You are going away the holidays this year. But you need to make some arrangements for your dog during that time. Should you board him at a kennel? Probably. But let’s take a look at some alternatives, just in case.
House sitter.
Using a house sitter lets you take care of two birds with one stone. You get someone to look after your house and your pet. Hiring someone who does this for a living might run into some money, however To avoid this you can check out some other alternatives. One would be using a friend or relative. The other would be to hire a college student, which wouldn’t cost you nearly as much. You probably could get a student to house sit for about the price of boarding your dog at a kennel.
Some pet owners recommend Care.com for finding house sitters. This site allows you to do background checks as well.
Use a friend or family member.
This is probably your first choice. If your friends or family have pets that get along with yours, all the better. You can offer to watch their pets when they go on vacation to return the favor. Or you can pay them cash or in kind, such as a home cooked meal.
Use someone to just look in on your pet, such as a dog walker.
Depending on your pet, you can hire someone to just stop by to walk the dog and give him food and water a couple of times a day. This is obviously something more for a low maintenance animal.
Use other pets owners.
There are websites that will link you up with other pet owners who will watch your pet for a fee. Two examples are DogVacay and Holidog.com. Here you can find people who will take your pet into their home for the length of your trip.
Take your pet with you.
Depending on how you travel, this may be a viable option. It might not be feasible if you are flying because of the price, but if you are driving it could be doable. Many hotels allow you to keep your dog in the room, although there are fees and restrictions. For example, Marriott charges $100 a day for a pet, while a Best Western charges $20. La Quinta Inns has almost 900 hotels that allow pets, with no fees.
When heading out of town any time of the year, consider giving your pet a vacation while your gone by boarding him here at Barney’s Ranch. He’ll be able to play outside most of the day with other dogs while enjoying our 8,000 square foot outdoor run! Give us a call at (469) 273-1661 for more information.