Hello All...Next week my family and I are going away and I am forced to board Jeter and Dakota.

Jeter is dog aggressive and I am pretty sure its fear/anxiety aggression. There is a really nice facility only a few blocks from my house. My wife and I went there and checked it out. It seems to be nice. The indoor kennels are a good size (about 5' wide X 10' deep)and well maintained. For an extra charge they will take the dogs out in the back and let them play and get some fresh air as many times as I am willing to pay for.

Because its 2 dogs I can only afford to pay for twice a day each. The bill to board these dogs for 4 days is $500.00

My issue is that I am afraid Jeter will go nuts in this place. The inside kennels are set up in a row with one right next to the other in a long line. There are short walls with chain link fencing on top.

Jeter whines when he sees other dogs, his hackles go up and he gets aggressive. He is hyper alert and can see other dogs coming from 100 yards away so he will certainly see them all in the same large room. They plan on putting him in the end kennel with Dakota immediately to his left (no dogs on the right).

My hope is that because he is forced to deal with other dogs being around he becomes desensitized to it and this tums out to be a good experience. On the other hand I am afraid he will remain very anxious and this will make things worse not to mention that he will be insane for 4 days and it will be like torture.

Looking forward to some good feedback...thanks

Heck for $500 smackeroos I'm tempted to make the trip and house/dog sit for ya.

$500? for 4 days? You've got a yard, right? I'd be looking for someone to come stay at the house and care for the dogs, or at least someone who will come by 3-4 times a day to feed them/let them out. If you've got the yard, it's simple. All they've got to do is let them out, supervise their free time and bring them back in again.

You can ask your vet or local clubs/trainers for recommendations.

That's actualy a good point Randy.

If you are spending that much money you could probably just hire a pet sitter to come to your house. It might even be cheaper.

I'm sure the kennel has had DA dogs before, maybe they have a way to handle it. I personaly would not board my dog under the circumstances that you describe unless they could provide her with a kennel that has a visual barrier.

A week of being able to fence fight and posture would make her nutty. Major setback to our lifestyle kind of nutty.

I thought about hiring a dog sitter but jeter is the type of dog that would have to get comfortable with a stranger first.

Also if something should happen and they are left alone....not good. At the very least, at the boarding facility I know they are being fed, let out and in case of emergency there is always someone there.

I have to board Tucker at the end of the Month and he is also DA.

I explained, in person, specifically about his DA and asked that he be placed in a kennel with no neighbors on either side.
The inside was fine as the indoor kennels are not chain link but concrete so he wouldn't be able to see either dog beside him. The owner asked if he would re-act to a dog being across from him inside, and i said i wasn't sure. He might, or he might not. So she said she would keep an eye on it and if he was reacting she would put a sheet up to block the view.
She was really understanding and wrote down notes and my instructions.

Her arrangement was that if for some reason she was full at that time she would only put Tucker in his outside run when he wouldn't have any dogs on either side of him. She would alternate so that his neighbors would go out when he wasn't and vice versa.
I also told them that he is not to be put in with a group of dogs to play and is not to interact with other dogs in a group play setting. Although it sounds horrible, to tell them he can't play with other dogs, the lady totally understood and promised he would have lots of one on one time with her staff.

Although you think Jeter will react to other dogs the way he does when he's with you, chances are he won't. He may hackle if he sees them but in a different environment he may be totally different.

and holy cow man!!! Tucker is going to be boarded for 7 days and it's only going to cost me $240. Did you book your dogs into some sort of doggy spa resort???

lol

Another thought, if I had to board Tasha I would request that if its at all possible to have her neighbors be really old dogs or puppies.

Not sure if it would help Jeter, but I'm sure that for my dog it would make the situation a lot more comfortable.

I like the idea of a sheet but that would have to be put up in Dakota's kennel because she will be next to Jeter. Dakota is not DA but she has very low tolerance for other dogs if they annoy her.

$500 does sound like a lot but it is two dogs and they charge for the one on one time with staff. I also asked that Jeter and Dakota get that one on one time together so maybe I should ask for a break there.

I hate to fly and I hate to leave my dogs. I wish this trip was over already.

so the inside kennels are chain link fencing too?

concrete walls about 2 feet high then chain link above that. The thing is he will smell and hear other dogs. Its not just seeing. The presence of other dogs will have the same effect.

What are the odds that after a day or so he learns to adapt and see's that no one is harming him?

My other thought(brain working over time) is that the experience of being left without me and away from his normal environment will become associated with being left in a kennel with other dogs all over the place and he will begin to have a seperation issue.

My dogs are crated during the day and they are perfectly comfortable with that. No whining or anything. They are ok with being left alone at home for hours at a time. Of course they love when we come home and get very excited.

After this will he associate being left alone with the miserable experience that he may have at this boarding facility?