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Old 10-30-2013, 11:46 AM   #9
linz06
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Saskatchewan
Posts: 3,154
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I'm happy we found a place too!

We had two options for kennels that said they would look after Layla. We took Layla to both for a tour on the weekend. The first place was much bigger, and the man who owns it (and lives on site) immediately dropped to his knees to play with Layla, showed us the entire place, including their water treatment and their boilers that heat the concrete floors, and the drains along each hall facing the kennels so any spilled water or accidents drain from the kennels. None of the kennels faced each other, they were all hallways with concrete walls across from them. The dogs never have to look at another dog when they are in their private kennel. As we walked past, he would talk to each dog and call them by name and tell us about their personalities, and who he thought would be good beside Layla, and showed us the "quiet" area where the older and special needs dogs are. He asked about if Layla prefers to walk on grass or gravel, because they'd take her for walks around the building for exercise. He was worried about her rubbing her tummy on the concrete floor inside, and asked what we thought about him putting foam pads in the bottom of her kennel so it wouldn't be rough on her tummy. He was SO interested in having her there, and although they normally charge extra for other needs (medicines, shots) he said they won't charge any extra for Layla's expressing, because it's something they are all going to learn (they have one vet tech on staff who is comfortable with it, and she will train everyone else there), and basically it is great for their business to say they can take dogs like Layla! By the time we left, Layla was pretty comfortable, sniffing and exploring!

The second place we went, the lady did not even talk to Layla or ask her name or anything. We walked down a short hallway with about 12 dogs in kennels facing each other, all barking at us. She took us outside where it was ALL gravel, and pointed at another building saying "There's another one there, it's pretty much the same." DH asked about their schedules, how often the dogs are taken out to pee (or expressed for Layla), and she said "Their gates close to lock them inside at 6 pm when we close, and they open again when we open at 7 am" I was shocked! They let all those dogs go 13 hours without a bathroom break??? So we told her Layla has to be expressed every 8 hours at least. She told us that's something extra the girl who lives on site would need to do, and made sure we knew that was something she would have to do JUST FOR US as if we should really appreciate it. She really didn't seem interested in having us there, and Layla was on edge the entire time.

Of course, we went with the first place!

I'm still nervous about the whole idea though! I really hope when we pick her up tonight, she's happy. I've never left her in a place like this before, but I do really feel like they really want to care for her. We will take her for two more daycare days next week before we leave on our vacation, and I will probably worry every day that I'm away! But if it works out, we will feel more comfortable if we ever need to leave her there again.
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Lindsey and Layla, Lucy, and Kash
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