How does your dog deal with you being gone?

I use the boarding facilities at our vet. It is one of the most expensive parts of our trips, but I know they are as safe as they can be.

The dogs do fine. I'm the one with separation anxiety!

Mine enjoys being a dog--for a change--in the kennel. He enjoys hearing other dogs bark and the smells there.

At home, he is commonly known as Baby--the pit bull.

How much does it cost to have your dog staying at boarding facilities or at a kennel for 3 weeks?

This is one reason we keep our trips shorter. We also board at a clinic with vets. And luckily, on one of our trips, the vet noticed something seriously wrong with our dog and alerted us immediately. I think the boarding costs us $20 USD per day and is based on the size of the dog. Ours is 33 pounds.

Mine stays with a trusted dog sitter, I could never put any of my dogs into kennels, they're just really stressful and unpleasant environments.

This is one reason we keep our trips shorter.

How short?

Mine stays with a trusted dog sitter,

How much do you pay a trusted dog sitter or do they do it for free?

We learned a difficult lesson last fall. On the Saturday afternoon before our early-Monday departure for 2 weeks in Ireland our travel partners called us to tell us that our house/dog sitter had been found dead by her father. You may have heard the scream and sucking in of air. There was no way to arrange for boarding for two weeks 36 hours before departure. The young woman had been our sitter for years and was perfect; she worked online and did not drive, so she was always at the house, and the dogs loved her. We were fortunate that I had a backup--a woman I had worked with who did house-sitting. She was able to commit to most of the days we would be gone and another friend with 3 dogs of her own took Penny for the final weekend--a real dog party. Puppy Penny seemed to enjoy her 'vacation' and she did not come home with too many learned tricks.

For the cruise we took this past March we arranged for the same woman to house-sit, but Penny was now much bigger and stronger, and we felt that the woman, who walked with a cane, would not easily manage her. We were fortunate that the training establishment that Penny attended had a kennel available to its customers. Not only were we able to board Penny, but we were able to get more training for her. While we would have preferred a house sitting arrangement, this was a good substitute.

The moral of this story is to be prepared for the unexpected, and to cherish your dog sitter.

You might enjoy this previous thread, about pets in general, but maybe helpful... https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/what-do-your-pets-do-when-you-re-on-vacation

How much did it cost?

Timely topic for us-
Our current trip started with a pet-sitting disaster: our trusted housesitter of seven years seemed to be getting unreliable. She left one dog outside in the yard and left for a few hours; on another day she went to her home to feed her cat dinner, and fell asleep for several hours, leaving our guys unfed and in the dark. She had been so reliable for seven years! I really can't figure out what happened. She is a senior lady, and this is her business .
Thank goodness for neighbors who called us, helped out, and also the doorbell camera and home alarm system, ( which records comings and goings.) We were managing comings/goings everyday from Italy. Thankfully, my husband's son actually flew in from Texas for the second week. (Free trip to California, where he has lots of friends.) We owe him bigly!
We usually pay $90-$100 day for three dogs, for someone to stay at the house.
Now back to the drawing board once we get back.
There's just no way to enjoy a trip when the fur babies aren't getting good care.

Jazz, we have been dogless for a few years now, but previously our pups stayed with wonderful neighbors.

However, friends have boarded their dog for years with Camp Bow Wow in McHenry. They have several locations in Chicagoland. The prices are listed on their website. Hannah has always loved her stays there.

As I wrote in that other thread, we mostly use our daughter or friends.

Last summer though when we had to use a kennel, it was one that we used to use every other week for years. The owners became friends and they would always take our dogs. So on that trip we drove 4 hours with our 2 dogs and our daughters just so that the dogs would be in good hands. They gave us a discounted rate of $150/night for the 3.

Our daughter is a Rover sitter and only does it in her home. She charges just over $100 per night per dog. She is the #1 Rover sitter in her town, so we have to give her our dates far in advance even to get in with her, lol.

The short answer is "we do not." HUH?

We tried, we succeeded, but then we failed...big time!!!

When our sweet goldendoodle was maybe a 1.5 years old, we boarded him for about a week. Backstory: We inquired among other trusted dog owners, we visited the highest-recommended boarding facilities (think parents getting ready to send their child to summer camp or pre-school). Once a facility was selected, we took our dog to visit, so he could sniff around and get used to the place (he, of course, was not allowed in the kennel areas, but we were). When the time came, we "tweaked" one of the various package choices to best meet his needs, dropped him off, the kennel sent photos of him having a great time during his playtimes, etc. He had a bath before coming home......all went great!!

Fast forward to two Octobers ago, when we had planned "the trip of a lifetime" the "ta-da" one to celebrate multiple milestones. We knew exactly where he would be boarded, made the reservation months and months in advance, a month or so before the trip, drove out there (about 45 minutes from our home), let him sniff around, etc. Thought all would go as well as it did last time. This time we took his bed, since the kennel had told us last time he chose to sleep on the concrete floor instead of using "their bed." We took the his toys and his favorite foods, as we would be gone for 3+ weeks.

I will add: It had been at least five years since he was boarded that first time (take a hint with that...I offer advice near the end of the posting).

2.5 days later, as we were flying with our group to Peru, my cell phone rang....the kennel....my thought was "this cannot be good." Short version: They had obtained his medical records from our regular vet and were (with our permission) taking him to a vet close to the facility. Vet called us a few hours later: Stress colitus......treatment plan....and we changed the boarding package we had selected to a personalized "snuggles and cuddles" package. Oh my gosh....I was totally eaten up with guilt....what have we done to him, and we still had several weeks ahead of us. The kennel checked in with us regularly, giving us some positive (where they could find such) updates, and he survived. When we went to pick him up, I envisioned rolling on the floor with him with him being glad to see us. What happened? He walked right past us...did not even sniff or acknowledge us, and went to the Client Services person who had been giving him his special snuggles/hugs.................I think he thought we had given him away!!!!!! Never again will we board him, unless some true emergency arises!!!

I know this is not encouraging for you, and I do not mean to be discouraging. But, if you choose to be gone, do what we SHOULD HAVE DONE, now looking in the rear view mirror of regret:

Board the dog at the facility for a one night, then the next month, do two nights, then three nights, etc. to get the dog used to the facility again. That will also assure your dog you are not giving him/her away....that you will return, and dog will be reminded of the routine of the kennel in small pieces. We really made an error not doing that....regret.

Also dogs can smell anxiety of their owners. I was very anxious about leaving our sweetie for so long. I should have had just my husband drop him off.......he was less anxious about it than I was.

Advantage of using a boarding facility vs. one pet sitter is that if something unforeseen (as a poster up-thread had happen) happens, there is a staff at the facility to have back-ups on back-ups. I sometimes see posts on NextDoor where some dear soul is in panic mode because they got a call from their pet sitter that they are abandoning the job because the dog has the runs and they refuse to clean it up, etc......poster is asking for help from the general public (potentially dangerous for many reasons).

Jazz,
We have cats, not dogs, but we have traveled up to 10 weeks and have used TrustedHouseSitters for 10 years now. It is an exchange: they live in your home and pay nothing and you pay them nothing. Just keep the lights and heat on, provide a safe and comfortable environment. There is a membership fee. LMK if you want a link to join at a discount.

P.S. Of course, if you have friend with back-ups or family close by with back-ups, and there is time to do some trial runs of several days, with your pet staying with them, that might work for you. But, I have also seen posts on NextDoor where some dear soul is looking for a missing dog (the one they were keeping for a friend) who slipped out their door when kid opened it), etc.

Dogs, as you know, are creatures of routines and do best without a lot of disruption in their lives. Some dogs are more adaptable than others...maybe yours is one of those....ours is not.

Our future travels will be places where we can take him with us.....really limits the choices, we realize. But, we have done a lot of international travel in the past. Are there places we would still like to visit...of course....but we are also very happy with what we have been able to do in the past.

Life is full of choices and tradeoffs. YOU will know what is best for your circumstances. Travel makes for some fabulous experiences and cherished memories.

I have even randomly searched private planes (where a dog would be allowed), but that is not practical/cost feasible. So, beach vacation or mountain vacation "might be it" for us going forward....maybe.

For all those who might say: What? You are letting a dog dictate what you do? NO...we have chosen to make him an important focus in our lives, and when we adopted him, we knew the majority of our overseas travels were behind us. He was not a "pandemic" adoption...he was adopted before that, but he sure has been a social icebreaker when we are out on walks, which were lifesavers during the early stages of the pandemic. We adore him :) He is family .

Maggie--I am sorry, but I am laughing so hard at your pup giving you the cold shoulder;). They know where the goods are;)

I should have elaborated only how my daughter works her Rover business. She works from home, so is with the dogs every minute of the day. When she has dogs, she doesn't even go to the grocery store, but does instacart instead. She gives injections, etc. One set of dog parents had a very elderly dog with multiple conditions, and they had their attorney draw up papers that our daughter would basically be POA should anything happen. So yes, many people have a lot of faith in her and she would be devastated if anything ever happened.

Our friends that watch the dogs have 2 dogs from our same breeder, so they are all related. They also watch over our garden in the summer. On one trip, my friend kept sending me photos of her reading to the beans, etc lol. She was doing that one day when the gardener came through the gate. She said he must of thought she was nuts.

Our son and his fiancee are backups. They only live about 20 minutes from us, but he works in downtown Seattle, and she works some days from home. So we only ask them when there is an emergency as we don't want to make their days any busier.

My dog and I fly to Denver, where my Mom (mostly) and Dad take care of her. It's her "second home" and Mom spoils her like a grandchild.

The costs include round-trip airfare for me to Denver ($250-$400) plus $250 round-trip (in cabin) for my dog - less than a dog sitter. I get to visit my parents, which I would do anyway. (And I knock 2+ hours off my international flight!) Mom, who wants a dog (but not really) gets visits with mine.

Maggie--I get it, our dogs are part of the family, not just mere pets. We have neighbors that have given up international travel for now until their pup passes, and he is 18 or so. Every pup and every family has different circumstances, so there is no one answer. I love that this thread is giving great suggestions and things to look out for:)

We have used Rover for our neurotic Australian Shepard. She became ours about five years ago when our son moved out west and did not take her. She is afraid of people she doesn’t know and is quite inflexible. Not exactly the kind of dog for a twenty something who wants a dog he can take everywhere.

For three years we successfully used a place from Rover that essentially is a kennel run by one person at his house for three years. There was one person taking care of her which worked well and lots of dogs to play with in a large fenced in area. The dogs had an air conditioned kennel with crates for the night.

Then last year we were gone a lot for various reasons and she started becoming anxious. She barked a lot. Our sitter started complaining and even sent a video of her barking. We found a different sitter who takes only two dogs at a time and where the dogs stay in the house. We thought she was missing human attention since we were gone more. This has worked out well and the woman reports the our dog follows her around all the time. She does that at home too.

Both places we have paid about $35 a night.

But pets are a challenge if you travel and don’t have a trusted family member or friend near by.

Don't have pets for this problem.

Marie used to go on camping trips when her health was better. I'd come by and spend a few hours with her cat each day. The cat got increasingly anxious and distressed the longer they were gone. It would take days after they were back before the cat was anything like normal.

I have hopes that when some current health issues are addressed I'll be able to travel again. So, no pets.

Wow, I am truly floored by the lengths people go to, to make sure the pups are happy! To each his own. We chose a different solution. I love animals, love our 2 dogs who we have had for 13 and 10 years. We are newly retired and planning on traveling between 5-6 months out of the year. Not possible with dogs. So we gave them to my oldest daughter who has a dog business. The dogs were originally for the kids in the first place. I miss them, but I was not willing to put my dreams of traveling the world on hold for them. Ever see the movie, Me Before You? Life is too short.

Jazz+Travels

This is one reason we keep our trips shorter.
How short?

We've not gone past two weeks while having a dog, and prefer 7-10 days.

This is a good question. For us, we use a local dog sitter who our dog has grown to love (though he will have to grow to love someone else soon as they are relocating!). Since we got him, we try not to be away longer than 10 days as he does have separation anxiety. But one of my favourite things about getting a dog has been bringing him on domestic travels- we are lucky to live in such a dog-friendly country where he can ride the train, stay at many hotels, visit most pubs, and even some restaurants. Many of our historic sites are also dog friendly- at least the grounds tho sometimes interiors as well. If it wasn't so difficult to bring dogs into the UK (they are very strict bc rabies has been eradicated here and they want to keep it that way), this would be a great place for international travellers to bring their dogs.

Another vote for trustedhousesitters.com Have had great sitters and my dog gets to stay at home.

Jazz+Travels you've asked a couple times about cost, which is going to vary greatly depending on where you live and how many people in your area are willing to board or pet sit. As you're in Chicago you may have more options than a person in a small rural town. It also depends on what kind of care you're asking for and the type and number of pets.

To get a ballpark, you can search on Rover.com (mentioned by others above) to get a general idea for cost for boarding (in another person's home), house sitting (in your home), or drop in visits (no one in house overnight). I did a dummy search for two weeks in July and prices in Chicago area ranged from $29-75 per night for boarding or house sitting. There is a fee to use the booking platform and know that the sitters are also charged a percentage for each booking - thus the price may be a bit higher on average than booking someone privately. This summer I have scheduled a house sitter for my cats using Rover, so I don't have personal experience yet but I did a meet and greet with the sitter and she's a delightful college student that I am hopeful will work out great.

Re: Cost
While obviously (the kennel itself) of most interest to those who live in Middle Tennessee, but since Jazz+Travels asked about cost:

Here is the place we used, which came highly recommended to us, and we found it wonderful. Our dog (both times) was in the the "Dog Who Thinks He Is Human" program (with a tweak for two private playtimes instead of the creek walk option).

https://thefarmatnatcheztrace.com/

Yes, it is costly, but it is a wonderful, clean, caring place. Dogs are taken outside multiple times to "do their business" on the lawns...not on a concrete section of their own kennels (as is common with many kennels). The Disney Channel plays softly each section. Each dog has a chart (similar to a medical chart) when each feeding/outing/meds (if applicable), etc. is recorded, along with any issues and resolutions).

For dogs who are "group social," there is a group play option. Beyond kenneling, day programs are also available.

We first tried to use a highly regarded boarding service between our home and my work office. My boss brought his dog there during his work hours and felt the dog was being enriched by their play time there. However, our dogs had a horrible 2 week experience there - the miniature dachshund was routinely used as a "potty" by larger dogs, the miniature poodle was an absolute mess and the westie could not bark for a month. They complained to me that he was terrorizing the big German shepherds and wouldn't stop barking. I think they could have managed him much better.

We have a business named "Pet Nanny" in the western Detroit suburbs that supplies licensed, insured, bonded, etc. personnel to look after animals, plants, and home.

We've used them since 1998 and I've become personal friends with the owner who was another retiree from FoMoCo. Should the regular assigned nanny be unavailable there is always a backup ready to jump in and the owner manages keys and access. What was especially helpful was their ability to visit my home and take care of the animals when I had to stay for "casual overtime" as it was euphemistically described at Ford. Also, they could extend visits when we were delayed by canceled flights or other problems.

The dogs were visited 3 times a day (40 minute visits) and were completely content when we arrived home. They looked at us nonchalantly with an "oh your home" relaxed attitude. They entertained each other during our absence. It was actually a little cheaper than the boarding costs and the pet nanny was better at watering my plants than me. She also noticed when the mail wasn't being held by the USPS and brought it into the house. She made the house looked lived in without actually being there.

Our pet nanny has been indispensable for 27 years, 5 dogs, and 5 different birds.

Our solution, so to speak: when our beloved dog had to be put to sleep in 2011, we did not get another one right away. We were retiring very soon after that, and upping our travel plans which for the last few years of our dog's life had been on hold (he was not in good shape and did not fare well at the kennel).

And here we are 14 years later, and we still have not gotten another pet. Like many, we were tempted during the pandemic to get a dog, but we resisted. We had a very good dog sitter for a few years, but that arrangement fell apart, and we tried kennels, but had some really bad experiences with those. The stress over leaving our dog with someone else limited our enjoyment of travel, and we curtailed travel for years. I envy people who have found really good arrangements for their pets, but we never did.

We have always been fortunate to have family that the dogs knew nearby, so they get a vacation as well. In 25 years of travel and 3-4 dogs, it has always worked. To us, it was really the only viable option.

However, it is a limiting factor in duration of the trip, about 4 weeks is max. We have one dog left, after this, no more pets until we are done traveling (we are early 60s).

As for the dog's opinion, it is a bit hard to gauge, but in reports, they are fine after a day or so, happy to see us when we return, clingy for a few days. We did have one dog though that was happy to se us, but when we got to our house she would basically ignore us. I mean she would sit near us but purposely look the other way. This would last several days to a week, then she would forgive and forget.

Our doggy daycare provider also does boarding out of her house, so when we're gone our pups are hanging out with one of their favorite people in the world and her pups. It makes it possible for us to go away without anxiety.

How do you manage your dog when you are gone for several weeks?

Drive 3000 miles? That's what we just did. We have a 10 year old rescued coonhound mix with separation anxiety. We are spending approximately 3 months in Massachusetts with my husband's almost 92 year old mother. Although we are very fortunate to have 2 friends who have looked after our dog for as long as 5 weeks it seemed rather a large imposition to ask someone to look after him for 3 months. For upcoming international travel we will ask our friends. But for multi-month visits to the in-laws a long car ride remains the plan.

Our dog doesn't deal well. Or maybe it's more accurate to say that my husband doesn't deal well. Or most accurate of all, my husband and our dog have a codependent relationship and neither deals well with being apart.

We don't often travel together because of the dog. Our last trip was to Amsterdam in March 2024 for five days. Our son and his girlfriend came and stayed at the house with the dog, which is the best of all possible solutions. At the time she was living in her dorm and he was living with a roommate so it was easy and they were happy to be together eating our groceries, and they were able to be there a good bit during the days.

Now our son and his girlfriend have their own apartment and a cat and jobs so asking them to come stay would be a bit of an imposition, and it's likely the dog would be alone for hours each day.

I suspect we won't travel together internationally again until the dog crosses the rainbow bridge. He's elderly but still spry and and good health, neuroses and neediness aside.

Our dog doesn't deal well. Or maybe it's more accurate to say that my husband doesn't deal well. Or most accurate of all, my husband and our dog have a codependent relationship and neither deals well with being apart.

LoL! You just described my husband and dog! The only thing that has allowed us to travel internationally together is the fact that we have dog-friendly friends. I doubt we could ever board our dog in a kennel. Neither the husband or dog would allow it.

We have two very active boxers that are still very much puppies at ages 3 and 5. We had put both of them through a board and train with a well respected trainer in the Tampa area. We became friends and he boards our dogs at his home when we travel. $150 a night for both of them. It hurts when we take a longer trip. We have family that have offered to help- i.e. walks, feeding, etc. - but these dogs are too much. We love them but they are nuts.

We have peace of mind knowing they are well cared for while we're gone, staying at someone's home, playing with other dogs. That is priceless.

I am lucky to have good friends with whom my dog loves to stay when I am out of the country.

My pup was totally freaked out at the shelter before I adopted her, and I simply can't bring myself to board her. If my friends can't keep her, I have a trusted dog walker who was charging about $40+ a day a few years ago. She may be charging more now.

Boarding is expensive here in Atlanta. My neighborhood place, which I trust, was charging $40 - $50 dollars a day in 2019 when I had my previous dog.

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's solutions to this issue! We have dear friends that would watch our Australian Shepherd anytime for us, but 8 years ago we got a goldendoodle puppy too. He turned out quite large & as they are seniors, the 2 dogs would be too much for them to handle.

We tried a kennel once for the Doodle, while the friends watched the Aussie, but afterwards decided we wouldn't do a kennel again.

We have now found friends of a friend that work from home & look after dogs in their home. After their last dog passed, they decided that they wanted to travel, so did not get another dog. They still get to enjoy dogs & travel too. They book up quickly, so I plan our trips way in advance & make sure they're available before booking anything. We pay $75 a day for the 2 dogs and they only take dogs from 1 family at a time (no mixing strange dogs).

To answer Jazz+'s question in the title, the dogs don't seem to miss us at all while we're gone! The sitters send us pictures each day & they seem to be having a great time.

I think dogs can handle it better (on average) than cats.

And it helps to have more than one to keep each other company.

(I don't think cats are really sure we're coming back while dogs are mostly sure)

Marie watched two cats for a neighbor when they were gone for a week or two. She'd go over and spend an hour or two each day. Even with two she said they'd get increasing strange the longer the neighbor was gone. And the neighbor said it took more than a week before they were anywhere close to normal.

I think most people just kind of ignore what's going on with the pets. They get over it.

While our Barley crossed the rainbow bridge last fall, for the three trips we did without Barley we used trusted house sitters. First was 8 nights, next was 25 nights (overseas) and last one was 14 nights. All three sits went really well,

Since there will be another dog in our future, that’s why we decided on a six week trip this year since we were dogless.

We have quit traveling together for long periods... Sadly our pet sitter "retired" (He was an older man that she stayed with and loved). Her health issues are such that boarding her in a kennel is not even an option, we'd wind up with several thousand dollars in vet bills as stress triggers digestive track issues and she's never really been a "play with other dogs" kind of dog.

So we vacation separately :) We are going to a wedding next month and a neighbor is keeping her for 2 days, that should work great but I don't think he's willing to do this for long stays.

However, she's 15 and as my vet says we are in the "bonus years" so.. we will just keep this up for as long as we have.