what do you do with your pets while on holiday ?

hi all

not been on for a while but would like to here your views if u have time :gnthb:

im looking to go abroad next yr for a holiday 1 problem well a few :D but i have a staffy that we took in stray last nov ,

now we were thinking of driving to france with her but it would be such a long journey from staffordshire uk we have just come back from wales where it took her a few days to settle down (she did love it tho )

so................................................. im thinking how can we go now ? my hubby does'nt fancy driving that far and wants to put her in a kennel as we have no one to take her for 2 weeks but i have said NO way

so any ideas from anyone

the other problem i have is that she won't get on with any other dog either

if i can't come up with something then i think i shall not be going :(

we always said that we would'nt leave her as she is part of the family but every time we holiday in the country its horrific weather and a waste of money and i have to think of my 2 kids as well as rosie

right im rambeling now !!!


many thanks for reading

lisa

 

Hi Lisa, pleased to see you back.

We had no luck with kennels for our cats in the early years in Bucks ... in fact, one came out infested with fleas so it was a 'never again' decision. We were then fortunate to have a neighbour to come in twice a day and feed, clean litter boxes (they weren't allowed out whilst we were away) and 'visit'.

It's only the past three years we've had holidays here (after a ten-year gap of no holidays) and we get in house/pet sitters. They are marvellous and not only look after your house and pets but garden as well. It was pretty scarey at first not having done such a thing but we had a recommendation and we've done it three times now and have no regrets ... and will do it again and again.

It's €20 a day here which is cheaper than it would be in a cattery for three cats! So it's win, win, win for us. :yho:

There's a company in the UK called Homesitters based in Aston Clinton (Bucks) near Aylesbury and I believe their people are bonded. It may not be for you, but worth the investigation.

http://www.homesitters.co.uk/

There are of course many others now registered but I know this company has been around for over 20 years.

PS .... and as a bonus I come back to a clean house with all the linen washed .... :yho:

 

Hi Lisa, I'm really sorry I can't offer any better suggestions, but Mrs Ting and I haven't been away on holiday for 10 years since we got our two dogs. Neither of us trust any one else to look after them properly. Maybe someone will come up with a decent suggestion, but I wish you luck, I really do.

 

I would never put my dogs into a kennel especially my GSD as he was in kennels for over a year before I homed him. There's a few people down the park I go that take in dogs for owners and charge the same as the kennels but the dogs get loved and walked way more than the kennels. Maybe ask about where u walk your dog.

 

Well if you could find a decent kennels you could try your dog in one for a while, say a weekend to see how it got on. We did it several times when we had a labrador and apparently he behaved as if he owned the place while we were away. Eventually we felt while doing lovely walks in Luxembourg that something was missing so we got him chipped when they had just started doing pets passports. We took him from Shropshire down through Eurotunnel and along the North French coast to Brittany. Coming back we did about 600 miles in one day. He loved it but then the car was connected with fun as far he was concerned. I now have a GSD who has never gone in kennels and will pine. She has been chipped and we intend to take her next year, But she does love the car.

 

We holiday often. And we have cats. I have a great neighbor and friend who comes by twice daily, once in the morning to put out the dry food outside in an area covered from any rain and the second time to take it away at about 7PM, this keeps the raccoons away. This is so all 9 cats can get at the food. I also have two electric filter water pumps set up which will last 2 weeks without refill, one is inside and one outside. With the outside one, I also leave a jug of water near it, should it need some. There is a cat door in and out of the house, 4 of them use it. No food is left inside due to raccoons who could come through the cat door if there was something to draw them. My neighbor never has to go inside the house.

OK, but for you dear--Catwoman, if you have a totally indoor cat and only one. Here is what I would do. AS a side note you did not say how long. But anyway this did work for me in the past. You need to purchase one of those huge under the bed plastic containers. This container will take 3-4 boxes of litter, in a container such as this, the cat will have enough space for at least one week. And then buy one of those electric pump filter pet water bowl thing--that will last 2 weeks full. Then you can leave out huge amounts of dry food for the cat. And he is good to go. Now it would be good if you can have someone come in at least once weekly to check on things and clean out the litter box. But for the most part the cat will be happier at home, and sleep away the time your gone.

 

we have a cat lady who comes to look after the cat, she stays for an hour, plays with him, feeds him, cleans his litter tray... she is great! She charges £8 per day. She also picks up mail, turns lights on and off etc so it looks like we are home. Its great and we don't have to worry now (we had some terrible experience with catteries previously!)

She also house sits for £10 a day and if she is doing that, she will walk the dog twice per day (my friend uses her too!)

 

I wouldn't put my dogs in kennels either. We have only been camping since we've had dogs. There are some decent cottages etc about where you can take dogs too.

Anyway, the best bet is a neighbour or a professional pet sitter. If you go for a pet sitter make sure they're insured, police checked and have sparkling references.

 

My friend takes her golden retriever on hols to Austria and other places with her and has just had to get her a new passport as the other one was full. Poppy loves it

 

Hi Victoria many thanks for the link its worth looking into

many thanks for all your replys

redstar lucky for me my mum takes care of my cats so its my dog rosie im trying to figure out what to do with but thanks for the info

i shall look into the home sitting thing no way is she going into kennels i have had very bad experiances with them a few times


geoffhandley & little miss road rage i would love to take her with me but hubby just does'nt want to drive to the south of france it took us 10 hrs to get to tenby last yr and should of only taken us approx 5 so.................................. god help us going to france we always get lost (even with sat nav )

if rosie got on with other dogs then i have a few people who would have her for me but how she is i think she would have there dog for lunch !:flag:

she was fine with other dogs when we first had her and has gradually got very protective when other dogs come near now and does go for them which is a real shame

my other staffy many yrs back did the same we did want to rehome another and wanted to get a male so she had a mate to play with (to give me a rest lol) but theres just no way now :(

 

Sorry CW, thought it was cat we were discussing here. OK, with Dog. when I had my German S. before I found the "right" place, I must have toured 8 of them in the area. Did find one that was so great, clean, smelled good, huge runs. And the owner is like a dog whisper. Both mine went there and were good with it. I would use a kennel always for a dog, a good kennel. And the one I toured that was owned by a VET, was the worse one.

 

i have just checked out the homesitters

wow very expensive it would cost me a slight £854 for 2 weeks and they live in my house using my electric and gas LOL the holiday is'nt costing me that they charge £2.50 per hour over 24 hrs + £1 per pet

but thanks for the idea victoria was very nice of you :gnthb:

 

Sorry, Lisa ... not a good one to put up ... I also looked at the prices after I posted .... :ntwrth: I only used them as a guideline as I interviewed to be the Office Manager there 20 years ago ... I didn't like the people running the place to be honest ... a bunch of old foggies and not my scene so I basically walked out of the interview ... :dh:

I'm sure there's other folk out there at a reasonable price. The folk we use are a retired couple ... even older than us ..... :hehe: .... and are totally trustworthy and economical. Perhaps you know someone (a relative even) who may wish to live in your house whilst you're away ... but that could be even a worse idea ... shut your mouth, Vicky

Sorry ... was just trying to point you in a different direction from kennels. :flag:

 

And "accidently" damage things in your house.

 

It's a hard one! We have only ever left Joyce twice in 14 years!! Now we find dog friendly places in this country to go with her although the last trip to Southampton, which took us 11 hours to get there, almost did for her so no more of that. She is 14 though and can't cope with the stress now. This is the reason that my husband has said he'll never have another one:(

I wouldn't use kennels either. If Rosie has a pet passport could you not think about going there a different, quicker way and then hiring a car once there?

I hope you find a solution.

cheers