8 Things To Know About Boarding Facility For Your Dog
Choosing a suitable Boarding Facility For Your Dog can be quite a challenge.
With over 9,000 boarding kennels servicing over 30 million pet owners annually, there certainly isn’t a shortage of facilities to choose from.
How do dog owners apprehensive about the idea of utilizing a boarding facility for their pup go about choosing one?
This article aims to answer that question and provide some guidance to prospective users of Boarding Facility For Your Dog.
While also addressing some of the many misconceptions around doggy boarding facilities that exist out there in the ethos.
Dog Boarding Facilities – A Great Alternative To Pet Sitting
Dog boarding facilities offer an excellent alternative to just leaving your four-legged best friend at home alone or under the supervision of the inexperienced.
Leveraging the expertise and resources that boarding facilities provide can offer your dog a much better, worthwhile experience.
Your dog won’t have to deal with the potential duress brought upon by extensive amounts of travel, nor will they have to deal with the negligence brought upon by the inexperienced.
Whether the separation is temporary or for an extended period, Boarding Facility For Your Dog can truly provide peace of mind knowing that your dog is safe and being well taken care of.
However, there are certain things that one needs to be aware of when shopping around for an adequate doggy boarding facility.
These things can cause a lot of trepidation when it comes to taking the plunge into the world of dog boarding facilities.
These tips serve to provide you with the information to traverse these pitfalls.
1. Ensure Boarding Facility Is Certified
Certifications should be of the utmost importance when shopping around for a dog daycare facility for your pup.
Not only does it provide peace of mind, but it also helps to distinguish the boarding facility from others and goes a long way towards establishing legitimacy.
There are several certifications out there that provide a degree of legitimacy to Boarding Facility For Your Dog.
Still, the most salient ones you should be looking for are those provided by the International Boarding & Pet Services Association (IBPSA). Boarding facilities are certified by the IBPSA.
The IBPSA offers up three certifications :
- Species-specific Certifications
- Risk Management & Safety Facility Certification
- Infectious Disease Management Certification
You want to ensure that the boarding facility you are vetting has the last two or something similar at the bare minimum.
Ensuring that the boarding facility you are thinking about utilizing has the right certifications
2. Request A Thorough Tour Of The Facility
You will want to request a thorough tour of the Boarding Facility For Your Dog.
You will want to assess the sanitation and overall conditions of the facility and where your dog will ultimately be housed.
The facility should be free of foul odors, excrement, urine, debris, stagnant puddles of water, etc. You want to ensure the facility is consistently cleaned and wiped down.
Make sure there are no traces of vermin (mice, rats, etc.). Check to see their policies and what the protocols are if there is an outbreak of pests.
What flea deterrents do they have in place in an outbreak? What do they have in place to prevent infestations? These questions and more will need to be asked when vetting a boarding facility.
Another important thing to take note of is the play areas and where your dog will spend most of its time at the facility.
Take note of the number of hours your dog will be outside juxtaposed to being inside. Also, take notice of the holding area your dog will be in a while inside.
3. Asses The Experience Of The Dog Handlers
Assessing the experience of the individuals who will ultimately be responsible for caring for your dog is a vital component of the vetting process.
After all, you wouldn’t go without trying to gauge the experience of someone tasked with looking after your child, would you?
Suppose your dog is going to be under the supervision of anyone for an extended period. In that case, an assessment needs to be made.
Dogs are just as complex as humans and typically have a variety of personalities.
A dog handler’s ability to properly cope and adapt to these personalities is key. Know your dog’s personality and threshold tolerance, and make sure that whoever will be handling your dog is experienced in dealing with that type of personality.
4. Ensure That They Offer Insurance Policies
You will want to ensure the Boarding Facility For Your Dog. That you are vetting is bonded and insured.
You want to ensure that the boarding facility is bonded just in case of employee negligence, and you want to ensure the overall general coverage of your dog in their care.
This is generally referred to as “Care, Custody/Control animal Bailee.”
There are other animal welfare insurance offerings out there as well that you will want to take advantage of if the aforementioned isn’t available.
It’s all about ensuring that the dog boarding facility you are vetting is on their P’s and Q’s when it comes to the pets under their supervision.
5. Check For Ancillary Amenity Offerings
Many boarding facilities offer services ancillary to the traditional services typically provided at boarding facilities.
These include grooming, training, pickups from your house, etc. These benefits make your life easier as a dog owner and also make boarding facilities more attractive to those worried about prohibitive costs.
Understand that you are getting more out of your money paying for a boarding facility than paying for your run-of-the-mill neighborhood pet sitter.
There can be a lot of sweet perks that come with using dog boarding facilities; you have to find them.
6. Network With Other Dog Owners
One of the most common sense tips I can give you on choosing a Boarding Facility For Your Dog is to network with other dog owners who have used them before.
There can be a wealth of valuable information gleaned from conversing with other dog owners with experience within the arena of dog boarding facilities.
Check to see which ones to look into and which ones to generally avoid.
7. Check The Ratio Of Dogs To Handlers
This is one that’s bound to get overlooked by most and sort of ties into the tip above involving making sure that your dog’s handlers will ultimately be under the supervision of our experience.
Pay attention to the ratio of dogs to handlers to get a feel for how much attention will be on your dog in particular.
There are only so many dogs that can be watched at any given point in time, and you don’t necessarily want your dog going for extended periods being neglected.
Problems can also arise when an inexperienced handler deals with too many dogs at once.
8. Check The Procedure For Emergencies
Nothing in life is perfect, and this statement certainly rings true concerning dog boarding facilities.
Even the most certified reputable boarding facilities aren’t completely free of accidents.
The question isn’t if an accident will occur; it’s when and it is important to ensure that the Boarding Facility For Your Dog is vetting has sound procedures in place in the event they occur. Some pertinent questions that should be posed:
- In an accident, how long will they take to contact me?
- Who is going to be my point of contact in the event of an emergency?
- Will there be medical personnel (i.e., veterinarians) in a health emergency?
You can come up with many other questions, but these particular ones are top of mind.
Making sure that you and the boarding facility are on the same page in an emergency is vital.
Conclusion
Well, there you have it. 8 tips on how to choose an adequate boarding facility for your dog.
It’s all about doing your due diligence, getting out there and doing the research, and asking the right questions.
There is a lot to be gained from utilizing a dog boarding facility, and if you choose the right one, your dog will end up thanking you for it.
