Thanks for voicing that somewhat unpopular opinion. I feel the same way. Yes, they ARE our babies but they are also dogs. I am very lucky in that my mother-in-law loves Tatum to pieces and jumps at the chance to babysit. On the rare occasion that she is also going to the same place as us, I would board her at the vet but I haven't had to do that yet. We did board our toy poodle at the vet quite a few times when we had him. There are not a whole lot of places that we go for an overnight or weekend stay that we would be able to take Tatum so we consider ourselves very lucky to have my eager MIL!

That's a very healthy way of looking at it! It may be tough at time to find the perfect sitter but you also shouldn't deny yourself!

My large dog does not travel well at all. He gets extremely car sick and has panic attacks in the car. We have an in home pet sitter for him. She comes 3 times per day for 1 hour each. She is licensed, bonded, and insured. She is great! We usually take our little ones with us. But in the event we cannot...she watches them as well for an additional $2 per dog.

I can understand your concern. Next month, I am going to my condo in Florida for the first time since I got Betty (No pets allowed!). I am going to try to 'sneak' her in.:eek: It figures that she recently decided that she enjoys hearing herself bark. :rolleyes: We'll see how this turns out!

We take ours with us. Daisy is an escape artist and I wouldn't be able to enjoy a vacation since I would be constantly worrying about her getting loose and running away or getting hurt. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her while I left her with someone.

I have a list a mile long of people that love Brissy so much they have offered to care for her if we go away. When someone suggests that they are available if the occasion arises I reply that you'll have to get in line. Brissy's human grandma, her breeder, has also offered. We actually need a sitter next week as my husband is having surgery. She is going to my girlfriend/coworkers house for the night. This will bring her much joy as she is at home with her husband that has advanced terminal cancer. I think she will be fine because I take Brissy out to socialize several times a week. She just loves everyone. I think that socialization is the key to a dogs adaptability.
We also have traveled extensivly with our parrots. It can be inconvienent but it's a labor of love.

Yes, this is "new" for me, but....
 

I've always been able to pick up and go until now, so this is a new concept for me. I LOVE to travel...very passionate about it. I want to see the world, so I knew i had to find a happy medium in here somewhere. I also don't want to pay $$$ boarding fees. I also can't stand the thought of kenneling/boarding. I think I have found several options now, thankfully!

Here are some things I've done in researching what I'll do w/ my dogs when away:

1. Put an ad on/responded to an ad on Craigslist.com with about 3 other people in the Nashville area that would be willing to do a pet exchange. I've used one couple once during a 3 night trip I had to take to FL. Went well! They had (2) 20-lb terrier mix dogs. A bit bigger than I liked but all went great. The couple was extremely nice. The husband worked from home, so was able to attend to my dogs. I gave them a one page, VERY DETAILED Word document on FYI's on Murphy. (They probably thought I was insane when they read it!! haha). Anyways, the woman had no problems giving me a detailed review of the day each day I was gone. This worked great.

2. I'm "in talks" w/ 2 other people from Craigslist. We are letting our dogs meet shortly. One has a 15 lb s**tzu and another has a Chihuahua. These two sound very favorable.

3. I put an ad up in my apt complex (Which would be most convenient) for a pet exchange and found a GREAT GIRL that has a mini-schnauzer that lives directly across the street. She views her doggy as a baby, just as I do, so we are on the same page!! It's awesome.

4. I also found a swanky boarding facility in my town....very clean facility, have new small dog "apartments"....let out several times per day....and they charge about $30/day. I could let both my Yorkie and Maltese share a compartment. So this is last resort, but it's an ok-option all in all. I will go check the place out later today.

Anyways, these are just options to show you that you may be surprised to find some really nice people out there w/ similar views just as yourself on raising your babies. If you are really wanting to take a trip, by all means do it!! Don't have regrets. I think our dogs will be fine. Don't strap your life down for your dogs b/c they will love you just as much when you return. Just be smart on who you entrust them too is my recommendation.

Now, w/ all this said, YES, I STILL HAVE MAJOR SEPARATION ANXIETY.....but I think it's more ME than my pooches!! So my recommendation is to give MYSELF "doggy therapy" and take a few vacations when I want to! haha.

Hope this helps someone!!

Yes, this is "new" for me, but....
 

oops...sorry..posted twice accidentally

In my family, if we're going on vacation, the dogs come with us if possible. If that is not possible, then someone in the immediate family stays home from the vacation to take care of the dogs and the other animals. If we take the dogs with us, then grandma comes to take care of the other animals: birds, reptiles, cats, rodents, etc.

We take our babies on vacation with us because we love them and want to be with them. However, if they didn't love the vacation as much as we did, we'd leave them at home.

The largest group of animals we've ever went on vacation with is three 60-75 pound australian shepherds, 1 dachshund, and 4 bottle-feeding, 1 week old kittens. Fun! :D

When I have short vacations for 3-4 days, I board Siu Pao. Anything longer than that, he stays with my MIL and FIL. They are just starting to love him thank God they will fall in love with him!

For our honeymoon this summer we are planning on asking my friend Bailey who lives in the same city as I grew up in and as the airport we have to depart from. (I live in a hick town - no airport lol!) She has two poms and loves Sasha to pieces and I'm sure she'd jump at the chance to watch her!

I agree with that although my respect goes to people who sacrifice their vacations for their doggie because I can't. I needed short getaways to rejuvenate once in a while. As much as Siu Pao is dear and important to me and is my responsibility to make sure all is well with him, we do need vacations just to get away from it all once in a while. I just make sure I leave Siu Pao with someone that I can trust and know that he will be in good hands.

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I agree w/ taking them w/ me when I CAN. However, w/ work travel, it's just not possible most of the time and I am a single gal. 'm jealous of people can travel w/ their pets all the time. For me, it's just causing problems logistically. :( I also just moved to a city where I basically know no one. My family lives in MS, so it\'s all on me.