Do you ever go on vacation?
 

I was just wondering what you guys do with your babies when you want to go away for a few days?

My boyfriend and I would really like to go on little weekend vacations occasionally, but we just don't know what to do with Wes and Maddie. Although I wish they did, they don't really have the personalities for us to be able to take them with us. Wesley gets really stressed out whenever we take him away from home for too long. He can't relax and he forgets to eat and drink. I just always worry about him when we take him places. Sorry I got off topic...

Do you board your dogs or have a friend/relative care for them? If you board them or hire someone to take care of them, how did you chose the place/person? I just worry about leaving them with someone or somewhere for the first time.

We've had Wesley for 1 year now, and he's never spent a day without us. Sometimes we feel like we are never going to be able to get away again. Am I the only one who's felt like this? :confused:

i take romeo everywhere. i think it's more stressful for him to be without his mommy. if i can't take him , my fiance' stays home with him. that's only twice a year when i go to hawaii. (they have dog quarantine):(

Bruce goes pretty much everywhere he has been to Alaska, Arizona, California, France, etc. If he does not he stays with my parents. I think it is important if you leave these little guys to make sure they are with someone familiar and would take good care of them!

When I go away for quick weekends I will leave Buddy with a good friend of mine who has other dogs. I just think that Yorkies are different than other dogs, and don't deal well with unfamiliar and sterile boarding conditions. When I have left him at daycare more than 2 nights - and that's someplace he is mostly familiar with - he makes himself sick.

So far, the only vacations I've taken Buddy on are to New York to see my parents and he stays with my mom overnight. Probably the best idea is to make friends with other people with Yorkies - and also do the best you can to train your pups well so that they behave in other peoples houses.

I think I've met Wesley before - were you at any of the San Francisco meetups??

Yes! We have gone to the San Francisco Meetups! You probably have seen Wes then. He's usually either the biggest or one of the biggest yorkies there! lol. I'm going to pm you....

So far we've only traveled when we had Kona. We left her with my bf's parents who have a 4 year old yorkie. Now that we have Bernie and there is the whole male dominance thing, when we go on vacation next we will leave Kona with my in laws and Bernie with my bf's sis... I'd much rather leave them with family if I can't take them with me.

I have 3 dogs, I haven't had Lily my yorkie but a few months so haven't had to take any trips yet. I have boarded my chihuahua 3 different times. Two times for a week each and the last time was for 2 weeks(this was before we had our pom too). I always worried sick about her and called them every day. That last time was extremely hard on her. When I picked her up she came home and had bloody stools and diarreah for a week before my vet figured out the problem, irritable bowel due to the stress in the kennel. I had left her in the same place as the other times which was a veterinarian office. My vet said now if she is ever extremely stressed it could flair up again. She even had to be on a prescription diet for it(I switched her to natural balance). I think it is much harder on the smaller breed dogs, they are so use to being with their family all the time. I knew she didn't enjoy being there and away from me too, but the 3 times I boarded her was because we went on a vacation with another family that doesn't like dogs. Needless to say I will NEVER board her or any of them again. We are going to Cleveland the day after Thanksgiving and taking all 3. We have decided if we can't take them or have a family member watch them then we stay home. It takes a little more planning, like finding pet friendly accomodations, taking 3 crates for the room while we are out. We have traveled with the chi and pomeranian a few times before we got Lily and it has worked out fine. I just can't bring myself to leave them again, and they all love to "go bye-bye".

Even though we've only had Topher since February, prior to that we had a terrier mix (25lbs) for 7 years who would never have been able to stand a boarding kennel..she was so attached to me...so either we didn't go on holidays or we took her with us. It does take extra planning (sometimes I think it's worse than travelling with an infant with all of the stuff you have to bring!!lol) but it's easier on them to be with you.
(There are some dogs who do okay in a boarding kennel situation, but I've yet to have a dog who could handle it).

I'm very fortunate to have my younger brother and sister live within 3 miles of me as well as my best friend so if we travel, they share duties in caring for Gabby and Gage. Most of our travels the last few years have been with our youngest's select baseball team. I would much rather know that they were home, in their own environment, having people they know and trust care for them, than to haul them around a hot baseball field (we are usuallly at the fields on Saturdays during a tournament week-end all day!). For the past 2 summers, we've traveled to Panama City Beach for tournaments and haven't been able to take them. We do take them with us to our deer camp - they LOVE to "go for a ride" and are just as comfortable at the camp as they are at home.

If you are going to travel out of town on week-ends or a week-long vacation and can't take your furbaby, I would suggest a friend or family member that they know and are familiar with and ask them to care for them while you're gone. It will help to ease the stress they will encounter in your absence.

We board ours when we go on vacation. If we just go away for a couple of days we have my Husbands Brother come over and let them out and feed them

When I saw this I got butterflies in my stomach! :( I just found out yesterday that we are going on vacation in November for a whole WEEK!!! I am totally FREAKING OUT about leaving Stedman!! :( I have NEVER been away from him for that long before! We are flying to Palm Springs, CA and we are also going to Las Vegas...however we are meeting my father in law and his wife there....I CANNOT FREAKING STAND THEM!! Well I take that back, I can't stand HIM!!! She does get on my nerves at times, but for the most part she's usually ok. He on the other hand is a TOTALLY different story. The 2 of us don't mix. He is German (my husband is from Canada, his mom is Canadian and his dad is German but they are divorced) and anyway, he is very "set in his ways" so to speak. He just looooooves telling everyone what to do, where to go, how to dress, what to eat, what to drink, etc., etc., etc. He speaks to people like they are children. He even got upset with my husband once because he had a CAP on....WTF!!!!!!!???? :eek: I guess that was just too "laid back" for him :rolleyes: It is flipping RIDICULOUS!! Not to mention he was a doctor (he just retired after almost 40 years) and he thinks he is SO high class (well he pretty much is, BUT GEEZ..!). Another thing I cannot stand is him flaunting his damn money around in everyones face. When he came down here to visit a couple of years ago, he went into one of the really expensive men's dress stores here and bought my husband some shirts and pants because it was right around Christmas and he wanted to just go ahead and get our gifts while he was here, that way he wouldn't have to mess with shipping a bunch of stuff down to us. Anyway the man in the store that was helping us had asked him where he was from, obviously because of his having an accent, and anyway, he goes..."I am originally from Germany but have been living in Canada for over 30 years." Then he looks over to my husband and I and goes, "I am this man's terribly rich doctor father, and this woman's terribly rich doctor father in law"..........OH MY GOD!! My husband and I were so embarrassed!! :eek: I just wanted to die! I mean WHO IN THE HELL SAYS THAT???? :shocked7q ANYHOW - my husband knows how I feel about him, but he never even speaks up to him. That has been an issue for him his whole entire life, and of course still is.....

ANYWAY - sorry for rambling on and on...I just had to get some of that off my chest!!...

The point is that, yes, we will be going away for a week next month :( And I will have to leave my poor baby behind!!! OMG...I am going to go CRAZY!! I hope that week FLYS by!!! I have already bought another web cam and I am going to have my mom come and stay over at my house for the entire week that we are gone to take care of Steddy and all his brothers and sisters (1 cat and 2 other dogs, + Stedman). It'll be easier that way, and not to mention...Steddy will still be in the environment that he knows, and I know that HERE, he will feel "safe at home" with all his toys, beds, etc., etc. We are going to take one cam, and the laptops...and my mom can use the other cam and the computers here....that way my little Steddy will be able to see his mommy and daddy and we will be able to see our baby :( I am going to be bawling my eyes out!! OMG - I so don't wanna go! I tried and tried to get out of it but there was just no way :( It makes me SICK that I have to leave my sweet little baby behind just to go and spend a week of my life with that %#$*@#%*!!! :(

We haven't been on vacation in probably 10 years. Once the boy (hubby and son) joined Scouts, they go away for some weekends and for a week or two for Scouts but I just stay home. I would probably do alright leaving my Golden and 2 of the Yorkies, but leaving my Joey would be too stressful for me. I've never been away from him for more than 4 hours and then he wasn't alone...my son or husband was home. So..It will probably be a long, long time before we take another vacation. I would like to buy another camper and then we could take the babies with us. That would solve a lot!:)

I always bring my little ones with me .

Thats what we are going to do buy a camper. We looked at one this weekend. They really arent too expensive and we go alot in the summer we would use it. I would love to be able to take Chachi and Jewels with us when we go on short trips

We have always tried to take Kallie (maltese) with us but we have not taken a trip since we adopted our Yorkie, Toby. But we plan on taking them with because of the type of vacations we take........sightseeing, antique shopping, hiking, camping. So it will be very interesting to see how our next trip goes. BUT as a back-up to taking them with us, if we need to take a vacation where they just can't go, we have a son that they absolutely adore and he adores them so he picks up his things and comes and stays at our house. He eats all he wants, swims in the pool, and just has sort of a mini vacation himself and the dogs have human company and stay in familiar surroundings. Everybody is happy!:)

I think that I am going to end up doing what most of you have been doing...taking Wes and Maddie with me. It's not that I don't love having them with me. I just find that sometimes it's hard to just relax and enjoy other things when I have them with me because I'm always thinking about them first.

I think I'm going to try and do my best to ease them into traveling so maybe they'll enjoy it too. My boyfriend and I would really love to start camping, so I think we're going to try to get them used to it by first spending a few day trips in a camping setting, then spend one night, then slowly move it up to a couple nights.

I agree with all of you...they love spending time with their parents! Mine would love nothing more than to be with me every minute of every day (and they love a few treats now and then too) :p

We hardly ever go on vacation due to my husbands job, but we did go stay the week in Topeka, Ks when my hubby returned from Iraq....We went to a debriefing classes and the Engineer Ball. Grandpa came and stayed with them will we were gone. They love thier Grandpa. Grandpa watched them alot while daddy was gone in Iraq.

We've done all of the above! A couple of times we've taken Jaxon with us - either by car or plane. That's my preference but it can't always be done. The 2nd option is having a friend stay at our house to look after him. That way he's at home, everything is the same as always. We don't have family nearby so unfortunately that's not an option. We have also boarded him once for a few days. I absolutely bawled when I left him and it was very hard. I know he was well taken care of, but it's still tough. There are a lot of good boarding facilities around - just takes some research to find them.

With my first Yorkie (she's gone now) :( I would leave her home with my family, also a friend kept her a few times...I also boarded her. I kept her at her vet/groomers/kennel. I trusted them.

I now have a 17 month Yorkie that I have yet to leave...I just can't bring myself to leave him yet.

I board mine at my groomers too. She takes them home with her

Wow, that's wonderful!! Lucky you!

Funny this post was started just as I'm stressing about our trip this weekend. We got Tatum as a puppy when we were living with my MIL while building our house so she loves "Grandmother" and we leave her with my MIL whenever we have to go somewhere. Turns out though that she is going to the same place we are this weekend so she can't keep her. A neighbor of ours has a boarding kennel which is were we leave Stormie, our Australian Shepherd but I just don't like it for Tatum. This is an "indoor" kennel but is still not "the life" that Tatum is used to. When we had our toy poodle, we would always board him at the vet because of his health. I knew he was getting the best of care there but I just can't imagine Tatum being in a "cage" all day and night (Thursday through Sunday).

So...... long story short (too late!), we have decided to take her with us. We're traveling with our Airstream (travel trailer) so when I have to (like when we go eat or something), I can leave her in there. The rest of the time, she'll just have a ball hanging out with us I hope! We are competing at the Red Stegall Cowboy Gathering Chuckwagon competition. I don't actually do any of the cooking (that's my husband and his uncle's job) so I usually get bored anyway just sitting around. Our kids are old enough to run around themselves and have their little cousins to play with and watch over too so this will give me a "good excuse" to retire to the Airstream occasionally because "Tatum needs to rest"! ;)

Any Ft. Worth people here that are planning to go to this thing this weekend? If so, come introduce yourselves!! We are the "Rocking T" chuckwagon and if we're in the same place as last year, we'll be the first one set up at the end. If I'm not there when you come by, just ask for "Tatums Mom"! My husband will be one of the cowboys doing the cooking.

Well, you all have some good times and yummy vittles.:D I just know you will enjoy yourself much more with Chachi with you.

Usually, a close family member spends the night with our dogs at our house. We have yet to consider boarding if we go on vacation but our dogs aren't to update with the shots, so boarding is kinda out of the question, LOL. Sometimes we take them with us, everything goes pretty well except barking yorkies at rest stops in the middle of the night.

Generally we go to Disney World (27 more days..woo hoo) and my dad stays home with all the dogs...theirs and ours. He is happy as a lark and I think sometimes sad to see us come back!:(

Aww....he's just enjoying his special time with all the "fur grandkids"! I think that is great your dad helps you out!! And to obviously enjoy it, what a wonderful man:)

He he he...3 of those fur kids are his.;)

I'll usually travel with Gigi. When she doesn't travel with me, she usually stays with her Nana. She loves..loves..loves all the treats and attention her Nana gives her.

When I go on vacations with the family, she goes with us. I will usually research ahead of time for Doggie Daycare facilities and/or pet sitters (you can customize what you need) This summer, we went to Walt Disney World. I found a great facility...Dog Day Afternoon which offered day camp. I would drop Gigi off in the am and pick her up in the evening when we were done going to the different parks. Dog Day Afternoon had live cameras...so I was able to log on and check on her.

Sugarpig

well you just said that your baby gets upset when he's not home
so I don't think you should board him

I think it's better to have a friend come over and feed them and play with them a few hours a day

the people working at the boarding would be really distraught if your baby didn't eat!

My mom keeps them when I go on vacation. They are used to that environment and I am sure that they enjoy it.

I've tried taking them on weekend vacations and as much as I love them, it's just to much. I don't like leaving them alone (who knows when housekeeping or someone is going to come in) and it makes it hard to do things and go out to dinner.

We took our Missy on a two week vacation this past summer and it went perfectly. We had never traveled with a dog before and didn't know exactly what we would encounter, but there were no problems. Hotels were very accepting and reasonable in their extra charges...usually $10. Many of the shops we were at had no problem with her accompanying us. I took along a "dog purse," but didn't need to use it. She was welcomed on leash. She was pleasantly greeted everywhere we went and was the beginning of many conversations.
I take her with me on any small trips that are feasible and she loves to ride in the car.
If I had to leave her behind, I would choose a friend before boarding her because of bad experiences with fleas and other illnesses that can be shared.
Mostly, we love having her with us!