Introducing Children To Pet Care

If you're going on vacation or you are working some extra hours and won't be there for your pets, it may be wise to consider pet boarding. This is a service where pets are kept under the care of a professional pet sitter in their facility, be it a home, pet boarding business, or other means. Pets are kept in their own individual spaces and given food, water, medications, and scheduled exercises.

Pet boarding differs from pet sitting in one main way: pet boarding is where pets are watched away from their homes and often overnight, while pet sitting is often done for just a few hours at a time either in their own homes or the sitter's home. Pet boarding is a safe and beneficial way to socialize your pet while you are gone for extended periods of time, and here are ways you can make the experience most successful for your pets.

Do a practice run 

If you have never boarded a pet before, do a practice run with your pets so they can have an understanding of what boarding is all about. Choose a boarding facility for pets you trust and have your pets do a single night in the facility close to the time you will be using the services more frequently. This way, their longer pet boarding stay won't be a brand-new shock and they can already be semi-used to the property and what to expect.

Send them with familiar things

A t-shirt or pillow that smells like you, their favorite toys, and their regular food and water dishes will help your pets feel more at home while they are being boarded, especially if they are being boarded for more than a few days. You can send them with as many of their familiar things as you'd like, provided the pet boarding facility allows them.

If you are boarding multiple pets and they are bonded, board them together as well. This way, they can have the added experience of not feeling alone while they are being boarded.

Have them medicated

Your pets' veterinarians can prescribe tranquilizers or sleeping aids for your pets to help calm their anxieties and make their boarding experience less stressful. This can be helpful for pets that have issues with separation anxiety or who are especially shy around strangers. A pet boarding specialist can administer these medications to your pets as needed or prescribed by your vet.