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HELP TRAVELING HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BOARDING YOUR DOG?

I will be traveling to visit family for 10 days with my family for spring break..we have booked a hotel room at $215.00 nightly so that we can accomodate our 6 month old Toy fox Terrier named Scooby..I am willing to pay this price because my baby should not be left overnight with anyone else..my brother called and said that there is an awesome place in the area that would literally cut our stay and we would literally pay 1/3 of what we are spending..mind you my family is full of dog lovers and all of my family uses this facility for daycare, vet and everything to pamper their fur babies..I AM TERRIFIED TO LEAVE HIM OVERNIGHT!! He does attend daycare three times a week and on the other two says he has his own room in my office to relax and whatever else he wants to do..it sounds good, I have talked to the staff, my family has sent pics, and they even did a video conference with me..the facility is very posh and clean and it doesnt have all of those ugly wire cages..the dogs actually has nice cots like the have in daycares with cubby holes, heated floors and a professional vet on site at all times..and I can even do the Live Spy Cam online.. I am very impressed but this is MY BABY ..my family are DOG LOVERS and they treat their pets like Kings and Queens..please share your experience on the boarding issue ..this is the main point of the question BOARDING...because if it is cost effective and an awesome solution it is not a bad thing to save..but if it is not a good answer then I will foot the note!! They even said that he can be picked up and dropped off before bedtime..but he has NEVER stayed away from us and I am not sure how he would feel..PLEASE HELP ME..I DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO HAPPEN TO MAMA'S BOY AND MY SONS WOULD BE DEVASTATED IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO OUR BABY...THE STAFF WAS AWESOME ..THEY MADE ME WANNA MOVE IN..LOL after tons of e-mails..questions and I even made my fiance' do pop up visits since he lives in the area to make sure all is well..I think I have been seeing so much animal cruelty even by those who claim to care I am somewhat paranoid..PLEASE DON'T BE SARCASTIC..JUDGEMENTAL OR MEAN..JUST SHARE YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE NOT WHAT YOU THINK I SHOULD DO..LET ME KNOW HOW THE EXPERIENCE WORKED IN YOUR SITUATION..WHY WOULD YOU OR WHY WOULDN'T YOU BOARD? THANK YOU ALL!! He will be traveling but the debate is to take him to the hotel or the facility that is near the hotel..he will not be hours away from us he is the baby of the house and he needs us close at all times..thank you for your time this is really helping me destress we have three weeks to revise any plans if need be..THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL!! He will be traveling but the debate is to take him to the hotel or the facility that is near the hotel..he will not be hours away from us he is the baby of the house and he needs us close at all times..thank you for your time this is really helping me destress we have three weeks to revise any plans if need be..THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL!! He will be traveling but the debate is to take him to the hotel or the facility that is near the hotel..he will not be hours away from us he is the baby of the house and he needs us close at all times..thank you for your time this is really helping me destress we have three weeks to revise any plans if need be..THANK YOU

Public Comments

1. I personally wouldnt board my dog.. but that's only because I cant sleep well without him..... otherwise, If it wasnt for my own selfish reason, I'd have no problem boarding my dog at a reputable facility. Ask around to your vet, groomer, trainers, etc what they think about the facility.. if they have good reccommendations, then everything will be fine.
2. I have boarded my dogs *once*--at a place in our town. I hated it there..it was smelly, a bit dirty, and I now know the woman who owns it and she is a *total* moron, sad to say. Whenever we leave, we board with our vets, which are very small-time and know our dogs. In your case, though, the place sounds respectable. Trust your gut.
3. well its a fox terrier not very big right? if you love the dog take it with you or at least try. ok heres my expirence i was going to go to south padre last spring break with my mom and brother and sister we went but i trusted my dad to take it to his house and take care of my little baby i would never trust my baby with a stranger because its just common sence i mean they could kill it or starve it or dehidrate it but i know my dad and he likes me dog so he wouldnt let anything that dangerouse happen to him also during hurricane IKE i went to dallas at a pet friendly hotel because im NOT going to leave my baby with no air conditioning in the heat during a huge storm that is very dangerouse (a tree fell over our fence) so im lucky i had common sence not to leave her there
4. Do not worry about boarding your dog!:) But make sure you find a reputable boarder, your vet might even board animals, you can always trust CERTIFIED vets!
5. theres a boarding place near my home that has a wonderful staff, webcam, nice beds, etc etc but honestly.. as great as they are... ii wouldnt leave my dog there. i love my dog and i trust very few people to take care of him (especially when im gonna be gone for a long periods of time). my dog is my family and i would never leave him behind unless i HAD to. even then, i would find a friend to take care of them. boarding is an option but theyre gonna be sitting in a cage all day.... even if the staff is wonderful, the dog isnt gonna be happy sitting in a cage for 10 days.
6. It depends on the dog. We had one that we could board and one that we couldn't. He just 'shut down.' We had to cut our vacation short that year because the dog would not eat, drink, or anything. The guy at the kennel was great and phoned us (before cellphones, this was quite a feat, but he did it) and we came home early. Our next dog was no problem in the kennel. He was always extra-glad when we got him back, but he didn't mind being boarded for awhile. Give your fur-baby a trial run of a night in a boarding kennel. See how it goes. If he can handle it, use the kennel your brother recommends. Some dogs have no trouble at all with places like that. Yours may well be one of them, but you'll never know if you don't try it out.
7. I understand your dilemma. You have to think of what kind of time you'd have if boarded vs. keep him with you. If you are going to be a nervous wreck for 10 days then it's not worth the money you save in my opinion. I think you know what you want to do otherwise you would not be asking here. The call has to be yours and you have to go with your gut. Personally, I'd keep the dog with me. That would make me more relaxed and know how he is doing plus, I just like him around. But like I said, the call is yours and your family's. Good luck and you'll make the right decision. Go with the gut instinct...it'll never lead you wrong.
8. I personally couldn't leave my babies at a boarding kennel. Simply because they sleep with me and I can't sleep good without them. That and where I live... all the boarding kennels have wire cages and they keep them in the cages almost the whole time. I'm going on vacation in June and have to leave my babies... but it won't be that bad, they'll be with my mom. And I can call and check on them any time I want. I hate leaving them though.
9. I know exactly how you feel. I have made plans to travel to NFLD this summer to meet my husbands family. We have two dogs and our travel plans are to either fly or drive and take the ferry from there for 14 hours. I will not leave my dogs behind, so I can't fly. I have to drive. I have booked the reservation for the ferry, but I realized everything about my travel plans is surrounded by my dogs. I could never ever board them. No matter what people say, I can't trust that anyone is going to take care of my babies like I will. One of them is only 4lbs, and she could easily be stepped on, or a fall could kill her. I don't think it's fair to put my dogs in a place that is not familiar to them, I worry that they would be upset and not eat and so many things. So taking my dogs and making sure I meet all their needs first, is really more important to me than any trip I take. My biggest worry is when we get on the boat. I know I can crate one and the boat has accomodations for me to walk the dog and so on, but the smaller dog is staying with me regardless. I will have to sneak her into my cabin, but she does not bark. I hate to do it, but I know that only I can really provide what they need. I don't have kids, my dogs are it. I sometimes think it would be good for my husband and I to travel alone, so we could have a break to from the dogs, but then when I start to think about it, I know I can't do it. We take them with us, or we don't go. It's nice to know there are other people out there that love their dogs as much as we do.