Do you always bring your dog on vacations when you drive?

[Anonymous]

We are going on a vacation and sharing a pet friendly air bnb with another close family friends. Our pup is almost a year old. I am having second thoughts as it seems like a task to me to take all the supplies plus the fact that all the work will fall on me. DH is not at all involved in dog care, and the kids share the responsibility but i anticipate and expect them to be busy playing. The whole family wants to bring our sweet dog but I am now thinking of boarding. What do you in similar situation do?

[Anonymous]

It depends on the location and what the plans are.
If it's an outdoors or hiking sort of trip then we bring them, but if it's a beach or city getaway or anything where we'll be doing non-dog friendly activities then no.

It sounds like you don't want to worry about taking care of the dog on your trip so just board him - don't let them guilt you into bringing him, especially since all the work will fall on you. It's your vacation too!

[Anonymous]

I dislike boarding as I think it’s a stressful experience for nearly all dogs. If we can’t take our dog we take him to a friend who does pet sitting in her home or to a family member. I do try to travel with our pups if it’s the kind of vacation where they can be included (camping/hiking, beach). That said we have a puppy and while we took him on vacation with us, he only went to the beach like 3 or 4 times and was crated when we left the house. Traveling with him required a lot more gear and planning, though (we have a 42” crate because he’s huge!!), and is no one helped me, I would threaten to board the dog to get more help. That said, if staying in a hotel I probably wouldn’t take the dog because you really can’t leave them in a hotel alone like you could in a house (even crated I think the risk of barking while you’re gone or someone coming in is too great in a hotel). Most places don’t even allow you to leave the dog in the room when you leave anyway.

[Anonymous]

Depends where we are going and what we’ll be doing. If the dogs don’t come, we hire an in-home sitter.

[Anonymous]

Yes, but then, we don't do a lot of driving vacations so it's not too exhausting for us.

[Anonymous]

Depends on where we are going and if I think the dog is likely to get out.

If we are staying with people who will stand there with the front door open, then we board her. Or we would lose her.

[Anonymous]

No. I don't think people like to be around other people's dogs. I don't. I'd never bring the dog unless it was just our immediate family going.

[Anonymous]

My current dog, no, because he LOVES his boarding facility. He's also huge so he's over the weight limit for a lot of hotels and airBnBs. (Shout out to Kimpton hotels, though, for no weight limit!)

[Anonymous]

No, I’ve only done that once when he was a puppy. Otherwise, I board him, even if it’s a pet friendly location.