Dog Owners - Tell me the truth about travel/vacations

[Anonymous]

We are thinking about adopting a small-to-medium-sized dog. My older daughter is 9, younger is 6. We both work OOH, but we have an au pair who is home much of the time (kids are there after school). Our yard is fenced. I recognize the commitment and that my older daughter (who is dying for the dog) while I expect her to be responsible and do a consistent portion of the walking/feeding/caring, this will probably be no more than 50%. DH & I will be on the hook for vet appointments, walks when kids can't do it, etc.

My biggest worry about going ahead with dog adoption is travel. We normally take several vacations per year. One of them is skiing (not dog-friendly). One of them is longer - 2-3 week annual trip to Europe (family there). Other trips are shorter and/or could be made dog-friendly (finding a dog-friendly beach rental, for instance).

Is there a local DC area Club-Med-for-Dogs-type kennel that my as-yet-to-be-adopted dog would be okay with? Another option? (It would think a dog would get AWFULLY lonely staying home along with dog-walkers coming in if we are away for more than a couple of days).

Or is it really the case that I need to choose between adopting a dog and having the 2-3 week European vacations if I want to be a responsible, humane, loving dog owner?

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of great boarding facilities available, or you can find a house/pet sitter to come and actually stay at your house with the dog while you are away. The downside is that these things are not cheap. Expect to pay $50-75 a night for either option. This adds up over a 2-3 week vacation.

Also, just as a side note, I don't think it's realistic to expect even the most responsible 9-year-old to do 50% of pet care or anywhere close to that. Every kid swears they will, but it just never works out that way. Is she really going to walk him when it's disgusting outside, pick up the poop, feed him consistently on time, train him, brush him, etc.? Also, a small dog can live for 15 years or more, and your kid isn't going to be 9 forever. She's going to get a lot busier with school, activities, sleepovers, etc., and walking Fido isn't going to be at the top of her priority list. So DON'T get a dog unless you are willing to take on pretty much 100% of walking, training, feeding, and cleanup.

[Anonymous]

Agree with 15:45 on both the boarding options and what you can expect of a 9-year-old.

Just wanted to add that we always have our dogwalker stay at our house with the dogs while we're gone ($60 a night). Mostly because we live in a high-crime neighborhood and it keeps the house safe!

[Anonymous]

There are lots of options, and you can choose the option that suits your dog's personality. My dog is very "social" so he likes a cageless environment, but he's also a little overwhelmed by big dogs, so he likes places where they separate by size. This is his favorite: http://www.wagtimedc.com/. Other dogs might prefer to stay at home with a pet sitter or go out to the country and have a private run.

As someone who got a dog when I had a 10 year old, though, I'd caution you to think down the road. The first 2 years with my dog were great. He came to soccer practice, and to soccer games, and we spent our weekends at the dog park or hiking in the mountains. It was lovely.

Now, I have a high schooler. He stays after school every day for some kind of practice, and the poor dog is home alone. On the weekends he's off doing his thing, and I'm with the dog, but I don't really want to go to the dog park by myself.

And in 4 years, he'll be off to college and I'll really be alone with the dog.

[Anonymous]

Caring for a dog while you are on vacation will add hundreds to the cost of your trip. Unless you have VERY good friends, but even then you'd probably not want to abuse their good nature.

Also, longer stays at kennels tend to result in vet visits after the fact. More money.

We pay a guy who house sits for us and takes care of our dogs. He loves our dogs so he does it for $50 a night, but that really does add $500 to the cost of going away for, say, Spring Break.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, leaving a dog in a kennel for 2-3 weeks is not a good idea. And you can't leave one alone with just dog walkers. Paying someone to stay at your house is the best option. Not cheap, but part of the cost of having a dog.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the replies! Hadn't thought about the live-in dogsitter but that is of course an excellent (if expensive) solution.

More food for thought. I haven't read the book, but I recently heard that Dr. Harly Rotbart, in his book No Regrets Parenting, actually counsels against busy two-OOH-working parent families getting a dog because parents end up taking care of the dog and it takes away from quality time that parents spend with their children.

I'm very conflicted about this. On the one hand, I would really like to have a dog (I'll admit that I would like a dog too, not just my DD). On the other hand, I'm just not sure that it's the wisest choice for our hectic life and as a PP pointed out, in a few years, we won't have an AP at home during the day and our kids will likely be booked up with tons of activities later into the evening (they already have a lot of activities).

[Anonymous]

Ditto, ditto, ditto on what the pps say about kids doing any work for the dogs. They simply don't. We're lucky if DD (11 and the one who BEGGED for the dog and PROMISED until kingdom come would take care of) takes her out once a day for peepee. Forget poo - no patience for that! She does play with her but I know that will become less frequent as she gets older.

Luckily, my DH and I are in love with the dog and happily take her for long walks almost every day.

If you have good friends or family in the area who have dogs and/or are dog lovers, you can take turns taking care of each other's dogs. We take a similar number of vacations as you do and this is what we do. We have friends who take our dog in while we travel, and we will take theirs when they travel. We were gone for a month this winter and we sent our dog to a cousin's house for 2 weeks, and good friend's house the other two weeks.

As for travel with the dog, we just took our first road trip with ours (just got her a year ago) over spring break and she's a great traveler. I was surprised at how many hotels are dog-friendly and she was really good when we left her alone in the hotel room to go out for dinner. We plan to take her on a longer road trip this summer. But we are lucky - I've heard from friends that some dogs get carsick and/or don't travel very well.

Good luck - overall we're very happy we got our dog, but just be aware of the costs and limitations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of great boarding facilities available, or you can find a house/pet sitter to come and actually stay at your house with the dog while you are away. The downside is that these things are not cheap. Expect to pay $50-75 a night for either option. This adds up over a 2-3 week vacation.

Also, just as a side note, I don't think it's realistic to expect even the most responsible 9-year-old to do 50% of pet care or anywhere close to that. Every kid swears they will, but it just never works out that way. Is she really going to walk him when it's disgusting outside, pick up the poop, feed him consistently on time, train him, brush him, etc.? Also, a small dog can live for 15 years or more, and your kid isn't going to be 9 forever. She's going to get a lot busier with school, activities, sleepovers, etc., and walking Fido isn't going to be at the top of her priority list. So DON'T get a dog unless you are willing to take on pretty much 100% of walking, training, feeding, and cleanup.

I did when I was 9. In fact, I did way more than 50 percent. I fed the dog morning and evening, cleaned up after her, walked her. Pretty much everything. My parents would say that if I didn't, we were getting rid of her. Only when I was sick or had some other kind of thing (a sleepover or something) would there an exception. Basically, my mom bought the dog food and took her to get her regular rabbies shot. I did the rest, even at age 9.

I loved that dog...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the replies! Hadn't thought about the live-in dogsitter but that is of course an excellent (if expensive) solution.

More food for thought. I haven't read the book, but I recently heard that Dr. Harly Rotbart, in his book No Regrets Parenting, actually counsels against busy two-OOH-working parent families getting a dog because parents end up taking care of the dog and it takes away from quality time that parents spend with their children.

I'm very conflicted about this. On the one hand, I would really like to have a dog (I'll admit that I would like a dog too, not just my DD). On the other hand, I'm just not sure that it's the wisest choice for our hectic life and as a PP pointed out, in a few years, we won't have an AP at home during the day and our kids will likely be booked up with tons of activities later into the evening (they already have a lot of activities).

I would recommend that you adopt an older dog. That will give the kids the experience of having a dog but not the 15 year commitment.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PPs about almost everything. If you get a dog, you have to do it because YOU and your spouse want the dog, too.

Another affordable option for boarding that our dog loves is Country Dogs, in virginia. Basically a farm/camp for dogs.

[Anonymous]

Do not get a dog unless you are absolutely committed to do 100% of all the work that comes with having a dog. Your child may loose interest, get busy etc. How much can DH help out with the dog? I'm not sure if your life style is conducive with having a dog. Having someone stay at your house for 3 weeks in the summer to take care of the dog will be VERY expensive and add literally thousands to your vacation. The dog may experience anxiety over having a stranger in the house. I'm not sure if this is such a good idea.

Do you have any friends who might be interested in trading dog-sitting services? We also travel to Europe each summer for a lengthy period of time and we have a friend who takes our dogs in. We pay her for her services, but the dogs are fully integrated in their family. This has helped tremendously. It is cheaper and healthier than a boarding facility and the dogs know the family and therefore experience less anxiety.

Have you ever owned a dog before?

If you are adamant about getting a dog, I would suggest an older (but not OLD) dog. Preferably a dog with some previous training. I would most definitely NOT get a puppy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do not get a dog unless you are absolutely committed to do 100% of all the work that comes with having a dog. Your child may loose interest, get busy etc. How much can DH help out with the dog? I'm not sure if your life style is conducive with having a dog. Having someone stay at your house for 3 weeks in the summer to take care of the dog will be VERY expensive and add literally thousands to your vacation. The dog may experience anxiety over having a stranger in the house. I'm not sure if this is such a good idea.

Do you have any friends who might be interested in trading dog-sitting services? We also travel to Europe each summer for a lengthy period of time and we have a friend who takes our dogs in. We pay her for her services, but the dogs are fully integrated in their family. This has helped tremendously. It is cheaper and healthier than a boarding facility and the dogs know the family and therefore experience less anxiety.

Have you ever owned a dog before?

If you are adamant about getting a dog, I would suggest an older (but not OLD) dog. Preferably a dog with some previous training. I would most definitely NOT get a puppy.

Yeah, I'll never be one to say having a puppy is like having a baby, but there are SOME similarities.

You do get up every three hours to let them make a potty outside during the first two months or so. You do get on a schedule where you nap, potty, play, potty, eat, potty, nap, potty, play, potty. And, they teeth/chew for about a year.

[Anonymous]

Agree with all the PPs about kids, boarding, etc. I was that kid who swore up and down I would care for the dog ... and I did, diligently, until I went away to camp and to college and to grad school and the dog was basically my parents' dog. Kids' availability changes fast.

Today DH and I have a dog and it really limits our travel, as well as our ability to stay late at work / go out with friends. Just being there for and with the dog, separately from any actual chores, is a huge time sink. We also have not had a lot of luck traveling with the dog, because even dog-friendly getaways are logistically tricky -- e.g., dog has to be leash-walked multiple times per day because there's no yard to potty in, dog isn't welcome at restaurants and attractions, and so on.

Would you consider a limited-time foster home situation? That is when you take in a dog that someone has given up and care for it until it gets adopted. With many (not all) rescue organizations, you are able to say "I can foster until x date, which is when we leave on our long European vacation." That might get your kids their dog fix without making the long-term commitment that owning/adopting requires. While there certainly are opportunities to foster troubled or abused dogs, there also are plenty of average family pets that have been given up and just need a place to stay until they find a new home.

[Anonymous]

We use Dogtopia when we go on vacation. They have webcams, which is nice. It costs about $50/day, so when we go on long trips, it is a big expense. We have done two 10-day trips, and our very social dog was fine. It is basically like sending her to doggy summer camp: she gets a little report card, she plays with her friends, the staff remember her and love on her.

I would consider working with a rescue group that can help you pick out a dog that fits your family. Tons of families have two OOH workers. We do, and we still have an active dog. Since you have the au pair there for part of the day, I don't think your dog would be too lonely, but definitely think about the full lifespan of the dog and what the situation will be in your home as the kids get older.