Hi. I'm new here. Our girl Magic was a rescue. We got her when she was 1, and she never liked to be boarded when we went away - we only did it a couple of times. When she was 11 we hosted a big thanksgiving dinner. We decided to board her (and our boy Jambo - then 6) just for the night at a local kennel. We picked them up first thing in the moring and they were crazy happy to see us. A day or so later, Magic was coughing up something white, so I thought she caught kennel cough or somethign. Took her to the vet. they couldn't figure it out. We took her home and later that evening she looked like she was excessively panting. We rushed her to the emergency vet - turned out she had a Pneumnothorax (sp?) - one (or both?) of her lungs had a blister on it that burst, so she wasn't getting any air to her lungs. They asked me if she had been hit by a car or hit hard somehow. I said no, and I asked the kennel if anythign had happened. Of course they said no, and I believe them (I'll never know for sure). I think she got so crazy in the kennel that she probably freaked out, maybe hurt herself, I dunno. Anyways, a week in intensive care ($6000 later) she healed herself, was breathing on her own, had to wear a coat all winter (because they had shaved her back and sides- she had a mohawk.) Magic lived to be 15 - so this was Worth every penny - but I will think twice about putting my dog in a kennel again! I had reservations and pushed them aside, and look what happened. After that I hire my dog walker to come in 3-4 times a day when we are away. Dogs are happier in their own home. Not trying to stress you out more - but if your dog REALLY has an issue with kennels, maybe hriing someone to come to your house 4 x a day would work better.

See something like that is my worst fear, and why I don't ever foresee myself being okay with boarding. I would love to hire a dog walker, but around here there aren't to many and even with walks three to four times a day thats way to much time in their crates (they can't be out running out the house yet). I know once I move it will be a lot easier to find trustworthy people to stay at the house but here, I just can't trust anyone.

Maybe you could book them for one night, kind of as a test and see how they do. Would that be possible?

I'm looking for some boarding advice. We have some upcoming trips this year and we've strongly been considering a boarding facility. My fears in leaving Klaus is him getting loose, eating something he shouldn't, and making sure he gets his eye drops. We've had several family members offer to take them, but we're either not comfortable with it, they don't have a fenced yard, etc. So we're thinking boarding is probably better. However, I want to make sure we're looking for the right things. We have toured 3 facilities so far and only one seemed nice. What to look for? The one we are considering is Alll American Pet Resort in Royal Oak, MI, if anyone cares to check them out.
My concern with boarding is that at the end of the day they are strangers, and the fact that he will get play time with other dogs as well, so there is risk of injury of course.
Also, what is up with every boarding contract pretty much having you sign off that they are not reliable in any way. How is this legal? Pretty much if my dog gets injured, oh well we signed him off? I'm not there to watch them, I'm trusting them, but they have no responsibility in it? I think that is bothering me the most. If anyone can shed some light on exactly how that all works I'd be thankful.

It is so stressful trying to find someone to watch your baby!

While it might not be workable in the big city (well, Detroit is BIG to me) I board mine with my vet.  While they don't get as much exercise as they're used to or as they need, I *do* trust my vet.

The big difference from what you describe and what I have with my vet is that if something happens to either of them the vet will care for them - and unless it's something they came in with, I'm not responsible.  If the dog gets injured on their site, they're responsible for making sure it gets appropriate treatment quickly.

I've had one fellow down here watch my dogs *one* time - that was enough of that.  My vet boards for a very reasonable rate ( US$16 per dog per night ) and, as I said, I do trust her and her staff.  While my kids are ready to come home when I come to pick them up, they're also ready to spend time with her staff - so they're obviously not mistreated.

Most (many / some) vets have 'boarding areas' for dogs that are under their care for more than a day or so, so if you're on good terms with your vet, it's something you might want to consider.

We took 2 trips last fall...1 week and 3ish weeks. Wayne was not about to leave Ami with anyone. So we took him with us. Places we wanted to visit that would not allow dogs, we used doggie daycare (identified and reserved in advance) we stayed exclusively at red roof inn because of their dog policy...1 well behaved pet per room at no extra charge. The only place we had a problem was outside of DC... the town had a local ordinance prohibiting pets unless they were service dogs.

The only hassle was meal times - unless the restaurant had a patio AND was warm enough and dog friendly, it was takeout in the room. Which meant a LOT of Chinese. Ami travels well, we made use of local dog parks and brought an extra sheet to cover the bed linens... dog hair and black city dirt on the paws.

Just an option.

La Quinta and Kimpton hotels are all dog friendly with no extra fee

Dogvacay is also a good option as you can pick the family/house they stay with. They care for your pup like they're their own (from ours and friends experience).

Unfortunately our vet doesn't have boarding. I wish he did. Other vets I checked in the area don't even offer play time. They sit in a run all day, so I don't want to do that to him.

Taking him with us isn't really an option. In August we are going to Mexico for a wedding, and we aren't flying him with us lol

The place that we are considering we know someone else who takes their two huskies there, and they always love it. But I'm worried about him getting hurt somehow, or them not realizing he is hurt/sick. They said if they need medical attention they take them to a close vet.

I have looked into the in home dog sitters, however at the end of the day they are just as much of a stranger as the workers at the boarding facility, and I have no idea who comes in and out of their house, so we ruled that one out.

My grandparents offered to watch him, my problem with that, is that they don't have a fenced yard. So he would need to be on a tie out. How safe are tie outs? I'm worried about it coming out of the ground. Is one better than another?

My comment on tie outs.  Yes they can work.  But after Misty (my first Sibe) pulled two of them out of the ground I went to a trailer anchor that went about three feet into the ground, if she'd pulled that one out (which she never did) the next resort was to tie her to a phone pole!  (( Trailer anchor - what they use to stabilize house trailers against the wind, normally about 3 - 4 feet long and most of it goes into the ground.  My next caveat, however, does apply here! ))

I also advise that anyone who's going to use tie outs make sure they get one that has a protective cover of some kind over the pole.  I know of one dog who, literally, impaled itself on a commercial tie out that was just an iron rod with a swivel on it.

I thread huge eyebolts into trees and attach tethers to that. Usually need a large, thick screw driver to finish threading it into the tree (the shank of the screw driver through the eye of the bolt to use as leverage to thread the bolt in.). That bolt is staying in there!!! Just make sure the diameter of the eyebolt accepts your tether shackle.

With tethering, I had to add a 2nd snap shackle to the tether as Ami figured out how to unhook himself.

I am not sure where you are located in MI but somewhere in Metro Detroit it seems. I take Gabby to day care at Bark Avenue Play and Stay in Utica (they also have a location in Roseville). They have always been a great place to take her and if I ever did have to board her, that is where I would be taking her (I actually might be taking during the 4th of July if my parents can't watch her). Whenever there has been an issue, they make sure to talk everything though each day and continue to keep an eye on things. Gabby has a issue with continually picking on one dog that goes there and even semi-attacked it one day. They always make sure that she is not doing anything bad and have been working with here issue. Great people there.

Plus a bonus is they take regular pictures daily and post them on facebook so you can see what they are up too.

I did look into Bark Avenue actually. They were rated number one boarding facility in Detroit one year, but its almost 2 hours away from us which is a bit of a drive to drop off and pick up.