Just curious if anyone has boarded their dog and had them come back with any house training issues?

We are planning a trip and our usual house and dog sitter is unavailable so I am planning on boarding Greta. She hasn’t had any “accidents” in the house since she was probably 4 months old (now 1-1/2 yrs). The nicest boarding option has them kenneled at night from 630pm until 730am. Our schedule at home is more like 9pm to 5am.

I think she could probably hold it that long but we’ve never tried it. Am I overly worrying about this? The other kennel option i toured has indoor/outdoor runs with a dog door but it really smelled... it was surprising since I’d heard such good things about them.

I've not heard of that issue but I've only boarded my dogs once yes ago.

I can only suggest that you treat Greta as if she's just learning when she comes home.

You should be able to see if she still has good house manners reasonably fast doing that.

You don't say how long you will be gone, but if it's not for an extensive period, I don't think she's going to have a chance to develop bad habits that would override all the house training you've put into her.

What is the exact set-up at this facility? You say she will be kenneled from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. I'm sure this is some type of indoor enclosure, but what size? What type of outdoor access do the dogs have during the day?

The only times I have ever boarded were long ago, and it was a place that had indoor enclosures two to three times the size of a large crate, with doggy doors to access an individual attached outdoor run.

Six-thirty does seem early to cut off access to the outside. If Greta is closed inside and has to go in the middle of the night, then she will have no choice but to soil her kennel, but at her age, I really can't see that ruining her housetraining. She will probably be unhappy with having to do it that way and will be happy to get back home where she can resume her usual routine.

Thanks Bob & Cheri.

It's only for 4 nights- so hopefully her regular routine and training will reassert itself when she gets home. The larger indoor kennels are 8x8.

During the day they either get taken out to an individual play yard 4-6 times (they said around 20 min ea. time) or if they are sociable they can participate in the two sessions of dog daycare from 730-noon and from 3-630. Owner's choice.

I was extremely skeptical at first but I took her for the required temperament test to see if daycare would be an option and she did well. Seemed a little intimidated at first but within 15 minutes was playing with a few other dogs and had run through the splash pad. I've taken her for the last 3 fridays for half a day to get used to the location and people and she seems to enjoy it. Always comes back damp from having played in the water. (side benefit- it really helps with brushing out loose undercoat)

They have 24-7 webcams so I've been checking up and have been impressed by the staff. There are always a minimum of two staff in each play yard and they do a good job of distracting if a dog is getting pushy or looks overwhelmed. Owners are not allowed in that area except for the tour. Her body language when I look in is always confident or relaxed and she is completely worn out at the end of the day. I can't picture myself taking her to a traditional dogpark where I am relying on other owners but based on our experience so far this seems like a good option when we need boarding. Still somewhat risky, though, I know... if the other kennel hadn't smelled so badly I probably would have felt more comfortable with them.