Travel!
I hope you are able to take a nice vacation this year! With your dog or without, any break is good for our soul, right? I am just back from a great time away, so I know how hard it can be to leave your furry ones behind.
Should you bring your dog with you on trips? Let’s start with if your dog wants to travel. He may be a homebody who really doesn’t love new environments, but many dogs are super excited to go on long car rides and see new places and stay in a hotel. My dogs have always gotten the zoomies whenever they arrive in a new place to stay! They also have more patience in the car than I have. But dogs are individuals, of course, and travel can be too stressful for some. My very senior dog would likely be too confused by the change these days.
Are you thinking of flying with your dog? My opinion is that dogs should fly only when absolutely necessary. I would not choose lightly to fly with a dog. Have you seen how tight a carrier fits under the seat in front of you on a plane? Often the bag has to be tipped vertically even to slide it in! Your small dog may not be small enough at all to fit: think under ten pounds. Truly.
I sometimes get phone calls from people wanting to morph their dog into a service dog so the dog can fly with them. Emotional Support Animals no longer get a pass to fly on planes, only service dogs, and absolutely NO, service dogs don’t become so out of convenience. The training involved takes years and lots of work and the dogs do actual tasks for their human. It’s disrespectful and setting a terrible example to try to change your dog’s status to service dog without reason. And even then, do you truly need your service dog on a plane? During my recent trip home, we sat in the plane for two hours on the tarmac before finally taking off. You never know what will happen when you fly, right? Rerouting, flights canceled, unplanned overnights, gate changes . . . A dog visits the Pet Relief area and then changes make him wait another eight hours or more before another visit is allowed. Also, sometimes that relief area is at a completely different gate! Flying is stressful, noisy, and crowded. Even if your dog is super well behaved, she is unlikely to enjoy it. Many dogs actually need anti-anxiety meds in order to fly.
Leaving my dogs and cats is not easy, but it’s very good for you to have a break from them–and actually good training for them to have someone else take care of them for a bit. If you can have a great pet sitter stay in your home with the animals, they feel as if life is almost normal. If that doesn’t work for you, having them stay in a sitter’s own home is also comfy and similar to what they are used to. My dogs were very happy when I came home but not crazy excited; they love their sitters and are simply well balanced. My cats are a different story–all over me the day I return–but that’s another post!
I personally would never board my animals. I don’t think it’s fair to change their lives so much that they’re living in a cage while I’m frolicking around Europe. I also want to caution against “Boot Camp.” Just the phrase implies harsh methods to “train” your dog while you’re on vacation/out of sight. Even regular Board and Train can often be anything but positive. I have heard so many horror stories about how “trainers” get fast results–you don’t want me to share those. I know a very few local trainers who do positive reinforcement board and train programs in their own homes (me), but the majority do not. Do ask lots of questions of any boarding program: what methods are used, are shock collars or prong collars part of the training, how much play and how many walks a day do dogs get…. Thorough vetting is absolutely crucial.
I hope you can find a perfect pet sitter you can trust completely and can have her help for years and years. (See https://robinroy.com/?s=boarding.) Because you do indeed need that vacation! Have a fabulous time!