Where to Leave Your Dog on Vacation: Advantages and Disadvantages 5 Popular Scenarios

To start . If the test shows that the pet is ready for your departure, this article is for you. Let’s discuss the non-obvious aspects of the most popular scenarios: from overexposure and breeders to zoo hotels.

Give away to relatives or friends

The most obvious option is to entrust the dog to loved ones during the holidays. Ideally, if they agree to live with a pet at your place. Suitable – and if they take the dog to themselves. In both cases, with a familiar person at home, the dog will be comfortable. The main thing is to tell relatives in advance about the features of the pet. Even about those that seem obvious to you. Including – why you can not feed the dog from the table.

Before you give a pet for overexposure, explain to a loved one what you can and cannot allow your dog to do. If you do not allow the pet to jump on the bed, agree that your assistant will not make concessions either.

Advantages:

• You leave a pet to a loved one with whom you are constantly in touch

• The dog is calmer to be in a homely atmosphere

• The pet is comfortable with people he already knows

Disadvantages:

• A loved one may change their mind in the process. In practice, caring for a dog may be more difficult than he thought.

• The assistant can make adjustments to the feeding, upbringing and care of the pet that will not benefit him. For example, treat your pet with smoked chicken or let

• A dog can behave unpredictably in someone else’s apartment: bark long and loudly, spoil property

Give to a private person for home overexposure

When relatives do not agree to take responsibility for a pet, there is a similar option with private overexposure at home. If you enter the query “home overexposure” – you will see dozens of ads from those who are ready to temporarily place a dog for the duration of your vacation. The main thing is to carefully study the reviews. Even more reliable is to personally communicate with those who have already left their pet here.

Choose families who do not have other pets and small children for home overexposure. Otherwise, your dog may experience additional stress.

Before overexposure, I recommend visiting a private trader for a guest visit. Look at the conditions of keeping pets, check the documents. If a person positions himself as a cynologist or veterinarian, ask to see a document on education. A reliable proof of the professionalism of a person will be the reviews of his customers. Anyone who is confident in the quality of the services provided will be happy to share the contacts of people who have contacted him and who can tell you about their impressions.

Discuss the force majeure scenarios of the pet’s behavior: what will happen if the dog barks in the apartment or tries to chew something.

Advantages:

• The dog will be in a homely atmosphere

• The pet will receive attention and non-amateurish care

• You will be able to choose a family without other dogs and children

Disadvantages:

• It’s hard to trust a pet with a stranger

• A dog can damage property in someone else’s apartment, and, most likely, you will have to answer for it. We recommend fixing these points in a written contract in advance.

Contact the breeder

A more curious approach is to contact the breeder from whom the puppy was purchased. Many are happy to accept their “graduates” for a while, especially if you keep in touch. Most likely, the breeder has other pets. Whether your dog will get along with them is best checked in advance.

Advantages:

• The breeder knows everything and more about your dog’s breed. He does not have to explain that the dog cannot be fed with milk and how to wash her paws

• The dog will be pleased to live with a familiar person if you kept in touch

• The breeder understands the psychology of dogs and knows how to distract the pet from worries

Disadvantages:

• Pet may not get along with others with breeder pets

• You may have to pay for the costs if your dog breaks something. We recommend fixing these points in a written contract in advance.

And here is what Daria Rudakova, a professional Dogo Argentino breeder, says about overexposure:

«Leaving a pet with a breeder is a great option, but not every breeder can offer this service. For example, I have several Dogo Argentinos living in my house – these are very serious dogs. It would not be easy to add another pet to them in a flock. Usually overexposure is offered by breeders of miniature dogs or owners of large kennels who have aviaries or separate rooms for keeping dogs. If you are looking for overexposure, be sure to check with your breeder, groomer, dog handler or veterinarian – they may be able to recommend trusted contacts. To my friends and owners of puppies of my breeding, I recommend overexposure from proven cynologists. So the dog will be supervised, and at the same time improve his skills.

Hire a Dogsitter

Your pet will receive maximum care and attention if you contact a dog-sitter. This is a professional dog sitter. Usually a sitter is hired for the entire vacation: he takes the dog to him or stays with him on your territory. Such a specialist will follow your recommendations exactly. Dogsitters are responsible for the constant stay with the dog, walks, games, grooming, daily reports. And you just have to tell about the features of your dog and leave for her ammunition, food, care products, bags for feces, first aid kit.

You can hire a dog sitter for several hours a day: the sitter will come for two or four hours to feed the dog, take a walk, play with it, and carry out grooming procedures. Such a scenario would be suitable for a weekend, but not for a vacation. A dog is a social creature, it is important for her to be close to a person.

Usually the dog-sitter leaves for an acquaintance before concluding a contract. It’s free. At such a meeting, I recommend discussing the work with him in detail and see how he contacts your dog. If in doubt, check the expertise with a projective question. Ask the sitter what methods of punishing the dog he accepts. The correct answer is in the article. If the dog sitter answers the opposite, run away from him!

Advantages:

• The dog sitter works under a contract and takes responsibility for your dog. And even for the property that she can ruin in your absence.

• Sitters know how to handle pets, they know how to distract a dog from melancholy, and what to do if a pet decides to start a fight while walking

• You do not have to worry that the sitter will feed the dog “forbidden”. He will follow your instructions exactly.

• You will receive feedback every day: the sitter will send a daily report and photos

• Some dog sitters provide free online veterinary consultations, special rates for multiple dogs and other perks.

Disadvantages:

• It won’t be enough for your dog if you hire a dog sitter for 4 hours a day. You will need a sitter for the entire holiday period

• Sitting can be expensive. The average price per day in Moscow is 1100 rubles. The higher the qualification of the sitter, the higher the price will be

How to choose an overexposure option, comments Maria Tselenko – cynologist, dog behavior specialist

«Choose an overexposure for the nature of the dog. Dogs are different, and each will suit its own version. If the pet is attached to the apartment, invite the sitter to live with you. But if your dog has strong leadership qualities, this is not a good idea. Most likely, she will not like the fact that another person “hosts” your territory. It is more reliable to take such a pet to a sitter: in a foreign territory, he will have nothing to share. Check in advance if the dog sitter has other pets. A contact and friendly dog ​​can make friends with them and have a great time playing games, but for a “loner” they will become a problem. It’s great if the sitter is also a dog handler and can work on the dog’s behavior. After the trip, get ready to take some lessons from him. He will show you how to interact with your pet so that old problems don’t come back.».

Settle the dog in a pet hotel

The newest and most fashionable option is the pet hotel. It’s nice that while you are at the hotel and at the SPA, your dog will be occupied with about the same. She will be fed, walked and provided with veterinary care, sheared and developed. And you will be given the opportunity to watch the dog online. In addition, there will be healthy dogs around: before entering the hotel, all pets undergo veterinary control.

However, in zoo hotels, the dog can still experience stress. Usually pets are kept in an aviary, that is, there will be other dogs nearby. There is also a risk that interaction with professionals will be limited to feeding and quick walks “on business”. A pet dog may be shocked by such a change.

If you chose a hotel, do not rush to negotiate overexposure remotely. Make a guest visit first. Assess how spacious the enclosures are, whether they are kept clean. Specify how the dogs are cared for, how much they walk with them.

Advantages:

• The zoo hotel will take responsibility for the pet, sign the contract

• You can enroll your pet in a groomer, cynologist, veterinarian

• You can watch your dog online XNUMX/XNUMX

• Your dog will be surrounded by healthy pets – after all, pet hotels usually accept vaccinated and dewormed dogs.

Disadvantages:

• Enclosure with other dogs in some zoos can be stressful

• The dog will have minimal human contact.

Zoo hotels without cages have already appeared! The situation is commented by Olesya Shlyakhova, the owner of the home hotel for dogs Zoogost

«Usually people try to leave pets with loved ones. They think that “their” person will not offend and take care of the dog properly. But in practice, under stress, dogs can howl at night, bark, disobey, spoil things, refuse to eat. Then your pet will become a source of discomfort for loved ones. To avoid such situations, I recommend immediately leaving the dog to trained people who understand the behavior of pets and know how to find an approach to them. It is precisely such people that work in our zoo hotel: cynologists, dog and cat behavior specialists, breeders, veterinarians. And we don’t have cells. Pets are kept in separate rooms and walk in a huge fenced area. We specially sowed it with lawn grass so that the dogs would be comfortable in any weather.».

And finally, the main rule when choosing an overexposure option is to discuss the conditions of detention in detail in advance. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you are going to leave the dog on someone else’s territory, be sure to pass food and treats, favorite toys, a bed, a first aid kit, and ammunition for walking along with it. Familiar things will help reduce stress in a new place. Make sure that assistants always have a connection with you or your trusted person, as well as the phone number of your veterinarian and dog handler.

To make it easier for you to navigate the choice of overexposure, I have prepared a visual cheat sheet:

I wish your dog the most comfortable overexposure, and you – a wonderful holiday!