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Question:

I come down on the "take them along" side of this question.  THey will get to enjoy being with you when they can, and will deal with being away from you the same way they do when you are gone to work, shopping, etc. From the dogs’ perspective: Go on a trip:  "my people" are still around and the pack family is intact.  I get to go to a new place and smell all sorts of new things.  New people will scratch me behind the ears.  Mom and dad are still around to scratch that place on my stomach that makes me kick my back leg. Kennels: new dogs around and who knows where they have been.   many of them are poorly trained – they bark all day and night and really bother me.  They feed me some weird brand of food which I don’t really like and which gives me a stomach ache.  Nobody pays much attention to us.

Response:

In a week, we are about to tackle a 10-hour car trip for a short vacation.  We are quite torn between two options: to leave the dogs in a kennel, or to bring them along.   (Home sitting is not an option here). OPTION 1… Kennel:   They have just spent a week there while we went on a cross-country plane trip.  We had no choice but to leave them behind. They were both in the same kennel run, and that made *us* feel a little less guilty.  At least, they were not separated. When we picked them up this morning,  they had both lost weight and were thrilled to see us again.  It took them over 30 minutes to stop wagging their tails!   (And we subsequently felt like guilty parents). OPTION 2…Bring them along:  The trip itself can be done with our van. However, my in-laws (who are hosting) have a very small house.  (Did I mention that my two dogs are GSDs?).   Moreover, since we will be doing a lot of sightseeing and visiting relatives, the dogs will be kept in their crates for most of the day.  All we can guarantee them is two big walks per day. My question:  where will they be happier?   With us, but cooped in a crate for most of the day?   At the kennel, but away from the rest of the "pack"? We are really torn.   Any words of wisdom?  

Response:

>In a week, we are about to tackle a 10-hour car trip for a short vacation. > We are quite torn between two options: to leave the dogs in a kennel, or >to bring them along.   (Home sitting is not an option here).

I would take them with you.  Try and get them out as much as you can, but they will be so much happier in familiar surroundings (your van and crate) and this way they will know you are coming back.  Putting them in a foreign place is like saying goodbye without them knowing if you are going to return. Rick Streifel Al Scott Lock & Safe Ltd. N 49.16.34.2 W123.01.36.9

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->In a week, we are about to tackle a 10-hour car trip for a short vacation. > We are quite torn between two options: to leave the dogs in a kennel, or >to bring them along.   (Home sitting is not an option here). >I would take them with you.  Try and get them out as much as you can, >but they will be so much happier in familiar surroundings (your van >and crate) and this way they will know you are coming back.  Putting >them in a foreign place is like saying goodbye without them knowing if >you are going to return.

we have just returned from iowa back to the south, 14 hours in the car, with sammy, our lab/spaniel (8 months).  contrary to my reservations, she did magnificently both in the car and at my in-laws.  she got plenty of exercise, runs in the morning and at night, and lots of people to take her for walks in the cornfields.  i did ask that they puppy proof their house, and she was kept in the kitchen behind puppy gates while we were gone for short periods, but i was so pleased that she was with us, and she adapted very nicely to her new environment.  we did place her in a reputable kennel for a few days while therem when we went out of town, and she seemd to thrive.  i would make sure your in-laws are open to having them though.  luckily my in-laws were excited about seeing sammy (for the first time), and enjoyed her.  good luck.

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