2 dogs and 2 cats in a kennel, or pay someone to come to the house?

Jessica86

Hi everyone,

I wanted to go on a family holiday in August and we have 2 dogs and 2 cats.
What would be the best and cheapest option for us?

Pay someone to come to the house? or pay a boarding kennel?

I don;t know many people in Ireland so the person coming to our house has to be reliable, so how do you find this out?
I read too many stories of your pets being stolen, so I am not sure what to do here.
I am already resenting the idea of a vacation

Can anyone suggest someone who is reliable enough to come to the house? It;s in Leixlip Kildare
Or any good boarding kennel?

Toulouse

PM'd you.

belongtojazz

http://www.crittercapers.biz/?page_id=93

Moya has worked as a dog walker and Pet sitter since 2006, fully insured and has a huge love of dogs. I have to admit her website is awful but she is great at her job

Toulouse

She has a facebook page too!

Pretzill

I prefer the kennel option than letting someone come to the house - I guess it's because I trust the kennels my eldest has been going to them for 15 yrs and they kennel all my dogs together at a reasonable price - it's peace of mind for me coupled with that the dogs love them - and if anything were to happen to them - illness etc - they have a very good vet they use. Saying that I've never had a dog sitter - and I've used a kennel the dogs didn't enjoy only once thankfully for only one night.

Just research the kennels - call into them - you'll get more of a feeling for the level of care before you head away - I would even suggest leaving the animals in for a one night test run before you go away.

aonb

If you dont know many people this could be tricky.
I guess you will have to check out the kennels near you. You have plenty of time, so I would make a list of what is in your area, give them all a call to get an idea of their prices - for the 'package' deal of x4 pets - and then visit them to see what their set up is.

I would visit now, rather than leaving it too late, from the point of view that the popular/good places will be booked well in advance in August.

There is a new kennel/cattery opened up just a couple of miles from my house. I was so thrilled when I heard. I went up there to check it out. I wouldnt give them any of my pets to take care of - the place was ok/good, but the attitude of the owner REALLY put me off - I was so glad I checked well in advance.

I have a woman petsitter, whose family I know. She needs the cash. She comes to my house twice a day. Walks the dogs twice/day, feeds them in the evening. Feeds/checks on the hens. Puts on lights/radio in the eve for the dogs, and leaves them in the house (in the summer if its nice she leaves them in the secure garden for a few hours). I pay her what the kennels would charge me for the two dogs (3rd & outside dog (passed away since) and hens included in that price). It really works for me because I have 1 elderly dog, and 1 very nervous dog neither of which would be good kennel types. (I did have a v.good kennel but they 'retired' a long time ago)

Since you are looking for someone in Leixlip, could you get a college (Maynooth) student or a senior from secondary school, who would be glad of the money to come and do your animals twice/day - walk & feed them? You would have to advertise & interview them & would have time to have them come get to know your animals a few times before August.
You could ask at your vet for any recommendations.

Having pets is a pain when it comes to holidays/going away - I never stop worrying about them all when we are away.

Panda_Turtle

If you are looking for something a bit better than a kennels this place looks promising, but it is in kilkenny so bit of a drive from leixlip,

http://www.happypawshotel.ie/index.asp

I don`t know if there are any high quality dog hotels nearer to Dublin, maybe with a bit more google-ing than I did you will find one.

There is definitely a market for it though!

Gloomtastic!

If you go into a few of your local vets, I'm sure you'll see some cards for local dog sitters. Pets are happiest in their homes....

+1 Moya, she is very very good

sawdoubters

about 100 euro a week per animal in a kennel