Who took care of your pets while cruising?

[gerif]

I breed Himalayan Persians as a hobby, so have a "nanny" who comes four days a week to care for them. When we are away, she comes every day. They all love her and vice versa. She only comes once a day but a couple of times when I've had babies, she will take them home with her to watch.

[Beth C]

Our golden goes to camp...a cageless boarding facility where he plays indoors and out all day with his doggy friends and sleeps on a futon, with a human counselor in the room, at night. Really grateful for this place...there's always someone with the dogs, and Sawyer gets so excited when we pull into the parking lot. Only problem is he sleeps for about a week when he gets home!

 

I would love to have a pet sitter, but I'm weird about having people stay in my house when I'm not home. Is anyone else like this?!

 

Our place sounds similar to yours - was very grateful for it too especially once I found out that some of the franchised dog places don't have ANYONE there after hours with the dogs!!

 

I too am weird about having someone stay in my house - plus I don't think Hershey would have let someone else stay there without me!

[Elkpad]

We always have our dog go to spend time at a close friends home while we are away. He loves to play with their dogs and get tons of attention from their kids. Our horses and cats however have neighbors who come over twice a day to feed and water. We pay them 20 bucks a day to do it. Works out good for us and their kids get plumped up college funds:)

[SpekiTrout]

We are very blessed to have my girlfriend and her husband move right into our home while we are cruising. Ironically they themselves owned Airedales for years . Here's our "Trifecta" ...

[retird]

I loves dogs but don't have one, because I'm hardly home on weekends. When I go on a cruise alone, I always ask fellow cruisers how are their pets back home? Sort of an ice breaker after asking where they are from.

 

I remember one couple saying they took their old dog to stay at a friend's house two miles away. The dog ran home. Now whey they go on a cruise, the dog stays home but someone will come in to take care of it.

 

So who looks after your pets? And do they give you an attitude when you return?

 

I don't mind see some pictures too.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

 

 

We have our daughter look after our golden retriever and we reciprocate by looking after their boston terrier when they are away.

Your question was an interesting one for someone who does not have a pet. Do I sense this is a question in anticipation of a future pet??????:)

[mek]

Our grandson lives in the apartment over our garage, so we have a built in pet sitter for our cats. We have 6 and all are rescue cats except two - one was a kitten from the cat next door and the other is my dad's cat who came to live with us after his death. Love my kids - Jaspurr, Sammy, Joey, Bones,(because he was starving when we found him), Mittens, and Charlie.

[CruiseSlacker]

Do I sense this is a question in anticipation of a future pet??????:)

 

Right now I get to play with three neighborhood dogs: a Golden Lab, a Sheltie and a schnouzer.

 

Love to have my own dog but I'm not home enough.

[maureencruiser]

We are very blessed to have my girlfriend and her husband move right into our home while we are cruising. Ironically they themselves owned Airedales for years . Here's our "Trifecta" ...

I had to read this several times before I think I figured it out! :confused: When you say my girlfriend and her husband, do you mean your friend who is a girl and has a husband? Cute dogs!

[Alexat2]

2 Dogs (girls - Aussie and pom/hua) and Cat (boy - tabby) - and no way are the fur babies going to a kennel! I either get a friend to house/pet sit, or if my friends can't, I've had great luck finding free, great house sitters on housecarers.com.

 

As a general rule, they're just happy to see me when I get home. They usually get spoiled rotten while I'm gone.

 

I did have a siamese for 19 years (she passed away 9 years ago) that used to bawl me out when I got home and then ignore me for 2 days, literally back to me at all times :D, and while I was gone she'd either try to eat herself to death or go on a hunger strike...

 

Lydia

[BillB48]

Aw, what gorgeous markings! He's stunning.

 

 

 

 

 

The things we do/go through for our babies...! :)

 

Thanks:)! I wished we had started boarding him when he was younger.... I think it is probably too late for that now. In the meantime we will keep up the search for a sitter.

[gelo7]

My neighbor.

[katerkat]

I have a professional pet sitter come once a day to scoop the litter box and feed my two cats and the betta. She also gets the mail and changes which lights are on in the house so it looks semi-lived in. It's a bit more expensive, but my boys are older and I know she'll know what to look for in case the boys get sick.

 

The cats forgive me instantly for leaving them. The betta does not care if I exist.

[AlanS17]

Whenever my wife and I travel, our Roxy Dog goes to stay with the in-laws. They love her and she loves them. They call her "the grand-dog".

[DMickey28]

Thats a great question as we love to cruise , and when I went on disabitly I decided to get a dog as companion , and couldnt stand the though of putting him in a kennel , so after browsing ads on craigslist ,we found a lady/ family that kept him at her house . She is about 30 miles away but we call it Camp Tiffany and Cosmo knows where he is going , he loves going there , he evens sleeps in thier bed with thier dogs . She charges me $15 a day and I usally bring her back a bottle of Rum LOL April 4th he heads to camp .

 

Adorable ... A puggle? We have a 5 months old Puggle.

 

Right now we have been cruising alone so we leave our two sons, our two dogs and our two cats at home and the Grandma's come and take care of them!! We are planning on a Disney cruise in the Fall/Winter next year for all of us and we will either board them at the kennel we use or if we find a local person to take them for less we will do that. I have a friend who has volunteered but she has three dogs and three young boys of her own so I wouldn't do that to her. I am taking her two pugs in May for their cruise though.

[golfer1966]

I loves dogs but don't have one, because I'm hardly home on weekends. When I go on a cruise alone, I always ask fellow cruisers how are their pets back home? Sort of an ice breaker after asking where they are from.

 

I remember one couple saying they took their old dog to stay at a friend's house two miles away. The dog ran home. Now whey they go on a cruise, the dog stays home but someone will come in to take care of it.

 

So who looks after your pets? And do they give you an attitude when you return?

 

I don't mind see some pictures too.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

 

DW and I have no human kids, but we have 4 rescue dogs... 3 labs and 1 golden retriever. We have a friend of ours who is also a Vet Tech stay at our house when we travel. She lives there until we come home. Its GREAT cuz we email her every day or every other day to check in and say hi. It really works well for us. She recently got married and moved a lil further away, Im afraid our sitter wont be sitting to much longer, BUT we have another friend who told us she will stay there as it will be like a mini vacation away from her hubby and kids for a week...:)

[justdoit31]

It has varied- my cruise a few weeks ago my parents had one of my dogs in Texas and my best friends parents (who I was cruising with) had the other dog and my best friend's son in Atlanta. That was because my parents had been watching the one dog for a couple months while I was doing some work out of state and could only bring one dog...

 

 

Typically- I will put both dogs in a local dog resort- my 2 Bichons LOVE it! They have 12+ hours a day of playtime, a larger run they share together, and they get daily snack time. Plus, the staff loves them so they get a lot of special attention- even when one of them had knee surgery and wasn't allowed into the play areas he spent almost 2 weeks boarded and spent the majority of it with staff in the offices sitting in their laps.

[k9x8]

My husband and I own/operate a small kennel. Rather than respond individually, just some general information. Naturally, I tend to bristle when people refer to kennels as "prisons." That being said, cats are easier to keep at home, so most of what I have to say refers to dogs.

 

Every state is different. In North Carolina you must be licensed by the Dept. of Agriculture if you board dogs for pay, even in your home. The rules we have are for the safety and well-being of the animals.

 

All surfaces must be moisture impervious and sanitizable. (Is that a word?)

Runs (enclosures) are designed to be escape proof.

Play yards must have escape proof fencing.

There are even more rules for facilities where dogs co-mingle.

 

A few points here:

 

*It's always harder on the owner than it is on the dog. Think of little kids going to day care; as soon as you are out of sight, the pitiful act ends. Always, always make it a quick good-bye. Keep it low on emotion, even if you feel like crying. The dog picks up on your anxiety, and, believe me, he knows how to push your buttons.

 

*Dogs will sleep more when they get home. They usually don't get quality naps during the day (except for older, deaf dogs). Drinking a lot of water is not uncommon, and it doesn't mean your dog had water withheld while you were away.

 

*Temple1, our local greyhound rescue makes adopters promise to board dogs in separate runs. Their prey instinct, don't you know.

 

*Don't freak if your dog starts having diarrhea 2-3 days after returning home. We call it "stress colitis," though it isn't anxiety type stress. Think about how our systems can be affected by a week of dietary indiscretion, a different schedule, foreign bathrooms.

 

*Raptor2010 - $1000 a week? Gack! How many cats do you have? People around here think $10 per visit is outrageous.

 

*Don't feel guilty about kenneling your dogs. You'd be surprised what a good time they have. Dogs don't have our concept of the passage of time. Three days or three weeks, makes no difference.

 

*We allow potential clients to come meet us and see our facility anytime. No appointment is necessary, and we let them have a look, even if it is feeding time. We also are happy to supply references. That's two things you might consider when shopping for a kennel. Refusals and hinky reluctance would make me think twice.

 

*Remember, a lot of those bells and whistles are for your benefit. A dog couldn't care less about having a television - the other dogs are far more entertaining.

 

*No web cams here. We don't have the necessary bandwidth available. However, posting on Facebook is an interesting idea that I will ponder.

 

*One more. At the kennel, no one forgets to close a door or gate. OK, I'm sure it has happened; point is, a good kennel is a safe place to leave your dog.

 

We close for two weeks once a year. Our dogs come stay at the kennel, where a trusted friend cares for them. They remember from year to year, and when we bring them in, they dash for the door leading from the office into the kennel. We leave with no lingering good-byes, and, yes, I always want to cry!

[venicia]

K9X8

 

Loved your comments. I think most of the amenities our dog has is for our benefit. We do take his food and some snacks since we have him on a special diet and don't want that to be disturbed.

 

We love being able to jump on the computer and seeing him sometimes, he is usually outside or at the pool. They have a webcam at the pool and we have seen him "acting" up and the attendants and other dogs just playing like there is nothing better in the world. Kind of makes you think he may be having a better vacation than us, since we are always trying to look at him.

 

The entire complex is owned by the vets and there is almost always one attendant or vet on site.

 

Since there have been so many replies on this post, it is obvious we all love our "bestest" buddies and we each try to do the best for them, whether it is having someone stay at the house, family taking care of them. or boarding.

 

It is very interesting to read what others do, since each time we leave our buddy, I'm so upset and he seems to be so happy to be back with his 4 legged buddies.

[hannibal54]

If my GF and I cruise, my daughter normally comes to my home to feed my outside cat Moe. If I go solo, my GF takes care of Moe.

[szq5231]

In the past we have kenneled our two "kids". However, we recently adopted a shelter dog and she is very hard of hearing, still adjusting to us, and I am concerned about kenneling her. The next cruise that I go on my husband is staying home so not an issue yet, but it's coming.

 

Great topic!

szq

[caissonqueen]

I have used the same petsitter for four years. She definitely spoils my cat. When I come home, my cat pouts and ignores me for a day or two. :p

[twinmom2298]

Most of our dogs are fosters. So either they are adopted before we leave or they go to another foster home.

 

For our own dog we used to have a college girl come to the house to pet sit. But she got married and moved away. Now my sister and I swap pet sitting. We take their dog when they go away and then they take our's when we go.

 

This is our Pretty Penny she is our former foster we adopted.

 

[cruisingfor5]

We have always gone the house sitter route... and out first one was fabulous, she was an animal person for one and beyond that she was real cat people. She finally got too expensive as she really did not want to anymore so she just made the price astronomical to avoid saying no. Too bad she was a gem. We've had some friends look in as well as hired other house sitters, but it really has not worked out very well. Short of an emergency I wouldn't board him. That's where we are now, trying to find a house/cat sitter and the search has not been very successful. Our boy is a real people person and doesn't like long times alone. I'm reading the responses in hopes of some sort of epiphany.... love all the pics... even the dogs;):D!

 

The kitty is ours and the Sand Hill Crane is an interloper!

 

I am in the same boat because our kitty is the only cat we have and I worry because everyone says bad things about leaving a single cat home alone for any length of time. This our first time owning a cat and we are going away in the fall and worry about how she would do with someone only coming in twice a day. She too is a very social cat and loves being around people. Trying to decide what is best for her also :( I heard taking them to get boarded can stress them out also. Hope you found a solution for your cat. Cute picture.

[VernRDH]

We have a pet sitter come to our home to watch Rex while we are gone. She comes 3 times per day, and if my FIL or dad are around, they stop in and spend some time with him too.

 

The pet sitter is awesome. She gets the mail, waters plants, takes out the trash, turns the lights on and off etc. She spoils Rex, buying him special treats and brings her dog over to play with him. It costs us $15 per visit, or $45 per day, but its well worth it that he is at home where he is comfy and can sleep in "his" (read: our) bed.

 

He is always so excited when we get home, his little rump looks like it will shake right off!

[maureencruiser]

*Don't feel guilty about kenneling your dogs. You'd be surprised what a good time they have. Dogs don't have our concept of the passage of time. Three days or three weeks, makes no difference.

What about cats? My neighbors tell me my cat sits in the front window all day waiting for me to come home from work, so, you can imagine how it tears me up to leave her when I go on a cruise. I got 2 cats from the local humane society so they could keep each other company, but, Ginger, my avatar, had FLV and crossed the rainbow bridge in 2010.