In this week’s issue, here’s what we are sniffing out

Family travel can be pretty difficult to manage with an aging dog.

Many families choose not to travel because they don’t feel comfortable leaving them in someone else’s care. In theory, there are a handful of care options for your senior dog, but none of them is without its risks. That’s why most people with truly geriatric dogs aren’t traveling much. Because our family always has old and medically frail dogs, I know all too well what it’s like to miss important travel because we can’t leave our end-of-life dog. Change in routine is hard in the senior years, and the older the dog, the more this is true. I’ll go through some of the most common care options, some of which, with research, could work well for you.

Boarding facilities

We used to use boarding kennels when we and our young dogs lived in Atlanta ages ago. I spent an incredibly brief time period between careers working in customer service at a kennel. I quickly learned that not all kennels are created equal… even though the kennel was well run, I didn’t like that the staff all went home at the end of the day. The dogs were left alone in their runs overnight. Everyone was contained separately and there was never an incident, but even back then I worried about the old dogs having a medical crisis overnight and not being able to have help. The kennels we personally used were staffed 24/7. I operated my first-ever business (TBT Prima Dogga Grooming, in ATL!) out of our favorite one. It had a bedroom for an overnight employee to nap in. There were cameras and monitors everywhere so he could listen in on the dogs when he wasn’t in the immediate kennel areas, and he did rounds every few hours. Our dogs actually loved it there, they would run in without hesitation. This place had a senior dog room; a quieter, less chaotic space for the old dogs. Now that I think about it, they were years ahead of their time with this service.

If you choose a boarding facility for your old dog, make sure you do ALL the homework before booking. Communal boarding, where everyone hangs around together for most of the day, is NOT recommended... There is way too much stress and risk in that environment for an old dog.

When you call or look at their online info…

• Ask if they have a dedicated area for seniors (with soft bedding on the floors)?

• If so, does it avoid long walks through all the younger barking dogs to get outside, and does it avoid outdoor areas that are too hot or cold for old dogs in summer/winter?

• Can they give medicines?

• Do they have someone on staff 24/7?

Take a tour of the facility…

• Ask to see the size of run they plan to place your dog into. We used to pay extra to have a larger run.

• Ask how often the dogs are taken out.

• Talk to them about your dog’s limitations and medical conditions to see if they’re comfortable handling them.

• Always trust your gut. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t book it. Just know that if they are short staffed for some reason, they may not actually deliver on the answers they give you as far as potty break frequency, etc. We’ve had that experience, and come home to our younger dogs who had peed in the runs multiple times because they didn’t get taken out as we’d requested.

Veterinarian’s offices

In our town, not many vet clinics offer in-house boarding; space is too much at a premium. In other cities and smaller towns, this may still be more commonplace. Veterinarians who offer boarding keep dogs mainly in kennels or indoor runs with hard floors, which isn’t ideal for achy joints, old bladders, and incontinence. On the other hand, one perk of the vet‘s office is that they can monitor elderly dogs who are frail and require medication much better than kennels. Boarding at the vet’s office can be quite expensive. It is often considered “medical boarding,” ie the dog needs careful observation by medical staff, or frequent medications.

If you choose to use a veterinarian, it’s still important to ask a few questions…

• Is anyone there overnight? If not, how long are the dogs alone?

• Do they do potty walks? And how often?

• Do they put soft bedding on the floors for the dogs?

• Ask to tour the clinic, and see the size of the space they’re putting your dog into. If it seems small, ask if you can pay for a larger space.

Online booking apps

With the advent of apps that allow you to choose a pet sitter for your dog without even meeting them, it’s really important to do thorough research before choosing someone like this. ALWAYS DO A MEET AND GREET. Many of the people on these apps are lifelong pet lovers with varying levels of experience in caring for pets. Some of them are professional pet care providers with medical or shelter backgrounds and have more skills than others. And others are people who like animals (or who don’t, especially… we’ve had that interview) and who are looking for easy work on the side. We’ve found some fantastic sitters this way, and unfortunately, we’ve also had some pretty bad experiences, even with people who say they’re comfortable with senior dogs’ more intense needs.

Tips for choosing someone from an online booking:

• Choose only someone with experience giving medicines and working with seniors.

• Bonus points if they have lived with senior dogs before!

• Scan bios and read between the lines… someone whose focus is running/hiking dogs or long dog walks is not to be ruled out, but they may prefer a more active clientele and not be as intuitive for young dogs. This is not a given, though.

• Does the person work from home so they can do more frequent potty breaks?

• Be transparent with the sitters about your dog’s needs so they know what they’re getting into if they decide to work with you. I had one who changed her mind after the meet and greet, and another who should have.

Even though I read carefully, do the meet and greet, and ask all the questions, things have gone wrong, so definitely proceed with caution. Our family has learned to do a trial of a half day, or an overnight to test out a sitter chosen this way. It’s much safer for your senior dog than trying that sitter for a 1-2 week trip where you’ll be unable to return home in an emergency.

Pet sitters who take your dog to their home

If you are interested in this option, it’s really important to visit the home first. I recommend that unless your old dog is social and healthy, he be the only client the family has there.

Things to consider:

• Confused or blind dogs may not do well with the obstacles presented by a new floor plan. Stairs in someone else’s home are especially risky. There must be a gate to protect your dog!

• Food and water in odd places can lead to a dog not eating well or drinking much, so be sure the sitter is monitoring that.

• Doors to yards being in unfamiliar places can lead to more accidents so ask to be sure the pet sitter is prepared for that.

• If there are other dogs, cats, or small children in the home, it’s important to know if the sitter’s pets get along with other animals and are tolerant of the quirks of an old dog. Children and other pets should be respectful of the need for an old dog to have extra space and a quiet spot to retire to for naps.

Pet sitters who stay in your home

Because of the many challenges we have with our senior dogs at any given time, this is the only way my husband and I will travel. We prefer to use an individual who has experience in the pet care industry, preferably in the veterinary industry. By nature of the fact that they have medical experience, sitters like this tend to sit a lot for senior dogs.

While there are a lot of more formal pet sitting companies that are great, many of them are still not set up well for senior dog care. They typically offer 12 hour shifts where the sitter arrives, for example, around 7pm and stays overnight to leave at 7am. Even if you pay for extra time, they leave later in the morning, and your dog is left alone till 7pm. Often you can pay extra for drop-in visits, but they’re generally 15-30 minutes apiece. The daily price can skyrocket quickly. When we’ve tried these, we come home to a sick dog. Uma has separation anxiety and gets stressed if left alone too long. After about 2 days like this, she develops stress diarrhea, and it takes a few more days to recover when we come home. This isn’t ideal for any age dog, but it’s especially difficult for a senior to overcome. But whatever you do, please don’t hire someone to drop in 2-3 times a day and leave your old dog alone for the rest of your trip, even if you have a doggie door. That’s so difficult for an old, possibly confused dog to deal with, and what if something happens to her while you’re gone? That’s a worst case scenario, but I’ve known someone for whom that was the case, sadly.

If you don’t know of anyone who fits your needs, a really great place to ask is your veterinarian’s office. They often have support staff who are perfect pet sitters! If your vet doesn’t have anyone, check with other vet clinics in your area.

In any situation you choose, you should always have clear instructions written and printed out. I always have a list of meal and medication amounts, plus each dog’s quirks at the time of that trip… those change, so the rundown on the dogs is always a little different. Updating their bios has become a part of my getting ready for travel routine. We put pills for each dog into weekly pill organizers, clearly labeled. We also try our best to make sure our very valuable pet sitters are comfortable for their stay. We appreciate them so greatly, and we want them to be happy at our house!

🐶 Sniffing Out Senior Dog News 📰

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🏠️ Pet Sitting Market Set to Reach USD 6.5 Billion by 2032, Driven by Surge in Pet Ownership and Lifestyle Shifts – SNS Insider

Senior Dog Cartoon of the Week  

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