What to do about Fido???

[DragonJoe76]

I'm hoping there are a few southern NJ residents who love their dogs as much as cruising that can help me out with this one...

 

One concern we have is finding a place to board our three dogs while we are away. Does anybody know of a good kennel... preferrably one in Gloucester or Camden county?

 

What do you do with your dogs while you're cruising??

[FitzLA]

I am not in NJ, but I can tell you that when I go away for a week or more, I always hire a house sitter to stay here. They are much happier being at home, and when they go to a kennel, they are mad at me when I get back for a few days. If it is a shorter vacation, I always take them to a "doggy farm" because I don't like them locked up in a kennel. I want them to be able to run and play, like they do at home. You can ask your vet if they have any suggestions for you.

[MikeNJ1109]

I'm hoping there are a few southern NJ residents who love their dogs as much as cruising that can help me out with this one...

 

One concern we have is finding a place to board our three dogs while we are away. Does anybody know of a good kennel... preferrably one in Gloucester or Camden county?

 

What do you do with your dogs while you're cruising??

 

 

We're in Hudson County, so I know that doesn't really help...however, we board our dog at the PetSmart Pet Hotel, which is part of the PetSmart chain...they have a website, http://www.petsmart.com , and there should be a list of those facilities that board dogs in your area. If there is, we can **Highly** recommend them...our dog loves staying there, they offer 'doggie day care', the staff takes very good care of him. Well worth the cost, in our opinion.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Michael & Silke

[jd10367]

Too bad it wasn´t Morris Cty. I worked at a really really nice kennel for 13 yrs. before I moved. Mine was apart of the ABKA. American Boarding Kennel Assoc. look them up online and see if they have a number of some in the area. Then go check them out for yourself. A good kennel should have nothing to hide and be willing to show you around. <otherwise neighborhood kids you can trust.

[Jennyyl]

I live in camden county. I board my dog at Dr. Heller in Maple shade. He lives on the premises, he is alos my dogs vet. He is the only place I send him to. I don't have children, my dog is like my child....so believe me when I say Dr. Hellers office is wonderful...I never worry when he is there.

If you don't decide to go to Dr. Heller's, don't use Best Friends in Cinnaminson....we tried them when my vet was booked for one night and they didn't care for my dog the way I expected them to. Good luck!

[vmom]

Another idea....do you have any friends with older children such as young adults or college age? My daughter several times has "dog-sat" for a neighbor's dog when they are on vacation. She sleeps there at night and stays there for the evenings so they have company.

[RareBird]

We're in Hudson County, so I know that doesn't really help...however, we board our dog at the PetSmart Pet Hotel, which is part of the PetSmart chain...they have a website, www.petsmart.com , and there should be a list of those facilities that board dogs in your area. If there is, we can **Highly** recommend them...our dog loves staying there, they offer 'doggie day care', the staff takes very good care of him. Well worth the cost, in our opinion.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Michael & Silke

 

i LOVE petsmart stores, didn't know they had this service, sounds great.

 

http://petshotel.petsmart.com/

[DragonJoe76]

Thank you all for your suggestions and warnings.

 

Of course I'd prefer to have my dogs stay at the house, but we would be VERY hard pressed to find somebody who will house/dog sit for us.

 

We have a Petsmart around the corner in Deptford that we like, so we'll check out those suggestions.

 

If PS doesn't work out for whatever reason, Jennyyl, you can bet we will call Dr. Heller in Maple shade

 

Thanks again!

[HNicoleL]

I've been worrying about this too! Does anyone know how much the cat care costs at Petco? I would leave them at home but I have three cats AND three rats and if somehow there was a rat escape... NO.

[tbruin3235]

My spoiled canines stay at home when I cruise. They have a doggie door that leads to a secure back yard. My neighbor then comes over for a few minutes everyday to check that the automatic food feeder hasn't gotten stuck or anything.

 

I also have webcams throughout the house, so I just to to the ship's internet cafe, goto my webcam page, and get my pooch fix for the day:D

 

I usually catch them sleeping in their favorite spots.

[Jennyyl]

Dragon Joe, I don't think the one in Depford has a hotel...I was looking into them before when my vet was booked....I think the closest one in Jersey is Secaucus. but of couse double check, I could be wrong.

There is also a Best Friend Pet care on route 73 in Berlin that i've heard good things about.

[trock]

I am not in NJ, but I can tell you that when I go away for a week or more, I always hire a house sitter to stay here. They are much happier being at home, and when they go to a kennel, they are mad at me when I get back for a few days. If it is a shorter vacation, I always take them to a "doggy farm" because I don't like them locked up in a kennel. I want them to be able to run and play, like they do at home. You can ask your vet if they have any suggestions for you.

 

 

 

HI Read your post with great interest. How does one go about finding a house sitter?

Thanks!

[celtic_beauty]

 

What do you do with your dogs while you're cruising??

 

Leave my husband at home to take care of them :D

Hubby is not a vacation person so I take a few a year without him and he is perfectly happy to stay home and take care of our mini zoo :D Our dogs will not eat if we leave them, even if we leave them at home and have someone come and take care of them:(

[Ula]

We have three dogs and just a warning the last time we used a home pet sitter was a disaster. Never again.

Our dogs go to a resort down in Los Angeles, they stay together in a canine condo. The place has a swimming pool if your dog likes water.

The place has 24/7 staff and also has a good vet practice, the boarding facility is separate from the practice. So sick dogs and healthy dogs do not cross expose each others.

We can now relax on a cruise and know our dogs are very well taken care of. The place does massages on our 16 year old every day. He loves that place.

[lszu]

We found a great place to board our cats by asking our vet if she knew any one.

[Cincy-David]

HI Read your post with great interest. How does one go about finding a house sitter?

Thanks!

 

Depending on your budget there are several options. Here in Cincinnati, we have agency called Friends of the Family that will place a screened and bonded person for you. Price varies on the number of hours per day needed.

 

For us, we just use a network of friends and family to locate someone. We have hired any from nieces and nephews to cousins or older teens from church. If you have a trusted church family, this is a great place to start. Most college ages students will do it for $20 a day and some food in the refrigerator. Find a hungry college guy and he will most likely do it for the cost of a fully stocked refrigerator.

 

Just check the references or only bring in someone referred by a trusted friend or family member.

 

I have also had good luck finding young, single professionals from the office. If they are still at home with mom and dad, they love a week away with complete freedom. This works well for me as I know that all employees in my office are put through the most stringent background checks known to man.

 

Hope some of this tips help.

 

Dave

[crusinmama06]

I am not in NJ but I agree about finding a place where the dog is not locked up in a metal cage for the week. I left my lil Italian Greyhound at the Vet's kennel in April cause I thought THEY would take great care of her.

 

Well she wasn't happy in the metal kennel and I guess kept trying to get out. When she came home she had a big open wound on her head and ear. :( And everyone saying "We don't know what happened" :mad: :rolleyes:

 

So now I ask relatives to come into the house and take the dog out. My next step is to find some kind of doggie hotel.

[Annefran]

Here's a link to a pet sitter in NJ (central). Not sure if they will serve your area but if you contact them, they could give you alternatives. I'm thinking of using them for our 12 night cruise in March. I have three cats. Happy Cruising.

 

http://www.aloneathomepets.com/?gclid=CJrHp-L2kIwCFRXRIgodVyaP4Q

[critterchick]

We have found our best pet/housesitters at our vet's office. Our current sitter used to be a technician at the clinic, so he is very experienced with animals and loves them. It costs less than boarding our two dogs (and having somebody come in twice a day to deal with 6 cats), and he thinks of our pets as his own. We had to leave our older dog at the vet's this trip because she ruptured a disc in her neck and cannot walk yet :( , but he calls over there every day, visits her when he can and is even taking her out for a home visit tomorrow, with the vet's approval. Of course, he is never going to be allowed to find a life partner and stop doing this for us!

[madelinerose]

Thank you all for your suggestions and warnings.

 

Of course I'd prefer to have my dogs stay at the house, but we would be VERY hard pressed to find somebody who will house/dog sit for us.

Thanks again!

 

We don't kennel our dog. We used a "country club" for dogs (massages, whirlpools, the works) once. When we picked her up, she had severe conjunctivitis and both eyes were sealed shut. They had 4 contact phone numbers, but we never received a call. I was horrified. Never again.

 

There are dogsitters who make their living by staying at your house to dogsit while you're away. Many are bonded and insured. Just Google "dogsitter (with your area) ", ask your vet or local SPCA.

 

We're fortunate to have a relative who watches our dog, but during our next cruise we may use a friend's daughter. Our dog has to go to the dog park every day to release all of her energy, play with her friends and swim in the lake. Our friend's daughter will handle it all. ;)

[FitzLA]

HI Read your post with great interest. How does one go about finding a house sitter?

Thanks!

 

We have a friend who lives around the corner with her parents still, and she house sits for us. Otherwise, you could ask your vet. They usually have suggestions.

[FitzLA]

I've been worrying about this too! Does anyone know how much the cat care costs at Petco? I would leave them at home but I have three cats AND three rats and if somehow there was a rat escape... NO.

 

Just an FYI, I would never use ANY Petco services. I have had a horrible experience there, and my dog was traumatized after coming home from just a grooming. I would never go back, for anything. The employees treat the pets like crap. My dog, who weighs 105 lbs, was only suppose to be there for a few hours. He was there, in a small cage, for the entire day with no water. He came home dehydrated and drank 2 huge bowls of water. I was even told that at his size, we would be leashed and not in a cage. And when I finally went to pick him up unannounced because they kept giving me the run around, he was crammed into a cage smaller than him.

 

As far as Pet Smart goes, I know nothing about them.

[HNicoleL]

Just an FYI, I would never use ANY Petco services. I have had a horrible experience there, and my dog was traumatized after coming home from just a grooming. I would never go back, for anything. The employees treat the pets like crap. My dog, who weighs 105 lbs, was only suppose to be there for a few hours. He was there, in a small cage, for the entire day with no water. He came home dehydrated and drank 2 huge bowls of water. I was even told that at his size, we would be leashed and not in a cage. And when I finally went to pick him up unannounced because they kept giving me the run around, he was crammed into a cage smaller than him.

 

As far as Pet Smart goes, I know nothing about them.

 

That is so horrible!

[texancruzer]

Another idea....do you have any friends with older children such as young adults or college age? My daughter several times has "dog-sat" for a neighbor's dog when they are on vacation. She sleeps there at night and stays there for the evenings so they have company.

 

Yep...this is what we do. My son's friend (also 23) that he has grown up with since 8th grade house/dog/cat sits for us. He used to work for our vet too so that is a plus. He comes over after work and stays with my yellow lab and cat even spending the night. Feeds him - takes him for walks or to the park to play. This way he can still sleep under our bed..... and be in a familiar place.

 

And the best part..... he charges exactly what our vet charges to board. And if he was boarded he would be in a kennel all day except for 3 walks. He would be miserable cuz he is S-P-O-I-L-E-D !!!!

[DqALEX]

I'm hoping there are a few southern NJ residents who love their dogs as much as cruising that can help me out with this one...

 

One concern we have is finding a place to board our three dogs while we are away. Does anybody know of a good kennel... preferrably one in Gloucester or Camden county?

 

What do you do with your dogs while you're cruising??

I leave mine with the vet here in Point Pleasant beech. He likes it there. When I went to pick him up he was on the girls lap who works the window. They let him walk around there.