Holidays: With Or Without The Hound

Having  a dog can complicate things when you want to go away on holiday.  Apart  from the financial implications, you really shouldn’t book your own  holiday before ensuring the dog has somewhere to go (assuming they  aren’t coming with you!) because you may very well come unstuck when you  realise all the boarding kennels are fully booked and you can’t get the  money back for your flights.

We  contacted various boarding facilities and dog-friendly holiday  businesses in December, with the returning consensus being that they  were already close to being fully booked for 2024, with the expectation  to be filling most of the remaining vacancies by the end of  January/February.

If you want to  get your dog in for boarding, or book dog-friendly accommodation,  particularly during school holiday times, you need to be booking at  least a year in advance for most places.  So, for any of you who like  jetting off to escape the dreary British weather, you want to be  organising things well in advance!

While  no one likes leaving their hounds behind when they go on holiday, it  isn’t always possible, or practical, to take them with.  Which poses the  question, where is best to house them while you’re away?

You  have three commercial options if you can’t convince friends or family  to take them on while you’re away: kennels, home border or dog sitter.

Boarding  kennels come in a multitude of formats, and approaches, so its  important to do your research to find the best fit for your hound  amongst the kennels you have local to you.  Many kennels offer drop-in  or booked tours, where they will run you through what a standard day for  your hound would be like if they stayed with them.  

Kennels  are rarely breed specific, which, unlike greyhound kennels that are  very peaceful, there is a lot of noise and anxiety throughout the day.

Ideally  you want to choose a boarding facility where the kennels provide a  private space for your dog, ideally not open fronted kennels with bars  or mesh that they could chew or get frustrated and frightened by the  other dogs.  
Individual outdoor spaces attached to  their kennels are also important, to provide optional spaces to your  hound and the availability to go to the toilet outside of walking times.

This  is important as in the kennel environment, the dogs are left for very  long periods overnight.  While licencing requirements state that a  qualified person must be always onsite, they are only required to check  the dogs once during the out of hours period and this can be by CCTV or  in person.  

This means if staff  go home at 5pm and aren’t back in till 8am, the dogs will have been left  unattended for 15 hours.  This does not always sit comfortably with a  lot of people.

Commercial  boarding kennels, particularly of the 4- and 5-star level, should  provide an excellent service and will cater to your dogs’ individual  needs.  Though, even if they have a high star rating, you still want to  do your research, read reviews, see it for yourself and see if they pass  the vibe check!  
While it may be easy enough to  pass a council inspection, it doesn’t mean they’re the right for you!  They are going to be looking after a member of your family after all!  

Many  greyhound rehoming centres will offer the availability to board their  adopted hounds back with them at the centre.  While it is tempting to  consider this, as they will be familiar with the staff and environment,  it’s important to check whether they are licenced with the council to do  so.

Rescues and rehoming centres  do not have to be registered or licenced, nor are they inspected under  any governing body.  There is nothing in place to ensure they are  providing and meeting minimum standards in animal welfare, disease  control, hygiene standards, exercise, and kennel size.

In  being a licenced boarding kennel, they must adhere to a long list of  standards, policies, and procedures.  They will also be given a star  rating, reflective of how good a service they are providing, so you know  your dog is going to be well taken care of.

Should  you knowingly board your dog at an unlicenced kennels, you are putting  your dog at risk.  If something should happen to your dog while  boarding, such as injured or worse, you won’t be able to reclaim those  costs from your travel insurance or otherwise.

Rescues  and rehoming centres, or any kennels, that are providing unlicenced  boarding facilities are running with the risk of receiving fine, prison  time and having their rehoming centre or business shut down.  So, make  sure to request evidence of a boarding licence, and a tour of the  facility, before booking your dogs in to stay.

Though  not everyone wants to use kennels, a lot of greyhound owners feel bad  putting their dog back into kennels (particularly the rehoming centre  kennels) and that it makes them feel like they’re being returned and  aren’t wanted.  

While they quite  often sulk for the first day or two, typically they fall back into the  kennel routine as if they never left it, though any kennels of repute  will notify you if your dog is not coping in the kennel environment and  recommend seeking an alternative for future.  Thankfully, there are  alternatives available!

Home  boarding is rising in popularity.  Home boarders, who take your hound  into their own home, are licenced, in the same way as boarding kennels,  under their local council and must follow very similar rules.
They  will have a star rating, and a licenced number of dogs they can house  on the property at any given time, which includes their own resident  dogs.  They will also be fully insured and abide by health and safety  requirements.

Home boarding is  often desirable for dogs that find kennels particularly stressful, or  just because their owners want them to still be able to enjoy all the  home comforts, they’ve become used to!  It also means the dogs are  always got access to human company and are not left unattended at night.   

You will also find that there  are breed specific home boarders, this is preferential for many hound  owners as they can relax knowing that the boarder is experienced, and  their hound will only be mixing with other sighthounds.

With  this arrangement, they will board several dogs at any given time.  So,  they will be more stringent on who they will board.  Most home boarders  have a resident dog (or more) and may request a temperament test before  they will confirm any bookings.  This ensures that your hound is  compatible and social to be living in a multi-dog household.  Though  this is not always the case, and ordinarily they put trust their trust  in you to be honest in how social your dog is.

They  may have further requirements such as the dog being fully house trained  and not accepting unneutered dogs, or females in season (or likely to  come into season during the stay).

Home  boarders will have also have arrangements with a kennel local to them  that they can relocate the dogs to in the event of an emergency, or if  at any point during their stay, your dog becomes aggressive or otherwise  displaying behaviour that is not compatible with a multi-dog household.

Home  boarders provide a brilliant service, but like boarding kennels you  want to find the right one for you!  So, do your research, read reviews,  and ask to meet them (with your hound if possible) to see if it is  going to work for you.

The  important thing to note, for both of these options is that it is not a  case of just dropping your dog off and waving goodbye.  Apart of booking  well in advance, there are other things you need to have in order.

To  be able to put your dog into any boarding premises, they must be fully  vaccinated and up to date on their parasite treatment.  

In  nearly all licenced boarding facilities, they also require that your  dog be vaccinated against kennel cough, 4-6 weeks in advance of their  booking.

The reason for this is  that it is a live vaccine, meaning they are actively shedding the virus  in the initial weeks post-vaccination which could be spread to other  dogs or immune-compromised humans.

If  your dog has been vaccinated too close to the booking date, you will be  turned away at the door on health and safety grounds.  Which can put a  bit of a spanner in the works if you’re enroute to the airport!

While  you will need to provide evidence of vaccinations, with an up-to-date  and vet signed vaccination card.  For those who don’t vaccinate and  chose to titre test instead, sadly this is not universally accepted due  to licencing rules.  Parasite treatment being done is taken on faith,  but you will need to provide the date in which they were last treated.   This includes worms, fleas, and ticks.

If  your dog is found to have parasites during their stay, they will be  treated (at your expense on return) and you may be given a warning that  if it happens again, you will be barred from booking in future.  This  will be done on health and safety grounds.

Your  third option is to get a dog sitter.  This is where a person will come  and live in your own home and look after your hound which allows them to  maintain their environment and routine, and hopefully not miss you too  much while you’re away!

This can  feel like more of a gamble for some people, as a lot of people are  naturally wary about having strangers in their house while they’re away.   Especially since pet sitters don’t legally need to be licenced or  qualified in any way to provide this service in your own home.

If  you are going to seek a pet sitter, you want to search for a reputable  business, or individual, who is qualified in animal first aid, animal  care or, more ideally, canine care and behaviour and has insurance.

We highly recommend enlisting Trusted Pet Sitters!

But  then this is all assuming you don’t bin off the overseas holiday and  chose one of the countless dog-friendly holiday options available in the  UK and take your hound with you!  Really, they’re part of the family,  why wouldn’t you want to include them on your holidays!

As  dog-friendly accommodation such as cottages, caravans, or hotels, fall  under the hospitality sector, and dogs are not sharing accommodation,  they do not have the same stringent requirements as boarding facilities  as they are not governed by the same licensing.

Of  the holiday destinations we spoke to, none of them specifically  required evidence of dogs being vaccinated or treated for parasites,  taking it on faith that people are responsible in their dog ownership.

Please  not that it is still important to make contact and clarify, as each  business will have their own policies, and this is not a blanket  statement!

Holidays with the  hound can complicate or limit the things you can do, but with  pre-planning, you can still have a very enjoyable time away!