Journal/April 19, 2024
Top 5 ways to prepare your dog for boarding
Leaving your dog overnight can feel harder on you than on them. A few habits beforehand make the stay feel like a continuation of home, not a break from it.
- 01
Practice short absences
Leave your dog alone for short stretches, then longer ones. Comfort with your absence is the best packing list item you cannot put in a bag.
- 02
Come for the meet and greet
Walk the house, meet Violet, let your dog sniff the yard. Familiarity on day one is worth more than a new toy on day three.
- 03
Pack familiar things
Their food, their bed or crate, a toy, even a worn t-shirt with your scent. Smell is how dogs know they are still themselves.
- 04
Write down the routine
Feeding times, medicine, quirks, the walk they insist on. I will follow it as closely as a home stay allows.
- 05
Tell me the small stuff
Thunder, other dogs, the couch they are allowed on. The more I know, the less your dog has to explain.
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