# Word Is Getting Out



## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

I have been looking to go visit some family in February and went to a boarding kennel today to see what they offered. I wasn't sure if I was going to go that route because of all the shots required and that some of them don't seem to cater to "special needs" that one might have with their pet, (ie: raw diet) but found one that sounded good. So I jumped in my car and went there to take a tour and grill them with questions.

Can I tell you? I'm having the best of luck in Maine. First I find a vet that doesn't have a problem with feeding raw NOR only getting rabies for the dogs. (Law...what else can I do?)

Now? I found a boarding kennel that thinks almost exactly the way I do. The owner and I talked a little bit and I told her I feed the hoodlums raw and she had zero problem with it, didn't even flinch. (And I found out the young receptionist also feeds her dogs raw. Huzzah!)

She then had someone take me on a tour and I wasn't expecting much more than some little kennel area with outdoor runs...which is what I saw, at first. Knowing my hoodlums, this would not have worked. Then they showed me the "Bed and Breakfast" suites.

Can we say PERFECT? I knew you could. They are like little apartments, away from all the noise and yapping of other dogs, (which would scare the girl and rile up the boy), they have sliding glass doors to their personal yard, (LOL!), and the kitchen is right outside their rooms for their feeding needs. Also, they will get play times 4 to 5 times a day! A DAY! Not just one 15 minute session like a kennel I worked for, 4. To. 5. times. a day! Brilliant! Oh and the playtimes....NO extra charge.

I was then led back to the front where I talked to the lady again and I told her how I came about the hoodlums, that the boy has dog aggression, that they shouldn't be boarded together because the girl gets all uppity about "her things", and they could fight if left alone unsupervised. I told her that MAYBE, if someone there was very experienced, the girl could meet other dogs, mellow dogs, one at a time, until her confidence was raised but that it would have to be someone who actually knows dogs and doesn't just think they do.

She said they have two very mellow dogs they refer to as "uncle dogs" because their temperament is so good. She said they could bring the girl to meet them and have them introduced slowly, (one at a time), until the girl felt comfy. I said she's great with one dog at a time but two dogs or more...she gets a little timid...a little work and she'll be fine. They said that they have the experience, the right type of dogs to do that and they would give it a try if I'm ok with it. Hell yah!

They also understand about the boy and his dog aggression as they've had those types of dogs before and they know that the boy and girl can play together IF someone is there to supervise. I explained that the girl loves to be chased but the boy will eventually catch her and he plays too rough. She eventually gets pissed about that and starts to fight. So, again, someone has to have experience with that. She said she has just the person.

THEN, we discussed treats and training and things like that and she is of the exact same school of thought as I am. 

Finally? I inquired about the vaccines. I said, "I read that I need only rabies and distemper, I do not have to get the bordatella, right?" She said yes because she's been showing dogs for years, she's had her dogs around hundreds of dogs and only ONE time, in all those years and shows and dogs, did any dog of hers develop a cough. Therefore, she does not believe it's necessary. She then told me she believes in the first vaccines, then one a year later and that was it. Never again.

I love this lady!

I told her if there's ever an opening there, call me, I would love to work there.

Anyway, now I have a vet who has no issue with raw and no issue with limited vaccines and I found a boarding kennel that has no issue with raw, understands the hoodlums' needs and also understands there is no need to over vaccinate PLUS she agrees with how I train.

I love this state!

Oh and the B&B suites? Only $10 a night more than the regular jail house kennels. Sweet.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Can I come and live with you!


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## runwiththewind (Aug 19, 2011)

Wow, you really lucked out. Now you have to pray your crew wants to leave that place and come back home with you. Do they also have a webcam so you can watch them?


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Wow! That is awesome! Sounds like you hit the jackpot where you live now.....


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

We are fortunate to live in a city that embraces dogs so warmly too! I was so excited to start Minnie's obedience class with no bordatella....I haven't heard of many classes/boarding facilities previously that would allow that. But this city is extremely dog friendly...and the consensus seems to be the less you do (vaccinations-wise), the better!


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

Wow, that sounds fantastic. I won't leave my babies in a traditional boarding kennel ever...they stay with grandpa or a doggie daycare type facility.


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

runwiththewind said:


> Wow, you really lucked out. Now you have to pray your crew wants to leave that place and come back home with you. Do they also have a webcam so you can watch them?


What's funny is I pass this kennel every single day on my way home from work. I just never paid much attention because I never thought I'd board my dogs. But this visit is extremely important to me. I looked up pet sitters first and realized, unless they were going to stay at my house, it was not going to be a good or fair situation for the boy. (He is not allowed in the house out of the crate unsupervised except for very short periods of time. Again, the fighting thing and he will still chew things if I'm not around for too long. The girl can be out because the worst thing she does is sit on my couch...or bed. (side note: what's funny is that every day I am getting ready to walk out the door, she goes in to her crate, acting like she's going to spend the time there. I tell her, "Oh please, you know you're going on that couch just as soon as you hear the car pull away...if you even wait that long."))

Anyway, what I saw on the pet sitting sites did not reassure me that the people could handle the situation if both dogs were playing and the boy got rough and the girl got pissed. They may love animals and have their own...but none of them said anything that made me believe they could handle aggression if they saw it. 

So, I started looking up kennels in my area. This was the last one on the list. And yes, quite the jackpot.

I don't think this one has webcams, one of them did but I think it was another one. This one does have cameras in the front of the office so the staff can see at all times, they carry radios, (which we did not get when I worked at a kennel), the people were extremely friendly and like I said, the lady, (manager, not owner, my mistake earlier), really seems to know dogs. She also said that phone calls while the dogs are there are welcomed and actually, she would prefer it. "We like to know that the dogs are missed." Oh yah, I'll be missing my hoodlums like you wouldn't believe. 

The website touts that it's a "vacation for your pets" because they want your pet to be as relaxed as possible while you are gone and they go out of their way to keep them busy and keep their minds off of the fact that you are gone. They pamper the crap out of your pet while you're gone, at no extra charge.

She said that some people have told her, (those who have been there before), will be driving towards the kennel again and as soon as they take the right to the street she's on, their dogs start getting all excited. 

I really did not want them to go in to a "traditional" kennel. I have worked at one of those before and while I did everything in my power with the time I had to ensure every customer got what they wanted, some of the volunteers were lazy about the play times, were lazy about cleaning up and the dogs lived in little cement cells with a guillotine door to an outside run. No, I can't do that to my hoodlums. This place, no one is let out through a guillotine door, they are taken out, by a person and played with, by a person. If they are dogs that get along well with others, they get to be out in various large areas with the dogs they get along with and play all damn day if they want.

Of all the dogs there, I saw one dog aggressive dog in a little suite, (not the B&B), and he will get his 4-5 times a day play time. All other dogs seemed extremely happy and content....man, they had all shapes and sizes, all models of dogs. They have a "geriatric" room for senior dogs or dogs recovering from surgery or who have a hard time getting around, in a quieter section of the building. They have a place for smaller dogs or more timid dogs, again, in a quieter place in the building. They have the regular, standard, jail cell type kennels for dogs that get along with every thing on earth and get to be out a lot and they have the B&B suites which are fricken neat.

Actually, here is their website:

Home


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## Janet At Nutro (Mar 11, 2011)

That's great how everything seems to be working out for you!
You deserve it!


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

I think it's nicer then some hotels I've stay in!!


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Ha, I'd be careful, they may not want to come home. :biggrin1:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

chowder said:


> I think it's nicer then some hotels I've stay in!!


yes, i agree - I looked at a similar one here (although I haven't asked about the food) where they have a luxury room with a TV and radio. I thought that was just a wee bit of overkill. Although come to think of it, when we leave the dogs alone we usually leave the TV on for them, so maybe not.


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

xellil said:


> yes, i agree - I looked at a similar one here (although I haven't asked about the food) where they have a luxury room with a TV and radio. I thought that was just a wee bit of overkill. Although come to think of it, when we leave the dogs alone we usually leave the TV on for them, so maybe not.


To be honest with you, I've kind of smirked at the idea of private rooms with all the luxuries in the past myself. But, it's either those or the regular kennels and knowing the hoodlums' temperaments, that would not work with these two. The boy would be all riled up the entire week and the girl would be cowering in a corner because it's so many and so loud. Maybe some day they will be able to mingle with the general population but we have work to do on the boy and the girl has started to love every dog on the planet as long as it's a little at a time.

I'm thinking, though, if I find a really well paying job, I may eventually put them in there during the day all week and have them really socialize but that's not for some time. If any place is going to do it right, it's going to be this place. We'll see what happens. But, for now, they get the special suites.


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## runwiththewind (Aug 19, 2011)

We have doggie daycare places where they pick up the dogs in a bus. I always took Bernie with me on my vacation. He's been to Mt. Dora Fla, Charlotte & Raleigh NC, Key West FL and St. Augustine FL. He's great to travel with. There's places that allow pets. I loved the historic hotel in Mt. Dora. Mount Dora Florida ~ Historic Hotel ~ Lakeside Inn


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

i'm glad you found a good kennel for
your dogs. when you go away you'll
feel good and won't be worried about
how the dogs ae being taken care of.
if i were going to kennel my dog i would
do a test run. i would take my dog to the kennel
for a few hours. then i would leave him for a 1/2 day.
likw anything i would slowly work him into it.
enjoy your vacation.


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

runwiththewind said:


> We have doggie daycare places where they pick up the dogs in a bus. I always took Bernie with me on my vacation. He's been to Mt. Dora Fla, Charlotte & Raleigh NC, Key West FL and St. Augustine FL. He's great to travel with. There's places that allow pets. I loved the historic hotel in Mt. Dora. Mount Dora Florida ~ Historic Hotel ~ Lakeside Inn


I have put one cat on a plane in my life and I will never do that to an animal again. It was so traumatizing for him that I almost lost him. I am flying down to see my family and since they have dogs, I don't think it's wise to bring mine not only because of the air transport but because we are still in training with the dog aggression.



doggiedad said:


> i'm glad you found a good kennel for
> your dogs. when you go away you'll
> feel good and won't be worried about
> how the dogs ae being taken care of.
> ...


That's actually a really good idea. I think I might just do that.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

As much as we would like to, it's not always feasible to travel with the dogs. I have taken my dogs on vacation the last few years and it's alot more work - we actually take two cars for a 16 hour one-way trip so we can fit in the dogs, my dad, and all our crap. And then when we get to where we are going, I don't like to leave the dogs alone in the motel and my relatives won't let them come to their house, so we all can't go somewhere at the same time. And when it's very hot like when we are usually travelling, it's hard on the dogs and we can't leave them in the car even for a few minutes to run into the roadside park rest room. One dog is particular doesn't travel well and she gets grumpy and out of sorts, and usually ends up sick. Etc. etc.

I wouldn't have a problem leaving them in a good kennel if I thought they would be happier than travelling. I'm not sure I like the idea of a web cam, I think I would be compusively watching them.


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