Boarding, Kenneling, Dog Sitting Services How does one choose the right service and what considerations should be evaluated? With all the choices available for boarding, kenneling, dog sitting, some even coming with fancy names like bed and breakfasts, doggie spas, motels and hotels, it might seem like an overwhelming choice for the average owner in selecting the proper boarding facility. However, in spite of luxurious claims compared to a bare bones facility, the most important consideration should be providing a safe, secure and predictable environment, with friendly and competently trained staff. Before you make your decision, you should visit the facility; your visit should be welcome if not encouraged by management and staff. I consider it an important part of the decision making process this way an owner can visually see where their pet will be kept along with viewing any outdoor areas used for potty and play. Any questions and concerns should be answered to your satisfaction; because it is important while you are away that you feel comfortable, knowing your pet is being cared for properly. Depending on the specific environment you choose, it may be important that you evaluate the kennel staff experience and expertise in normal dog behavior, training, and general knowledge concerning dogs and cats. If you choose to board in a facility-offering dog day-care or any interactive activities that include other dogs, it’s even more important the staff is sufficiently educated in normal dog behavior, dog communication, recognizing behavior problems with an emphasis on aggression.

What are bare bone considerations when selecting a kennel?

• Cleanliness is the most important feature you should consider. This should include proper sanitation procedures that prevent the spread of contagious disease. See important information concerning fecal matter below.
• All accommodations including kennels, crates, outdoor-indoor runs or private rooms should be clean and odor free and all currently boarded animals should appear clean and well cared for.
• Check any designated potty areas and any outdoor play areas. These areas should be free from any accumulated fecal matter and depending on the substrate routinely cleaned.
• Ask how fecal matter is disposed of. All kennel facilities should be taking responsibility in how this material is treated and disposed. See important information concerning fecal matter below.
• Exercise should be a concern, ask how often this is provided. Some kennels offer extra exercise opportunities at additional costs.
• Ask if your dog will be using outdoor toilet areas, and how often will they be provided access. Normal dogs need opportunity for toilet breaks at least every 6 hours with the only exception during normal sleeping hours.
• Providing natural daylight is a plus, along with good air circulation and proper ventilation will decrease any risk of disease.
• Consider the number of staff compared to the number of animals. A greater number of staff in comparison to animals may indicate more individual attention. This of course depends on the environment provided, dogs kept in outdoor-indoor kennels, runs or cages don’t usually get very much attention.
• Ask about veterinary care procedures in case of an emergency. If you have, any preferences discuss this with the kennel owner.
• If your pet requires any medication or other treatments, make sure the kennel staff can accommodate your pet needs.
• Grooming services are often required in most kennels. It is always a nice idea to send pets home clean or freshly groomed. You may want to make sure the groomer is sufficiently trained in proper grooming procedures. Providing dogs with baths and grooming requires two completely different amounts of skill.
• Make sure someone lives on the premises; you wouldn’t want to lose your pet to a fire or other potential disaster. Often kennels do not provide this protection, which is a very risky business that involves the lives of living animals.
• Ask if the owner carries any liability insurance, and especially for this type of business.
• Make sure you include any emergency information or instructions; this should be included on the boarding intake form.

What you should consider when boarding, using a pet sitter or that swanky spa!

When boarding includes socialization privileges

A well-socialized dog could be characterized by how readily it interacts and plays with other dogs. However, dogs will be dogs! In most cases, if there are altercations, they are often minor, but one cannot be careful enough when allowing a group of dogs to interact. If you decide to board your pet in this type of environment, make sure the staff have good working knowledge how dogs communicate, meaning they can read dogs well and have the ability to handle multiple dogs while keeping every one safe.

Often these kinds of businesses include behavior assessments, however, future behavior is not always predictable and there is always a chance that dogs may not get along with specific dogs. It’s best in these environments that numbers be limited by the effectiveness of staff, and sometimes alternating dogs in smaller groups, giving consideration to size, breed and personality can help provide safety while still providing interaction and socialization opportunity.

It’s your responsibility to make sure your dog is safe so your decision should include evaluating the level of expertise concerning animal behavior when boarding your pet in these types of environments. If the staff is not sufficiently educated in normal dog or cat behavior, and specifically aggression, how to manage it, recognize it and modify it, then you should be concerned about your dog’s welfare.

Is stress a consideration during boarding?

“Stress occurs when any demand is placed upon a dog that requires the dog to change or adjust” (Lindsay, 2000). For stress to occur events or situations do not have to be unpleasant, but rather any biological or psychological demand placed on an animal is capable of producing stress. There are certain amounts of healthy stress all animals are capable of adapting to, however chronic stress may lead to stress-related conditions. This is an important consideration when making your decision on how, where and under what conditions you will board your animals.

Stress-related hormonal changes occur during separation in a number of species. Tuber and colleagues (1996) studied dogs and found a “differential glucocorticoid (cortisol and corticosterone) response” occurs during five conditions of separation.

1. Alone in a novel environment
2. With a conspecific (another dog) in a novel environment
3. Alone in a familiar environment
4. With a human in a novel environment
5. With a conspecific (another dog) in a familiar environment.

The results of their study showed dogs left alone in novel environments had the highest level of cortisol output with the lowest level occurring in home kennels with a familiar conspecific. However, dogs tested in novel environments with a human companion had significantly lower cortisol levels when compared to dogs kept in the novel environment with a conspecific. These results lend support when considering your decision concerning your dog’s welfare when kenneling or boarding.

What exactly does my dog prefer?

According to these studies, dogs prefer the company of humans even in novel (unfamiliar) environments when compared to dogs kenneled in home environments with a familiar dog! What this means, is you may need to consider your dogs stress levels when using a pet sitter who only drops by on occasion and compared to a kennel alternative that not only meets your dogs need for dog socialization but also benefits from more human contact.

Things you might want to include for your pets comfort

• A favorite bed, blanket, toy that may help your pet feel more at home. Keep in mind these items can be destroyed by other dogs, unless they are specifically provided under privately managed housing.
• Send your own food – pets can become stressed when away from home and abrupt changes in diet can cause gastrointestinal upset that may include vomiting and diarrhea, you don’t want to stress your pet more than he may already be.
• You may want to include any special treats or chew items, just make sure the kennel accepts these as part of their overall care.

Why is disposing fecal matter so important?

If fecal matter is not removed regularly, dogs will not continue to potty in designated areas. During housetraining, teaching the dog proper locations should be of utmost priority. Dogs will not continue to use designated potty areas contaminated with fecal matter, instead moving to other locations within the yard. When we remove feces, our dogs will continue to use designated areas, which provide the ideal housetraining situation. When boarding you don’t want your dog to learn bad habits, being a proactive owner goes along way in preventing future behavior problems and it’s not uncommon when dogs return from kennels having developed poor habits resulting from insufficient housing, management and care.

Another good reason why feces should be removed is not only does it create a foul odor and is unsightly to humans, it presents a public health hazard. The public hazard comes in the form of Toxocara canis, which is larvae deposited in dog stools that become mature and infective after two to three days. During the summer months, it is even more hazardous when the sun dries the fecal matter allowing it to be carried by wind, contaminating everything in the area.

Additionally, feces provides an excellent breeding ground for flies, and according to Dunbar (1986) “a single dog fecal deposit” may provide for the proliferation of up to 588 flies. These mature flies then spread not only the toxocara larvae but also other infectious disease. These flies then may find their way into our homes, carrying these infectious agents. The best way to prevent this is to clean up any fecal matter before flies have the opportunity to lay their eggs. For owners, this is easily done using plastic bags, tying them up and disposing of them. When considering a boarding facility, you should be concerned how this material is being processed. You might want to ask, because you don’t want to expose your pet to any unnecessary illness or disease.

Lastly, I consider this a responsible dog owner’s duty, not only does ignoring this responsibility cause potential public health problems, but it does not promote good pet management and consideration toward your neighbors!

Health and Vaccination Requirements

All dogs and cats should be healthy and free of disease that may be contagious to other animals. Pet owners whose animal may have medical problems that are currently being treated and are stable should advise the kennel owner or staff prior to boarding and to ensure the kennel staff are able to accommodate your pet.

With all the remedies readily available for treating fleas, ticks or any other external or internal parasite, your pet should be treated prior to any scheduled boarding. Some kennels will treat dogs or cats if any external parasites are noticed and charge you for the treatment.

Some kennels may require health certificates or proof of vaccinations from your veterinarian. Because some veterinarians do not routinely vaccinate every year for DHLPP (distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parainfluenza and parvovirus), your dog may not have all the vaccinations a kennel or boarding facility may require. It’s best to ask what an individual kennels policy is concerning vaccinations because “there is no generally accepted rule regarding vaccinations in dogs.”

FYI - Information concerning vaccination protocols

Among the veterinary community there seems to be developing a “diversity of opinion” concerning which vaccines should be administered, the frequency and safety of administering vaccines as well as their protective value.

The veterinary community attempting to individualize immunization programs has divided vaccine protocols into Core and Non-Core groups. The Core vaccines are those recommended for all dogs, while the Non-Core are recommended to dogs that may be at risk, due to lifestyle, or exposure to infectious disease. Core vaccines are determined by their infectious ability and transference to other dogs and humans.

Due to vaccine safety risks, this debate is of some concern, even though the benefits of vaccination are well recognized, there have been reports of “injection-site tumors in cats, vaccine associated autoimmune disease in dogs” along with vaccine reactions occurring after booster administration. This has caused concern over whether or not vaccines should be administered to all dogs and whether or not annual booster administration is necessary for continued protection.

Recent publications suggest the current vaccination schedules do not address the effectiveness of vaccines protective immunity, saying, “depending on the infectious agent… protective immune response may persist for years” after vaccination questioning the continuance of boosters. However, there is no published data that substantiates any “uniform standard” concerning the duration of any vaccine-induced immunity with the exception of rabies.

Finally, Non-Core vaccines should be considered based on risk assessment for individual dogs, taking into consideration the dog’s history, environment and the infectious agent of concern. Some of the Non-Core vaccines include Canine Bordetella, parinfluenza, Leptospira, coronavirus, Giardia, and Borrelia (Lyme disease). It is suggested that vaccines that do not present any risk to a dog be excluded from any vaccination protocol, and clients should rely on their veterinarian to guide your choices and what is best for their individual pet.

References

Dunbar, Ian & Bohnenkamp, Gwen. Behavior Booklets – Housetraining Supplement.
CA: James & Kenneth. 1986.

Mansfield, Philip, DVM. (2000). Vaccination Issues of Concern to Dog Owners.
Retrieved from: http://www.scwtca.org/pdf/bmarch/28.2Mansfield.pdf#search='philip%20D.%20Mansfield%2C%20D.V.M

Responsible Dog & Cat
Training and Behavior Solutions
Joyce D. Kesling
P.O. Box 15992
Sarasota, Florida 34277
941-921-6624 ~ 941-587-2049

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Mahatma Gandhi 1869 – 1948
© Responsible Dog & Cat 2005

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