apartment with him.

We are paying her... We''d have payed the kennel about $200 so that''s what we offered her... anyone know if that''s reasonable for 4 days of housesitting?

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Hi Musey,

I too live in LA and am always trying to figure out the best option for my dog when we travel. Many of the options are dependent on the specifics of your dog (is he neutered, how large is he, is he only housebroken as opposed to being papertrained, do you have multiple dogs, for how long will you be away, etc. etc.) as well as your location.

These days, I''ve developed a coterie of friends who are able to come over each day to take my dog for a walk. This only works well because I have the combination of (1) a small dog who (2) is no longer a puppy so he''s content to just do his normal routine of lying around a lot who (3) does not get neurotic when left by himself and who (4) was papertrained as a puppy so he isn''t having to "hold it in" for 23 hours. Though my friends wouldn''t accept payment, we make sure that we give nice "thank you" presents (typically spa treatments, one rarely goes wrong with Burke Williams); as a result, we have lots of babysitting options!

I''ve found that if you''re able to "lower the bar" with your dog''s requirements, you''ll find that even your non-dog-loving friends are able to help out if they only have to come over once a day. Is this an option for you?

As for the out-of-home options, I can try to find my list of recommended boarding facilities. I think it''s one in the northern part of the SFV and another by LAX. They require neutering and current shots though, and as you''ve learned, kennel cough is the most important. Kennel cough is VERY contagious-- your dog can catch it just by sniffing another dog for 5 seconds on a walk around the ''hood-- so preemption is the way to go. For low-cost options, (1) Petco has low-cost shot clinics, call for schedule, and (2) most vets have a reduced-cost shot clinic for their usual patients, but you need to pro-actively call and ask.

Anyhow, let me know if you would like me to find the list. If you''re interested, I should have a list of petsitters who were recommended to me, but I haven''t used anyone off the list yet since the Burke Williams enticement tends to make finding petsitters among my friends very, very easy.

f-d-l

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Wow, there are some really cute puppy photos on this thread!!

Date: 1/14/2008 3:25:44 PM
Author: musey
Thanks for all the replies, everyone!


We ended up mass-emailing our local friends to ask if any of them knew of a good pup sitter, and one of them volunteered herself. We were kind of surprised to have anyone willing, because we''ll be gone on a Thursday and Friday (so it''ll conflict with work, etc.) but she says she''s obsessed with our dog and jumped at the chance

She''ll be staying at our apartment with him.


We are paying her... We''d have payed the kennel about $200 so that''s what we offered her... anyone know if that''s reasonable for 4 days of housesitting?

I just saw the follow-up post... she gets to play with a cute dog for 4 days and make an easy $200 too! Heck, I''d volunteer myself! LOL j/k

FYI, the petsitters who have been recommended to me vary their costs based on distance to travel, but to have a petsitter come by the house twice a day for 45 minutes each visit charge around $25-30/day. (Most seem to be actors based out of Sherman Oaks for some reason.) So yes, it looks like you''re paying more than the going rate, but also getting better "service" as well.

f-d-l

 

[blinkydoll]

Awww what a cutie!

 

[bee*]

Normally my family and I try to plan our holidays around each other so that one of us will be home to mind our furbabies. This trip we just took to NY was the first one where all of us have gone together in 9 years so my sister''s boyfriend moved in to take care of them and D took Amber. That''s great that you found a friend who will move in-your dog will be happier in his own environment.