It is becoming more and more normal to go to residences to leave our dog when we have to be away for a few days. We go on vacation and you cannot accompany us or we spend many hours away from home and we need someone to accompany you during the day. But, despite the benefits of being able to have this option, it is important that we look for the best residence and that we are aware of the feelings that our dog may experience once he sees himself there without us.
Next we explain in this article on our site, in collaboration with iNetPet, what a dog feels when we leave him in a residence and what can we do to make the experience enjoyable for him.
What is a dog kennel?
We call a canine residence the facility that welcomes dogs during certain periods of time in the absence of their caregivers. Thus, we can leave our dog if for any reason we are not going to be at home to take care of it for several days, weeks or even months.
There are also sitters who leave your dog during the hours that they are at work so that they are not left home alone for so long, as not all dogs handle being alone well. In exchange for a certain amount of money, the dog receives professional care 24 hours a day, can interact with other dogs if he is sociable, is offered quality food or the one carried by the caregiver and, if required, veterinary assistance. In this case, we can resort to a mobile application such as iNetPet, which allows communication between professionals and caregivers at any time and in real time In addition, the application offers the possibility to store all relevant information about the dog and access it quickly and from anywhere.
Choose a kennel for dogs
Before leaving our dog anywhere, we have to make sure that he deserves our trust. It is not worth that the residence is advertised on the internet. We should seek opinions and visit her in person before making a decision. Therefore, we cannot choose only based on its advertising, proximity or price.
In a good residence they will allow us to make an adaptation with our dog, they will solve all our doubts and we will have the possibility of contacting the staff at any time to find out how our animal is doing. We must know the people who will be in direct contact with our dog and the training they have to carry out their work. The facilities must be clean and of an adequate size, with individual kennels and common spaces that may or may not be shared depending on the affinity of the animals. It would be ideal to be able to see some interaction between the housed dogs and the handlers.
What it is all about is that our dog's life in the residence is as similar as possible to that of his home. Of course, the residence must have all the necessary licensesto develop its activity as a zoo. Finally, they have to ask us for the microchip number and the dog's updated he alth card. Be wary if these documents are not requested.
The dog's adaptation to the kennel
Once we have found the ideal residence, however good it may be, the dog may become restless when we leave it there and leave. But don't think about it in human terms.
In dogs there will not be a feeling of nostalgia or hopelessness like the one we might feel when we see ourselves separated from our family. Yes, there may be insecurity and even a certain decay when finding yourself in a new environment. Although some dogs are very social and quickly establish a relationship of trust with anyone who treats them well, it is not uncommon for others to feel lost when they see each other in the residence. We must not forget that we are their maximum reference for them. That is why it would be good if we could take our dog to the residence for a visit so that, before leaving him permanently, he could establish a relationship with the staff and recognize the place and the new smells.
The visit can last just a few minutes and last longer another day, depending on the dog's reaction. We might even leave it there for a few hours before our departure. It's also a good idea to bring him his bed, his favorite toyor any other utensil that seems important to him and that reminds him of his home and us. Also, we can leave you to your own food to prevent a sudden change in diet from causing digestive disorders that can make you feel bad. This entire process implies that both the choice of residence and the adaptation period must be made in advance of our absence.
The dog's stay at the kennel
When we notice that the dog is comfortable in the residence, we can leave leaving it alone. Dogs do not have a notion of time like ours, so they will not spend their days evoking their home or us. They will try to adapt to what they have at that moment and we must also bear in mind that they will not be alone like when we leave them at home.
If any problem is disturbed or manifested, there are people around you with knowledge to resolve any incident. On the other hand, dogs spend a lot of time resting, so if they have had the opportunity to play with other dogs or exercise, they will burn off energy and relax.
By receiving all the care they need and establishing the right routine, in a day or two most dogs will be adjusted to their new environment. Which does not mean that they are not very happy when we come to pick them up. On the other hand, more and more residences have cameras to see the dog whenever we want or offer to send us photos and videos on a daily basis. As we have mentioned before, we can use the iNetPet application for free to know the status of our animal from anywhere in the world. This service is very useful in these cases, since it offers us the possibility of knowing the evolution of the furry in real time.
