Best Friends Kennel Warning

[ArielRae]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I worked at my local Best Friends for over a year and have to tell you not to buy any of the extras they try to sell you. I know at my local Best Friends that more then half of the pets do not recieve what their parents pay for them to enjoy while they are away on vacation. If you try to give your pet anything more then food and water they are likely not to get it but are shelling out the money for it. Also Please if you are providing your own food please bag it per meal / Per day. To many times the pets would run out of food early cause they where feed incorrectly and then would be feed the house food. This cause problems for those pets that need a strict diet. And yes they do feed the house diet many time even if the owner says it is important to only feed the owners food. If anyone has any questions I can answer about best friends feel free to ask. I can tell you what my experience was at my local Best Friends Kennel.

 

[Uncleromulus]

I guess the unfortunate thing about all this is that the pets themselves can't really tell you what treatment they did--or didn't--get. You must have had to be on the "inside" to really know.
I will never kennel my dogs again (and I work in a kennel that is part of a Veterinary Hospital) but the one time I did kennel them (at a local country club type kennel) I paid for extra walk time and extra play time. Did my dogs get that?? I'll never know. I do know they both came home sick from stress and lack of sleep!!
And that is excellent advice about daily portions if you bring your own food. Often owners just make a mistake and don't bring enough. And if the kennel should "over-feed", the pet will run out of food.

 

[DLBDS]

I've worked in a boarding kennel (2 years) and a vet practice that offered boarding (12 years). If I had a dog, I would never board them. Boarding kennels are almost constant chaos during the day. Any noise or intruder walking into the area sends some dogs into a barking frenzy. It's just not fair for the timid house dogs who are use to more 'posh' living standards at home. Of course, I'm referring to the facilities that rely on cages and kennel runs. I have absolutely no experience in the 'new' practice of grouping dogs together. That's just plain scary to me.

 

[Kaler131]

I have always wondered whenI was paying for all of the "extras" if my dog was really getting them. I joked with my DH about putting a hidden camera on our dog....lol!

 

[SamSam]

I have to chime in with my own opposing experience. Our beloved late dog absolutely loved a local kennel and the staff all loved her. She would be so excited to be going that I would have to hold tight to her leash or she would get away from me trying to get inside the kennel. Now true, if we were gone more than a couple of days,she was even more excited to be going home but I always felt that was more from homesickness than any type of mistreatment.
I guess my point is that there are good kennels out there. If it's a good kennel, my bet is that your dog will not mind going.

 

[disneyholic family]

I have to chime in with my own opposing experience. Our beloved late dog absolutely loved a local kennel and the staff all loved her. She would be so excited to be going that I would have to hold tight to her leash or she would get away from me trying to get inside the kennel. Now true, if we were gone more than a couple of days,she was even more excited to be going home but I always felt that was more from homesickness than any type of mistreatment.
I guess my point is that there are good kennels out there. If it's a good kennel, my bet is that your dog will not mind going.

yes, we've had wonderful kennel experiences as well with our 3 dogs...
as well as bad experiences..

and i totally disagree that you can't tell whether your dog is happy in a kennel or not..

all 3 of our dogs were very obvious about their likes and dislikes when it comes to kennels...and it's not always the same place..

for our first dog (sunshine, who lived with us for 14 years) it took us two tries to find her the perfect kennel....she LOVED it there.....would yank on the leash to get inside....would hug and kiss the workers each time before she left....etc etc...she continued to go there even in the last two years of her life when she was completely blind....she adored it there..

our second dog, sandy, hated that kennel...and it was clear from how uphappy she was when we picked her up.....so we asked around for recommendations and took her to a different kennel that she loved.....so that's where she went during her short stay with us (she only lived with us for a year and a half - she had been very badly abused and tortured in her life before coming to us...that abuse took it's toll and killed her at the young age of about 8 or 9)..

our third dog, buffy, adores the same kennel that sandy adored.....so we've stuck with them.....they love her, she loves them.....what could be better?.

by the way, all of the kennels we've used are family owned and run.....
all of them are on farms (actually a kibbutz to be specific) so there is lots and lots and lots and lots of room...
none of them use 'cages'.....each dog has a big fenced in area of its own, about the size of a large bedroom.....and then there are huge running/exploring areas....the dogs are never 'caged' in small cages...
also dogs are paired together if they have a 'best' friend....so they can play together even when they're not out in the main play area.....all 3 of our dogs have had 'best' friends with whom they almost always ended up sharing an area.......(since dogs tend to get boarded at the same time -holidays, etc.)

bottom line, it is possible to find wonderful kennels that will take excellent care of your dog....
don't generalize that all kennels are bad....some definitely are, but not all of them..

 

[Bopsmom]

There were so many problems with kennels in our area this last summer that DD(10) who loves animals decided to open a pet-sitting business.
Of course, I have to go with her on her visits, but she loves the work. It's win-win , the owners have their homes looked after, mail picked up, and their "kids" get to stay in a familar place.


For those that don't like kennels, ask around, you may have neighborhood kids that would love to do do the job.
Someone gave her a chance and it has been a very good learning experience and an opportunity to show responsibility. This is how she is earning her WDW $$ for our next trip.

 

[disneyholic family]

There were so many problems with kennels in our area this last summer that DD(10) who loves animals decided to open a pet-sitting business.
Of course, I have to go with her on her visits, but she loves the work. It's win-win , the owners have their homes looked after, mail picked up, and their "kids" get to stay in a familar place.


For those that don't like kennels, ask around, you may have neighborhood kids that would love to do do the job.
Someone gave her a chance and it has been a very good learning experience and an opportunity to show responsibility. This is how she is earning her WDW $$ for our next trip.

our dog would be terrified living alone at home waiting for the dog sitter to show up every day....she'd be catatonic by the time we got back from our trip..
now if someone actually came and lived in our house that would be different..
we have neighbors who have someone come live in their house full time while they're away to take care of the dog, cats and house....

but to just have a dog walker come by for a few hours a day would not be a good solution for us....a well run kennel where there are people and dogs around 24/7 is preferable...

 

[Uncleromulus]

There are a # of dogs who won't do well even in the best of kennels. My almost 4 year working experience is in a Vet Hospital kennel. Some dogs do well there --typically the "old shoe" type that nothing really bothers. But papmered and most especially small dogs DON"T do well. They are afraid, scared, and with all the noise and commotion, barking, howling, etc , they don't relax. They don't sleep!! Stress sets in, and stress related illness often follows. Many don't even eat the first two-three days. It's terrible how much "home bought" food we throw away or have to send back to the owner.

We have house sitters stay at our home. There are lots of retired folks out there who do nothing other than mostly sit in their own homes. They are glad to be paid to sit in ours!!
I am not familiar with the new Disney Kennel outfit. All I can suggest is that folks think the matter over and CHECK OUT any kennel that they will be trusting to take care of a valued friend and family member.

 

[eliza61]

Now I'm paranoid. We just returned from WDW in November and used a local Best friends kennel (Marlton, NJ). My 3 yo mutt hobbes, does well there but he's not crazy about it. Usually he warms up after the 1st day (at least according to the report card they give at the end) but he does whimper when we drop him off. He wouldn't do well with a dog sitter because he doesn't like being by himself all day and night so for us the kennel is the only option.

Boy, I feel like I did when I had to find a day care facility for my kids.

 

[Uncleromulus]

I know how you feel. ANYTHING you do is something of a gamble, as YOU aren't there.
Our current house-sitters are folks who had retired from where Mrs Uncleromulus works. Before that, we had two different single ladies that we found via church contacts.
And a lot depends on how much "care" the pets need. If they need any meds(and many older animals do), insulin injections, etc, many non-Vet kennels are out. But some house-sitters and daytime pet sitters would also object to that. Where I work we get boarding dogs who are very ill, or old, or on all kinds of meds. Blind and deaf animals also. One animal we board regularly needs 18 different pills a day. Some need eye and or ear meds--not always easy to give when the animal dosen't know who you even are!!
But enough stories (and I have a ton of them). Good luck in your search and don't quit until you feel reasonably comfortable.

 

[ArielRae]

After listening to the podcast. Yes their is a ice cream like treat you can buy for your pet to enjoy. They also offer a kong dog toy filled with peanut butter to keep your pet entertained.

 

[Hotdoggie1977]

We take our dog to a great kennel. It has the ABKA "Voluntary Facilities Accreditation". When we first went and talked to them, we asked about "extras". They said they dont sell extras as its not fair to the dog and that all dogs should have play time and love.

Each dog has its own private yard where they get up to 4hrs a day to play and walk around. And the staff loves and plays with the dogs each day at no extra cost. Its really a great place and my dog is happy.