Dogs — Adventures — Finding Bouken

For our first two big trips, we left Miss Wiggles to the care of her breeder Mrs. Kaiju. It was something she offered us when we were planning our honeymoon. However, we can't always be imposing on their kindness to watch little Wiggles nor is it convenient to drive over 6 hours and fly out of LAX each time we go on a big trip.

Unless you already know someone, it's difficult to find a pet sitter, and even harder for a boarding facility. If you've boarded your dog before, you have probably read or heard about the negative experiences of others ranging from terrible handlers to poor facility management. The same goes for a dog walker or anyone that interacts with your pup.

We encountered a few issues when we were on a search for a dog walker and sitter. We spoke to a good friend of ours who worked at a local facility and she gave us insight on what to expect from certain places as well as which places to avoid.

As a starting point, it's good to do the following when finding a new pet-person.

Look everywhere.
Don't just go with the first item to pop-up on your search or the first recommendation you get. There are many places out there and you will be much happier knowing you've seen them all.
Check reviews.
Not just Yelp! reviews, but community reviews. If you are a member of NextDoor, an online space that creates a forum for the local community, you can find recommendations and feedback from locals.
Ask your groomer or vet.
The professional dog group isn't as big as you may think. Your groomer or vet will likely have good information on other pet related businesses and give you recommendations. If they take their own pets there, even better!
Ask them what kind of training they use.
When we were looking for boarding facilities, nothing we read mentioned asking the training method trainers used. While you aren't looking for training, it is very important to know this. Some places use negative reinforcement or dominance training to manage animals in their care. If avoiding that is important to you as it is to us, you're best bet is to ask.
Ask if they have breed restrictions.
Many places will not openly say this. It looks bad if you advertise being open to all dogs that pass your temperament test except certain breeds. Don't be surprised if they don't tell you this over the phone. The friend mentioned above was the one who told us about a facility she worked in that do not tell people hey don't take pitbulls. In the event that they did, these dogs would often be alone in a room with little to no socialization unless their owners pay the big bucks for a human to actually play with their pups. Needless to say, the facility's negative Yelp! reviews said the same thing.
Check out the place.
When you go in for the mandatory temperament test, know that they are not just interviewing and checking out your dog, you are also interviewing them! Check out the area, ask all the questions, make sure you get everything covered. Ask if they use a spray bottle, how they manage play groups, etc.

So what could happen if you don't thoroughly review your options and immediately go with the first seemingly obvious choice?

Your dog gets the short end of the stick. We don't know a lot of what happens to our pets when we're away and we'll be much happier and less anxious if we knew they were in good hands.

The friend we have that worked in a boarding facility told us that they used shock collars on difficult dogs, staff had poor training, poor site management, and dogs weren't always well taken care of. They had staff members who would hit animals in their care when they got frustrated, sometimes telling owners their dog had an accident or injured themselves. On the surface the place looked like a great place to leave your dog, but in reality it wasn’t.

After discussing the general operations of the facility, we decided it was one of the worst places we could use. In the end, we found someone who ended up becoming a great fit! Not only do they do boarding, they also do daycare and dog walking.