Just as with anything else, a great boarding kennel may be a great place to board most dogs, just not yours.
Some of the things that may not suit your dog in any one particular kennel could vary:
- He doesn’t get along with certain dogs
- Your dog needs to be walked three times a day, and the kennel only walks dogs twice a day.
- Your dog needs to be caged by himself; he can’t have a roommate.
- Your dog requires lots of one-on-one human attention, and the kennel may not have enough workers to accommodate this need.
- You dog just can’t stand to be caged/crated for more than couple of hours a day, or just at night (for sleeping). So unless the kennel allows dogs to run free in a spacious and safe dog run for several hours a day (as we do here at Barney’s Ranch where, in fact, we board dogs cage-free), then a kennel may end up making your dog – and you – unhappy.
And so on.
So the best thing you can do is know your dog’s personality, decide on what is absolutely critical in a boarding kennel’s offerings, and look for one that fits your must-haves (and be open to boarding at a kennel that has the critical needs, but not all of your wants).
If you can’t find a kennel that offers the services you absolutely need, you may want to consider hiring a dog sitter and have the dog stay at home with the sitter while you’re gone.
But sometimes a kennel doesn’t do what it says it will do. Or an accident takes place and your dog is injured, or he doesn’t receive his medication on time.
Read below for steps to take when you’re not happy with your boarding kennel.
- The absolute first thing to do is to remember that honest mistakes happen. Talk to the kennel’s management and find out the truth about an incident. All kennels want to ensure a good stay and more than likely will be forthcoming about what happened, and what they intend to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
- If a kennel didn’t provide the services it said it would, speak to management. Depending on what wasn’t delivered (your dog can’t have a cage roommate, but circumstances beyond the kennel’s control necessitated that your pup had another dog in his cage at night for one night, for example), the kennel may be willing to give you a discount or offer a refund, depending on circumstances.
But sometimes a kennel’s operations don’t comply with state and local regulations and/or it doesn’t adhere to professional practices and standards.
You shuld know that kennels are unregulated at the Federal (nationwide) level. Each state and even city within a state has its own regulations to implement and enforce.
So if you feel the boarding kennel was truly negligent, your best bet is to report the kennel to the Better Business Bureau.
If you’re ever unhappy – for any reason – with our services here at Barney’s Ranch, we want to hear about it. Contact us at 469-450-7040 or send us an e-mail at info@BarneysRanch.com.
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