Why choose a 24 hour pet sitting option for your dog while on holiday from Melbourne?
Using a pet sitter to visit your home
This is a great option if your dog feels more secure around your property, your property is secure so they cant escape or be stolen.But if your dog is like my dog and likes barking at possums and bats at two in the morning - this might not be an option for you.
Using a dog kennel while you are on holiday
This is often most people LAST preferred method of looking after a dog. Kennels often smell, your doc is more likely to catch a contagion and if its a cement cell their physical comfort is likely to be low.These place dont always employ Rhodes scholars to look after your dog and they definitely won't get a long walk in the morning and a shorter one in the afternoon in pleasant surroundings.
Because these places often have a lot of dogs staying there at once, your dog is often surrounded by very unhappy howling dogs. They can come home with their personality completely changed.
I would NEVER risk putting my own dog in a kennel or suggest anyone else should - except as last resort.
Using a pet hotel
Is pretty much the same as a kennel. But often much more expensive.Instead of giving dogs open grassed areas to relax (because they have so many dogs natural grass often wont grow) they often have brightly coloured 'rooms' to sit in - that are all for the humans benefit, dogs only see half the colours and dont require all that furniture.
They often have unmotivated staff on low wages who are not necessarily good with dogs.
There are often many unhappy dogs housed in the same area many living in fear the whole time they are there.
I have seen a few 'doggy day care' places moonlighting as dog motels, and their morning walks usually mean a 10 minute on lead brisk walk down a cement footpath along a busy highway - because the dog was barking too much - that is not the solution.
Again these places are based on economics and will cram as many dogs as they can into the one hotel, to maximise profits, its never about the dogs comfort.
OUR 24 pet stays are genuine luxury
In fact many times dogs are walked and played with much more than their owners ever have and the dogs are upset to return to their old lifestyle !Our 24 hour pet sitters live in the suburbs so they only take on a few dogs at once, ones that are friendly and can be taken on longer on lead dog walks, around leafy suburbs.
The dogs stay in the back yards in the shade during good weather times and sit on REAL grass.
They still get to eat all of their regular food supplied by their owner, and sleep on their own bedding - INSIDE the house.
Sometimes the dogs get a little training on lead walking or discipline (appropriate positive reinforcement) while staying with our professional pet sitters.
They are never crammed in with many unhappy dogs with questionable social and aggression levels.
OH, and we have been told that our 24 hour boutique dog care is often cheaper than Kennels and pet hotels !
The reason is that these people are not doing it all for massive profits, they do it because they love dogs and want dogs to be happy while they are away They use genuine socialisation techniques and dog walks to burn the dogs energy - everything that I as a professional dog walker do for my dogs.
THAT is why 24 hour care for your dog, in a dog lovers home is always the ONLY solution when you are going away for a few days to months.
