“You can't board this dog,” Walter told the Dude as they shuffled around the bowling lane. “It has papers!”
Unfortunately, that's an attitude that many dog owners take, even those caring for non-pedigreed canines, and it becomes problematic when they need to be away from home for any reason.
Boarding dogs is an important service, because dog owners can always be around. But what do you do when your dog simply can’t be boarded?
A Professional Approach
Well, one big question is this – if your dog hasn't taken well to being boarded, are you boarding it with a professional?
Many local boarding venues are essentially corporate “pet hospitals”, generic and faceless institutions, or even just someone's home. Even the corporate boarding choices often use young, untrained employees to manage the dogs. As you might imagine, this can have its challenges. You get the feeling that your dog isn’t getting the attention that he or she needs, or that he or she might not have fresh food and water, or you might obsess over your pup’s med schedule, etc.
When you choose a boarding venue with professional trainer staff, they have a much broader knowledge of how to keep dogs comfortable. They understand the finer aspects of dog behaviors and dog psychology. Their expertise makes its way into accommodating your dog during the day and night as your dog is being boarded. It takes care of a lot of the problems that dog owners “feel” when they have to be away. Remember, there’s a huge emotional component to this!
Boarding with Confidence
It's also important to sit down and have an in-depth talk with people from the boarding service before you leave. That makes you feel better! And it helps you to give the right information to your dog’s temporary caregivers.
This isn't something that a lot of dog owners invest in. They hastily make a date and then drop the animal off, and that's it. Then they’re upset when it doesn't go well! You wouldn’t want to just be dumped in a hotel with a bored desk clerk who doesn’t know your name. The dog doesn’t really like it, either.
A pre-interview, as you might call it, can have some surprising impact on what happens when you send your dog to be boarded.
That’s not all! We offer dog boarding services in Long Island, NY, and we take care of our pups well while they’re here. So if you do need boarding, but you haven’t been able to “make it click” you may want to give it another try.