Yeah, I've been a member over here for quite a while, Melissa. It's good to see you over here, too!


I get what Pam was saying now, but that wouldn't work either, because we aren't going to be in one place for the entire time. I still haven't decided exactly what I'm going to do, but I wanted to get all the input I could while it's still early so I'll have time to make a decision and check out the kennel or petsitter or whatever beforehand.

Kristen-

My dog is actually being board as we speak. My brother came from out town to stay with us over holiday and I can't my little nephew running around here with my GSD. My dog is not good with kids at all.

Boarding my dog with my trainer is the only option for us.

The very first time we boarded him he was about 3 years old. When I dropped him off at this particular facility, I told them upfront that my dog was aggressive and could not be handled by novice staffers. She assured me that they could handle my dog, citing they handle the police k9's ALL THE TIME and that they were completely capable of taking my dog. Well, I didn't have any reason not to believe her. When it was time for me to pick my dog up 3 days later, I went to the counter to pay my bill and the lady looked very sheepishly and said...."we're not going to charge you". I said, well that's nice, but why? She said "well, we couldn't get him out of his kennel, someone would have gotten seriously hurt, but we were able to slip some water into the kennel". So basically, my dog stayed in a 4x6 box for 3 days straight, no food, no place to potty. You can imagine how pist off I was at this point. It's not like I didn't explain to them how he was, and then she promised they could deal with that. So, first experience was a nightmare.

The second time I ever had to board him; we really did our homework and found a great site with very qualified people. This time, there were no problems, he was able to go out for play and exercise and he was offered food but did not eat. I was surprised and please when I picked my dog up from this place, the owner came walking out with my dog heeling at his side. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />
He then explained to me how he trains protection dogs and does some behavior modification plans with aggressive dogs.

So, I had no complaints about the second place but now we choose to board our dog with the folks we train with simply because they know my dog very well and I have total confidence in their abilities.

Anyway, the moral of the story is, sometimes you have to look around and experiment until you find the right place for you.

The answer to your problems will present itself, good luck.