Things to Consider When Choosing a Boarding Kennel for Your Dog

Whether you like it or not, there are times when you need to separate from your loving dog. Business travels, vacations and hospital visits are the situations when you need to leave it alone. Or, there can be situations like home renovation, painting etc, when you want the dog to be at a safer place. This is when you look for the boarding kennels around you. If there are many options, here are some tips to go with the best one.

Interact with the Staff

Pay an unannounced visit to the kennel and watch how the staffs handle the dogs boarded with them. You can get a good idea while interacting with them about how they take care of pet medications, diets, exercise and other needs. See if they ask in detail about your dog's general and special needs like health and petmeds, diet, behavior etc.

Survey the Facility

Inspect the level of cleanliness, both indoors and outdoors of the kennel. There should be no foul smells and the facility must have proper lighting and ventilation. It should not be overcrowded and the staff-pets ratio should be apt. Another important consideration is whether the facility keeps different pets (dogs, cats etc.) separate or not. You should also be concerned whether the kennel is weather-proof or not. For example, it should offer protection against high and low temperatures respectively in summers and winters and against rain and floods in the rainy season.

Do They Assure Pet Safety?

A kennel with security cameras should be in your list. In addition, ask how they store the dog medications so that these are not easily accessible. A good facility would have a vet on call round-the-clock in case any emergency occurs. Don’t forget to ask is the facility has insurance cover.

Check Their Policies

Do they allow dog's personal items like blankets, toys etc.? Do they offer exercise/play/grooming programs? Do they take only vaccinated dogs?

Take a lot of recommendations from petmed experts, vets and other dog owners you know. Online reviews may also help.