A Pets Place for ... Boarding
Boarding dogs and cats in a separate, secure, doctor-supervised area decreases stress and helps your pet enjoy his or her stay with us.
Dogs are exercised regularly in a secure, grassy outdoor area. Cats get petted and played with regularly. Our staff gives lots of TLC and special treats to your pets while you are away to reduce their anxiety and make our home your pet's vacation home. Call us anytime during your pet's stay, and we will gladly answer any questions to assure you that your pet is having a wonderful time. We will even email you a photo and an update regularly, if you ask and provide your email address.
Boarding your pet can be stressful for your pet. Boarding stress is real. Imagine taking your child to a strange place and leaving them with people they do not know. At A Pet’s Place we feel it is our job to minimize this stress to help assure your pet has a good experience. After all we have your pets best interest at heart.
Signs of kennel stress include
Aggression: commonly due to fear. We recommend a few short visits (Daycare) where the pet can get use to us, the smells, activity, and noises that occur here, and see that you are coming back for them.
Excessive Barking and Vocalization: Often caused by boredom and pent up energy. It can be unsettling for the other dogs and cats, as well as irritating. We use exercise, persistent calm redirection, & music decrease this as it becomes a vicious cycle.
Loss of Appetite: We recommend people bring the food that your pet is use to eating, as a change in diet can cause this, as well as the stress causing an upset stomach and diarrhea. We also feed Science Diet Sensitive Stomach as it is bland and easily digestible, and helps prevent stress colitis. We often hand feed or use a bland canned food called a/d to entice patients to eat.
Excessive Licking the Lips or Licking the Cage: done to try to calm themselves
Pacing or Seclusion: typically is a sign of depression which we address with more interaction and activity
Recommendations to make your pets stay less stressful:
- Condition your pet to coming here with day stays
- Confine your pet to a kennel, crate or small room for short periods to adjust to being confined
- If you have multiple pets, make sure they are independent of each other. Again separate confinement goes along way. It doesn’t mean they can’t hangout together, just that they are okay being alone. We also can board up to 2 pets in a limited number of larger kennels or runs(if you suspect you would like this for your pet, be sure to let us know in advance.) Most are happy to socialize in the exercise area and be near each other, typically.
- Bring a t-shirt or a toy of theirs to make them more comfortable
- Don’t drop them off at closing time, where they will be confined and alone before they have a chance to get settled and adjusted.
- We only exercise pets individually (unless requested with housemates) for their safety. Some pets prefer leash walking, while others won’t go on a leash; we are a hands-on facility. Let us know about your pets’ habits, medications and special needs.
