Soon, it’ll be two weeks since Alex started wearing a brace for her ACL injury and so far she is doing fine.  She is putting pressure on both legs, although still favoring her right leg, and she is resting a lot.  This is her favorite spot when the sun is out, by the sliding doors.

In order to get her to look at me I had to bribe her with a treat, and it worked.  While looking at her, I remembered the last time, years ago, when I had to travel out of the US and leave her in a kennel facility, and how I told myself and Alex that that was the last time I’d do that.  Please, do not misunderstand me, there are kennel facilities that are run by experienced, competent, dog loving individuals that do their very best to take care of the dogs they are entrusted with, but a kennel environment for many dogs can put a great amount of stress on them.  Years ago, I was the manager of a PetsHotel and I can honestly say that the staff that worked alongside me truly loved dogs and did a great job caring for them, but I also realized that the majority of the dogs were stressed out so with that in mind I decided to quit that job and I started offering In Home Dog Boarding.

Years went by and I still love what I am able to offer to pet parents and their dogs and that is a stress free environment, similar to the one they have at home.  I’ve had dogs that had a variety of issues such as: separation anxiety, fear of being crated, incessant chewing, etc., and they all have done well staying with us.  At the end of their stay I talk to the pet parents for a couple of minutes to let them know how their furry kid did and to mention anything unusual that I noticed about their doggie.

Dexter, the handsome boxer mix in the above picture, is one of my regulars and although he may look a little intimidating he is really a sweetheart.  For the most part, I don’t crate dogs unless necessary, but, and this is something I do want to stress to all pet parents, a crate should be used as a tool for training your dog and never as punishment nor the answer to solve all your dog’s problems or issues.

Recently, I read a post in dogsmakeeverythingbetter.com/‎ about a shelter for dogs run differently than the ones here in the US.  This shelter outside of Tehran allows dogs to live freely with each other and they are even able to eat next to each other.  She posted some amazing pictures and it really made me think about what she said about dogs being social animals.  I am a firm believer that we all can learn from one another, and perhaps this shelter in such a far away place can teach us all a thing or two.

Because the dogs that stay with me literally hang out with me, I always ask pet parents to text me an hour prior to picking up their furry kid in order to have their doggie ready and to make sure that all the other dogs will not disturb us when they get to my place.

Whatever your choice for your dog may be, when it comes to boarding, my advice would be to ask a lot of questions, ask to see where your dog will be staying, do a search and see what comments are posted about this facility or pet sitter, and weigh all your options before making your decision.  Always remember that you are your dog’s advocate and that if you are not comfortable with a particular place or person, follow your gut and keep looking.