BlsdMama Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I'm looking for a suggestion that perhaps we haven't thought of??? We have a very large German Shepherd. He's well behaved, but intimidating looking, and he IS an "alert" barker. That's code for he shall protect you from people walking by, the mail lady delivering mail, cars on road trips and anything else that might drive by his yard that could, potentially, leap out of the vehicle or into the fence and kill his family. :D In other words, he barks. We made reservations to go camping at a family camp through the Boy Scouts on Memorial Day Weekend. It occurred to us YESTERDAY that we can't take him. Sigh. We absolutely can't leave him at home with someone caring for him - his night time barking will drive our neighbors INSANE. (He is REALLY protective at night - every sound, every movement alerts him so he gets put away nightly.) We can't think of a soul we'd ask to come over and feed him and put him away every night for three nights & four days on a holiday weekend. We can't take him with us per BSA rules. We could board him. I have no idea what the rates would be for this, but I can say it would probably cause him a huge amount of anxiety. The only alternative we've come up with so far is to cancel our reservations (75% refund is better than nothing) and to go camping elsewhere - there are 1,000,000 places in the PNW that would welcome dogs. And, as long as he is right with us, he doesn't bark - so no worries on him being a pain on the trip. Truthfully he travels well, he loves being next to us, and he'll just lie at our feet. We've never taken him camping but he's pretty easy when he's in our immediate vicinity. Is there anything I haven't thought of, some alternative, to his care that could keep us NOT cancelling our plans? I'm really disappointed, but this all comes from moving 1900 miles away from family that loves us. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I'm looking for a suggestion that perhaps we haven't thought of??? We have a very large German Shepherd. He's well behaved, but intimidating looking, and he IS an "alert" barker. That's code for he shall protect you from people walking by, the mail lady delivering mail, cars on road trips and anything else that might drive by his yard that could, potentially, leap out of the vehicle or into the fence and kill his family. :D In other words, he barks. We made reservations to go camping at a family camp through the Boy Scouts on Memorial Day Weekend. It occurred to us YESTERDAY that we can't take him. Sigh. We absolutely can't leave him at home with someone caring for him - his night time barking will drive our neighbors INSANE. (He is REALLY protective at night - every sound, every movement alerts him so he gets put away nightly.) We can't think of a soul we'd ask to come over and feed him and put him away every night for three nights & four days on a holiday weekend. We can't take him with us per BSA rules. We could board him. I have no idea what the rates would be for this, but I can say it would probably cause him a huge amount of anxiety. The only alternative we've come up with so far is to cancel our reservations (75% refund is better than nothing) and to go camping elsewhere - there are 1,000,000 places in the PNW that would welcome dogs. And, as long as he is right with us, he doesn't bark - so no worries on him being a pain on the trip. Truthfully he travels well, he loves being next to us, and he'll just lie at our feet. We've never taken him camping but he's pretty easy when he's in our immediate vicinity. Is there anything I haven't thought of, some alternative, to his care that could keep us NOT cancelling our plans? I'm really disappointed, but this all comes from moving 1900 miles away from family that loves us. :P check to see if your vet does boarding. We have these kind of doggies. We did have to take them with us once because we forgot reservations. A squirt bottle helps. But we got tired of having to always have someone stay behind to dog-sit. Our vet charges $12/day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 How far is Albany? I know a good spot there... and also... in Salem... we were VERY happy with our dog being boarded at a spot there.... You need a Bordetella Vaccine, which is just a vaccine that is given through the nose... (at least at our vets) At the place in Salem, we just payed $3.00 extra to have him played with each day... He actually enjoyed it.. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I'm looking for a suggestion that perhaps we haven't thought of??? We have a very large German Shepherd. He's well behaved, but intimidating looking, and he IS an "alert" barker. That's code for he shall protect you from people walking by, the mail lady delivering mail, cars on road trips and anything else that might drive by his yard that could, potentially, leap out of the vehicle or into the fence and kill his family. :D In other words, he barks. We made reservations to go camping at a family camp through the Boy Scouts on Memorial Day Weekend. It occurred to us YESTERDAY that we can't take him. Sigh. We absolutely can't leave him at home with someone caring for him - his night time barking will drive our neighbors INSANE. (He is REALLY protective at night - every sound, every movement alerts him so he gets put away nightly.) We can't think of a soul we'd ask to come over and feed him and put him away every night for three nights & four days on a holiday weekend. We can't take him with us per BSA rules. We could board him. I have no idea what the rates would be for this, but I can say it would probably cause him a huge amount of anxiety. The only alternative we've come up with so far is to cancel our reservations (75% refund is better than nothing) and to go camping elsewhere - there are 1,000,000 places in the PNW that would welcome dogs. And, as long as he is right with us, he doesn't bark - so no worries on him being a pain on the trip. Truthfully he travels well, he loves being next to us, and he'll just lie at our feet. We've never taken him camping but he's pretty easy when he's in our immediate vicinity. Is there anything I haven't thought of, some alternative, to his care that could keep us NOT cancelling our plans? I'm really disappointed, but this all comes from moving 1900 miles away from family that loves us. :P We board our dogs when we vacation or camp. I prefer being able to just relax and not worry about dogs getting tangled up around the fire ring and picnic table, etc. If he's an alert barker, it seems that camping may cause him more anxiety than boarding. At a campground, there are always kids zooming by on bikes, other dogs being walked, families walking, etc. I do think you should consider that many campgrounds have breed restrictions and your dog may not be able to go to those campgrounds. Make sure you verify ahead of time. I hope you can find a plan that works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Can you have a pet sitter come by and lock him up at night? There are companies that do this. That way he'd still be at home, have less anxiety, but will still be put up each night so he won't bark. As for boarding, my Jack Russell is high anxiety when it comes to boarding too. But sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do. I have the boarding employees give him a sedative each day. Not enough to knock him out, just enough to keep him calm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Do you know whether he is as alert when you are not home? We have a Belgian Malinois that is very alert and protective but she protects us more than the house. I think she actually just mostly sleeps when we are away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Also, sometimes if you have a "Good Citizen Award" that you can get if the dog can do some basic commands... places that may not usually take the dog... will allow the dog to come.. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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