A few days ago, I posted this chart to my Social Media pages. I have since updated it for clarification and I wanted to further comment on my services versus traditional kennels.
In no way am I trying to say that traditional boarding facilities are bad. There are many wonderful kennels out there that provide a very safe way to take care of your beloved dog (or cat, rabbit, etc) while you are away. I simply offer something a little different and typically a little less expensive.
I used traditional kennels for my own dog and had a variety of experiences with them. The first kennel I took him to was in Colorado and was absolutely amazing. He was just a puppy when I first started taking him there and it was a great way to socialize him with other dogs, which was highly recommended by the breeder. After moving to Utah, I had a variety of experiences with different kennels.
The good? Similar to the facility in Colorado, there were large play areas, kennel time was limited to feeding & sleeping activities and there was plenty of staff for supervision. Additionally, the kennels and yards were clean and individual kennels were large with plenty of room to move around.
The bad? Kennel time was not limited to feeding & sleeping activities, which meant he was not getting enough outside/social/play/exercise time. The extra time in a kennel may have been due to lack of staff to properly supervise the amount of dogs they were boarding.
The ugly? The staff on my last visit to one such facility did not follow my specific instructions for handling my dog and a staffer did something that led to a behavioral issue. After several prior successful stays at that facility, they declined to board him anymore unless I paid an additional fee for a trainer (one on their own payroll) to work with him.
All that to say....
While I want to be the best fit for your dog, that may not always be the case. I do limit the number of dogs that I board/daycare to ensure that I can provide them the supervision & attention that they deserve.
That means that my space is limited and I may not always be available. In addition, when a dog owner lets me know up front that their dog is not well suited for boarding with other dogs, I honor their request to be the only dog during their stay with me (as long as the dates are not already booked). This can limit my availability even more.
I encourage dog owners to keep a few options open to them for boarding & daycare, whether that's other sitters, kennel facilities, friends or family, etc. Not only will this alleviate the stress of finding last minute accommodations for your doggo when necessary, it can give them a little variety too. :)
I hope you and your pets have a great day and that I see you back here soon!
Happy trails and wagging tails,
Lori
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