iona Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Is it easier to take your dogs with you when you travel? Do you just not want to leave them? My inlaws are making a 1 1/2 to 2 week road trip, staying at four different family members homes (including us), with 2 adult labs. They called and asked if it was ok. dh said that i wasn't a big dog person, but that it would probably be fine and that he'd ask me. I'd rather them not, but I feel like it isn't unreasonable for a few days, so why would I make a fuss. I guess not being a dog person, I'm trying to understand their side of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Well, when we had pets we boarded them. I would never show up with my pets in anyone's home. The pet may be my family but it's not to others and it's rude IMO. My pets were fine being boarded. We currently have none...and I was shocked my mom suggested she bring her cat with her at Christmas. Otherwise they will only stay 2 nights. This cat hates us. I would gladly pay her pet sitter than have her cat in my home! I was shocked. It's like the older she gets the less she wants to leave the cat....but why would you put an animal through the drive/agony/stress of new place for 48 hours??? *shaking my head* So speaking for a former dog person....no, I don't get it. They need to pay for a pet sitter or board the animal. When we traveled it was part of our trip budget and not a hardship. If I couldn't board the dog then we couldn't consider the traveling. Enough said :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I am a huge dog person. We just got another puppy after loosing both our older dogs this summer. I have never taken them to anyone else's home. I think it's intrusive in more ways than one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I prefer to bring the dogs. First of all pet sitters are very expensive. Secondly some animals do not handle the stress of boarding well at all. I have worked in animal hospitals my entire adult life and seen how the animals react. Some are fine being boarded, many are not. I know that my dogs would not do well only be let outside 3 times a day, listening to other dogs barking all day. They would be anxious wrecks by the time I picked them up and probably have soiled themselves several times. No way. I will pay for a pet sitter when I have to, if I can, but I really can't do that very often. And over the holidays it can be impossible to find someone who is available. Of course, given all this we don't travel very much :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Our family (sis and bill, mom and dad, us) usually bring our dogs with us when we drive to visit each other. Each household has one big dog. We also take our dog when we visit my in-laws even though they don't have a dog. Boarding is expensive and we only do it when absolutely necessary since our dog doesn't like it. Also, since we live so far away from each other, visits are usually long to cancel out travel time. When we go on vacation without our dog, we can usually find a friend to watch our dog, but it is hard to do that. I will say that we don't care at all when the other dogs visit but always ask each other. My in-laws love our dog and like to get small doses of dog ownership when they are around him since they don't want to take on that full responsibility. We'd never take our dog to someone's house if they didn't like dogs or just our dog in particular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Jen* Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 We take our dogs with us when we travel to visit family which is about the only time we travel. That is generally twice a year and we are gone for 10 days. We take them because my parent's are dog people and our dogs get along well with their dogs. We do not take them with us when we visit my IL's since they are not dog people. The dogs stay at my parent's for the few days that we are at the IL's house. Otherwise we will board them if it is an emergency and there is no other option. The reasons that we bring them are - the expense of boarding - even at the cheapest place around it is $20 /dog/day so that's $400 plus tax for the boarding for two dogs - the expense of the vet visit and shots to make them able to be boarded (which I would otherwise not have done) - another $400 a year - one dog does not do well being boarded and the last time we boarded her I had an additional vet visit and medication to get her digestive system back in order - $100 - the same dog also hates being boarded so much that the last time we had an emergency and had to board her we had to pay $200 in damages that she did overnight when she chewed her way out of her run. So basically if we were to board them while we travelled it would use up all our money and we wouldn't have any money to pay for the trip home or we would have to cut down to just one trip a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I'm a dog person. :) We have always boarded our dogs, or found a pet sitter. However, we've just come home from our first vacation with dogs, and I have to say it was a lot of fun. We rented a wonderful pet-friendly cabin in the mountains, and our dogs absolutely adored it - and the long mountain walks. Our plan was not to stay with family, though, thus we took the pups. It was enjoyable, so I can see why people take dogs along to cabins, etc. As we were leaving the cabin, my aunt and uncle called out of the blue, and invited us to their mountain house. They specifically invited the dogs as well, and despite my misgivings about bringing our dogs to a relative's home... We went. We discussed it in depth ahead of time, and they assured us over and over that they are dog people, and that it would be fine. We were worried about accidents in the house, or our dogs getting rambunctious at an inappropriate moment - but my aunt and uncle have always had dogs, so seemed very comfortable. Plus, their dog was going to be there also. On the whole, it was fine. But I worried constantly about the dogs getting into something, or having an accident, or ... well, anything that might go wrong. Honestly, I'd never choose to be a guest with dogs again. It was fun to travel with the pups, but the worries about troubles that the dogs might cause to our hosts was too much for me! What about researching a doggy day care near your home? Maybe that would give the dogs an outlet for their energy during the day (and get them out of your hair), and they could still spend the evenings with your in-laws? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 The biggest reason I don't often bring my dog on trips now is because with all the kids it is just too many things for me to keep track of at road side stops :tongue_smilie: That said, all of our family (his and mine) with dogs usually bring/take them to visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmom Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 We loaned our car to someone who needed transportation. This person ended up leaving her dog in our vehicle for long periods of time!! It amazed me that she would do this, particular since she never asked us and since we kept the inside of the vehicle very clean. The dog ended up scratching the door and made the car smell very bad. This car will never be the same. Of course, she also left fast food trash in it, and leftover peanuts (my son is allergic to peanuts). I understand that people view their pets as part of the family, but I do NOT understand people who don't bother to ask someone if it is OK to bring their pets into someone's home (or car). I was appalled when I found out that this lady kept her dog in the vehicle we loaned to her. She never once asked me if it would be ok. I *get* that the dog is part of the family. I do NOT get how thick some people can be about this, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowfall Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 We travel with our dog (dogs when there were two) but ONLY if it was okay with the people we were visiting or if we were going on a dog-friendly vacation. We definitely would never take our pet somewhere if the people we were visiting were uncomfortable with it. For us there are two reasons we take dogs with us. The first is that it is very expensive to board a dog. We also don't do all the shots (we only do rabies) so we not only have to pay the expense to board, but we have to pay to get them up to date on all their shots every time we board. The second reason is that none of the 3 dogs we've ever owned have tolerated boarding well at all. One of them had flare ups of demodectic mange every single time he was ever boarded. He never, ever, ever had it any other time, but even just boarding him two days would cause his hair to fall out in nasty, scabby clumps. (Susceptibility to demodectic mange is genetic and stress can be the final straw in the immune weakness that allows the mites to get out of control.) His hair wouldn't grow back for months after that. The other two would both get hot spots - they'd scratch at a spot until it got itchy and inflamed, then all the hair would fall out and it would sometimes get infected. That's what our remaining living dog does. 2 or 3 days in boarding get us a dog with a nasty, raw, red sore on his neck that takes weeks and antibiotic cream to clear up. We are lucky in that we have a huge yard and great neighbors right now. We have a doggie door and we load the dog up with food and water, then block him off to 2 rooms of the house, where he can get outside. That way we can leave him for 3 or 4 days (max). The neighbors get him clean water, he can get outside whenever he needs it, and the neighbors are understanding if he barks a little more than normal while we're gone. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 2 weeks is a really long time to board dogs; it would be very expensive and stressful for the dogs. We go on a two week trip to visit my in-laws every summer, and I start worrying about finding a housesitter months in advance. Figuring out what to do about our pets is the single most stressful thing about traveling for us. I would never assume it was okay to bring my dogs with me to someone's house, but I might ask, because it could easily be the difference between being able to take a trip at all and not being able to afford it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iona Posted October 19, 2010 Author Share Posted October 19, 2010 are pet sitter's hard to find? i know there would be more involved with caring for dogs than cats. my inlaws don't travel that much because of the dogs. i guess it is a hassle either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Affordable pet sitters you can trust are hard to find. With cats, you can have someone come by every day or two to feed them. With dogs, you really need someone to stay at the house the whole time. We pay around $250/week for a housesitter, and I think we're getting off relatively cheap (of course, we have a cat, 3 dogs, and 9 chickens). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Before we had kids, I did bring my GSD puppy to my IL's house to visit because my normal pet sitters (my parents) were visiting one of my siblings out of state. My IL's have cats, so I kept the puppy outside or in a crate on the screened in back porch at all times. He never stepped foot in the house due to the cats. We also took that dog on vacation a couple times (to a video game auction, Gatlinburg, etc.). It is a logistical nightmare to bring a dog sometimes, so we avoid it now that we have kids. Boarding is very expensive also. We boarded our two GSDs this summer for 3 days. It cost $120 for the boarding, then both dogs had to go to the vet beforehand to get their rabies shot (thankfully the other vaxes aren't required by that facility). So it was about $250 for a 3 day weekend. I don't think it's rude to bring a dog to a family member's house as long as they ask permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I love bring my pup on vacations. When we're out.. it's actually there that we spend even more time lovin' on the pup. One option is like someone mentioned... taking them to doggie care during the day... I have had times that I've needed to leave him in the crate for a while... and then I just make sure to take him out and walk him a lot. (Yes, not during weather that is either really hot or cold) Once, with our other dog, we took her on vacation... and then boarded her for those days where we were at my husband's friend's house... at a local place. Not the best, but she was happy to be with us... (for the other part of the vacation :) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Sorry, but as big fans of dogs and as dog owners, we would NEVER take our dog and stay at someone's house. Nor (if we had them), would we take cats, lizards, birds, goats, chickens, llamas, cows... You get the idea. ;) I think it is asking enough of your hosts to accommodate humans! :tongue_smilie: Several years ago, we had a friend stay with us for 2 weeks, and with our permission he brought his dog -- but it drove me nuts because the dog was always up on the couch and the beds -- something strictly forbidden to our dog, because I do NOT want animal hair on my furniture! Also, his dog was older and a bit snappish with our dog, so I was constantly on "alert mode" to make sure the dogs stayed apart so we wouldn't have an "incident". Instead of it being a pleasant visit, I felt stressed as the host-who-said-yes-but-who-got-unpleasantly-surprised by our different dog policies. As a result, in courtesy, I would never want to put anyone else in that position. Our dog goes camping with us, or if we're gone just overnight, the neighbor teenager comes over and cares for the dog, and we exchange and take care of their cats. But when we leave for more than overnight, we hire a college-age student from church to dogsit/housesit. We always make sure it is someone we know well who loves dogs and loves having a house to themselves for that time. We pay about $15/day for house and dog care, and leave either some freezer meals or a fast food gift card. We consider it to be just part of our vacation cost. For short trips (2-3 days) we have also exchanged dog-sitting -- we have a friend's dog stay with us, and then later on they repay the favor and have our dog stay with them. That has worked well, too, as long as you make sure in advance that the dogs and people all get along well. BEST of luck that it will all work out well! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 We take our dog on vacation with us. Family visits-he gets boarded. I would never dream of asking anyone if it is okay if I bring my dog. It is one thing if our host volunteers with a "Please bring your dog" but I would never ask nor just show up with him. To me, that is incredibly rude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Iona, I just noticed in your signature that you have 3 very young kids -- how is THAT going to go over? Labs are big dogs, and small children are easily freaked out by large animals. And how will your in-laws feel if the children are very uneasy -- or scared out of their wits (I was terrified of dogs as a kid!) -- around the dogs. OR, what if the kids are so fascinated by the dogs they keep trying to grab/"pet" the dogs, which freaks out the dogs? Are their dogs used to kids? If not, some dogs can growl, snap and be unpredictable around kids. And if there is a problem, will the in-laws be okay if the dogs end up having to spend the whole time outside? Or in a laundry room? Or being boarded nearby? Or relatives end up needing to rent a pet-friend motel room nearby and just visit you during the day and exercising/staying with their dogs at night? And since they are your DH's parents, and he is okay with this, is he also willing to be the "heavy" if an incident happens? I don't want to sound extreme, and most likely there won't be any problems -- but what if there ARE? These are the sorts of things that REALLY should be worked out long in advance -- "If this happens, then we all agree to doing that..." to make sure there are no problems and no hurt feelings. Would your in-laws be willing to discuss, or would they take this the wrong way? This just sounds like so much potential for turning a pleasant family visit into a very stressful, hurt-feelings, unexpected nightmare... I would definitely learn more about the dogs' temperaments and behaviors, and about how much/little the in-laws would be willing to discuss in advance before saying yes to this. Just my 2 cents worth! Again, BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 We haven't had to really travel with our poochie yet....but we would take her because we wouldn't want to be without her for any legnth of time....we probably wouldn't stay with family in their homes (most of our family wouldn't have extra room anyway)--we would probably just get a pet friendly hotel....had to do it when we got married-we had to take a parrot with us....lol what an adventure.....:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 They called and asked if it was ok. dh said that i wasn't a big dog person, but that it would probably be fine and that he'd ask me. I would be SO MAD! What a terrible position to put you in! He should have said "let me talk it over with my wife and get back to you"! He clearly knew that it *might* be an issue, so he shouldn't have given an answer before you discussed it! I think it is incredibly rude of them to even ask. I would NOT allow them to bring the dogs. Either they need to stay at a pet-friendly hotel or leave the pets at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I have a lucky situation in that my dad will drive up to our house and stay with my dog, each one over the years, when we travel far and/or for long. I hate to leave my dog for more than 2 nights in a kennel. I have taken my old dogs with me to hotels before, but our current dog is part beagle and young, so I won't right now because I think she'd howl. Usually when we go somewhere, it is to my family and we stay at my parents' cottage, so taking a dog is fine. Any one of my mom's or sister's dogs might be there too. And they are welcome to bring their dogs here. We try not to have too many together at once though, just for chaos control. ;) I've always enjoyed traveling with my dogs, but probably wouldn't take my dog to anyone's house except my immediate family and maaaaayyyyybe a very close friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iona Posted October 20, 2010 Author Share Posted October 20, 2010 Iona, I just noticed in your signature that you have 3 very young kids -- how is THAT going to go over? Labs are big dogs, and small children are easily freaked out by large animals. And how will your in-laws feel if the children are very uneasy -- or scared out of their wits (I was terrified of dogs as a kid!) -- around the dogs. OR, what if the kids are so fascinated by the dogs they keep trying to grab/"pet" the dogs, which freaks out the dogs? Are their dogs used to kids? If not, some dogs can growl, snap and be unpredictable around kids. And if there is a problem, will the in-laws be okay if the dogs end up having to spend the whole time outside? Or in a laundry room? Or being boarded nearby? Or relatives end up needing to rent a pet-friend motel room nearby and just visit you during the day and exercising/staying with their dogs at night? And since they are your DH's parents, and he is okay with this, is he also willing to be the "heavy" if an incident happens? I don't want to sound extreme, and most likely there won't be any problems -- but what if there ARE? These are the sorts of things that REALLY should be worked out long in advance -- "If this happens, then we all agree to doing that..." to make sure there are no problems and no hurt feelings. Would your in-laws be willing to discuss, or would they take this the wrong way? This just sounds like so much potential for turning a pleasant family visit into a very stressful, hurt-feelings, unexpected nightmare... I would definitely learn more about the dogs' temperaments and behaviors, and about how much/little the in-laws would be willing to discuss in advance before saying yes to this. Just my 2 cents worth! Again, BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D. my middle one can freak out around dogs, but he has spent some time with them at my inlaws house so there is some familiarity. we do have a fenced back yard, but not very big. I think they'd be ok outside, as long as a cold front doesn't come through... I would be SO MAD! What a terrible position to put you in! He should have said "let me talk it over with my wife and get back to you"! He clearly knew that it *might* be an issue, so he shouldn't have given an answer before you discussed it! I think it is incredibly rude of them to even ask. I would NOT allow them to bring the dogs. Either they need to stay at a pet-friendly hotel or leave the pets at home. i was a little irked, because now i'm either the unreasonable one who puts up a fuss, or i have to agree to it which i will trying not to begrudge either him or them. hotels are not an option. it isn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme, but i guess it is the little things that chafe the most. i'm grateful for everyone's feedback...thank you for helping me to see what they might be dealing with...as well as making me feel not completely unreasonable on my side. here's to family :cheers2: and sudsy compromise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hericane Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 We do love our dog(s) and when we moved from the Midwest to Florida, she was a great traveler. But, we don't take her to visit family or on vacations. For the cost of boarding, or getting a dog sitter, it's well worth saving our friendships and eliminating the stress. As our dog ages, she doesn't tolerate other children. When friends with toddlers and children under 10 come to visit, the dog is penned in the laundry room. Yes, she hates it, barks, then settles down. I don't want her stressed, but I really don't want family and friends stressed by a dog that nips at their children! Q:What's the cost of friendships and family? A:Way less than the cost of boarding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyndie Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 My parents cannot bear to board their dogs. They just can't. They bring their dogs with them when they come here and while there were times in the past that I would rather they didn't, I would much rather see them WITH their dogs than to not see them at all. I don't know that I would be that tolerant of anyone's dogs other than my parents. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RENEEinVA Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I just had to post a reply for this one. This may have already been mentioned (didn't read all the posts), but we prefer to get a housesitter to watch the animals while we're away. We usually ask a friend. Friends' college-age kids are perfect for this. They like having a little freedom and earning a little extra spending money as well. It ends up being a lot cheaper than boarding the animals, and we don't have to worry about the house while we're away.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 We bring our little dog with us to the grandparents. One set lives on a farm and my dad LOVES dogs and even takes the dog to the local dog park. I always bring the crate and put her in it when we are not in the home with the dog. Now...I would have a cow if someone brought two big dogs to my home. Are they responsible dog owners? Will they crate the dogs and bring gates to keep the dogs in a secure area if needed? I know I sound like a double standard, but I go out of my way to make sure my dog is welcome and I go out of my way to crate or gate my dog. Hopefully you will be impressed with how responsible they are with their dogs. By the way I was not a dog person until this dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 Hey, have them come visit us! We're pet friendly, and wow, two labs would be great to have around for a bit! I bet my part border would enjoy the dog company. Seriously, we've even had "iffy" dogs stay at our place with our dogs (over the years), but it has always worked out well. I've had less problem with dog visitors than human ones, and our human visitors are all pretty decent quality too! I hope it ends up being an enjoyable visit for you. If not, next year, visit on neutral turf: possibly my place! :D :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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