Don’t Forget Your Four-Legged Friend at Home

Written by Colleen Sedgwick. Posted in Health and Safety.

There are lots of places we can take our pets but, unfortunately, there are some places our four-legged friends simply cannot go. If you are a pet owner and have tried scheduling a vacation, you know this to be true.

So what do you do about the dog or cat?

Well, there are a couple options including:

Transporting the Pet with You
Boarding Facilities
Pet Nannies

Transporting the Pet with You

While some airlines and airports do offer you the option of transporting your pet, it’s not always a safe or advisable course of action – especially if you’re not moving permanently. In fact, it’s better to just hire a pet nanny or board your pet.

No matter how careful people can be when handling pets, complications arise and some animals being transported have actually gotten quite sick, injured or worse. It’s recommended that, if you’re taking a trip, to leave the dog in the capable hands of a nanny, friend or kennel owner.

Boarding Facilities

Some people refer to them as kennels. These kennels serve to house your pet offering them all the amenities necessary for a healthy and productive stay until you return. There are many different kinds of kennels and it’s often best to visit a particular facility you are interested in before dropping your pet off.

By visiting one of these facilities in person, you’ll get a feel for the staff including how they might treat your pet. You also want to make sure your dog has gotten their bordatella vaccine to avoid anything nasty like “kennel cough.”

Pet Nannies

There are actually services out there like “pet nannies” that can look in on your pet while you’re away as well as giving them exercise, feeding them and letting them out. In addition to caring for your pet, they also provide some much needed one-on-one contact with the pet – keeping them from feeling too lonely which, believe it or not, is very important to your pet.

Pet nannies are also very important because they can look in on the house itself – especially helpful in keeping the home safe as you travel during the holiday seasons. If there aren’t any nanny services in your neck of the woods, see if you can work something out with a trusted neighbor.

Closing Thoughts on Leaving the Pet Home

If you have worked something out and you are leaving the pet home, make sure you take the necessary precautions. Don’t leave any potentially hazardous people-foods like chocolate in the pet’s reach. You should also see about unplugging any unnecessary electronics – that includes the Christmas tree lights.

If you have a home security system that the nanny or neighbor will need to bypass, make sure you square that away ahead of time. No notes on the door. Home security providers like www.securitychoice.com have systems that can be manually armed or disarmed with a key fob – make sure you leave this with the pet care provider ahead of time.

And remember that ensuring the pet’s safety is beneficial to you just as much as the pet. You want to be able to enjoy your vacation without worrying about home and, if you leave your pet in capable hands, they will be there to greet you when you return.