When you're preparing to take your family dog to a local boarding service for the first time — perhaps because you're planning a vacation without the animal — you might be a little concerned about how the experience will be. Finding an experienced and qualified boarding service will go a long way toward alleviating these concerns, but there's another important step that you can take. One popular option is to send your dog for a short trial visit at the boarding service — for example, perhaps just overnight. Here are some things to know about booking a trial visit for your pet.
Why You Should Do It
A trial visit provides a good opportunity for your dog to get used to being at the boarding service but isn't long enough that it should miss you too much. When you return several days or weeks later to leave your dog for a longer stay, it will ideally recognize the environment and be excited because it had a good time during its trial visit.
What The Trial Should Include
Specify that you want the trial visit to include all of the elements that might be present when your dog visits the boarding service for a long-term stay. This will help the dog to develop a degree of familiarity with the process. For example, you might ask that the dog can have some exercise time with other dogs in an outdoor space — something that is common at many boarding services. One or more walks a day with a staff member are also something that should be on the agenda, as is having its coat brushed if it's a long-haired species.
What To Look For
There are all sorts of things that you can look for when your dog attends a trial visit at a local boarding service. When you return the next day to pick the animal up, see if you're able to observe it before it notices your presence. For example, if you see that the dog is happily interacting with other dogs in an outdoor area, this can make you feel confident that it's enjoying the experience. Before you leave, you can also look at how the dog interacts with various staff members. It's a good sign if the dog wags its tail around them, as this suggests that it is comfortable in their presence — likely as a result of positive encounters during the trial visit.
For more information on boarding your pet, contact a boarder or veterinarian near you, such as Marquette Animal Hospital.
Share1 July 2021
When I moved into the town I'm living in now, there was a large population of stray cats. Unfortunately, that population kept growing in rapid numbers because none of the cats had been fixed. I knew that wasn't a healthy situation, so I reached out to a local shelter and a veterinarian to launch a trap-alter-release program. Within about a year, we had the entire population altered and released back to their environments. The logistics were significant, but not overwhelming. That's why I built this site. My goal is to teach others how to launch a similar program in their own neighborhood to help keep the stray cats healthier and safer.