dougal Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Just thinking ahead in case I get to go on a holiday soon I'd be interested to hear how people manage to continue feeding BARF whilst their dogs are boarded? Have you heard of any kennels that will meet a special diet? (I'm in Sydney) Usually I take my dog away with me, but now I have two, it may not be as easy. Both dogs are about to start in the show ring, so I'm looking at options where they can continue on their normal diet and get some special care. I have rarely used kennels over the years - had a very good experience with one and a pretty awful experience with the other. I'd be really interested to hear what others do with their BARF fed dogs when they go away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbesotted Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 the only time I boarded my dogs was when The Divine Miss Sophie was still with me. I packaged up her meal portions and froze them. The boarding kennel was happy for me to do this and i assume they fed it to her ( LOL) Mind you her Divineness would eat anything at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopenfox Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I have yet to need to board my dogs, but what I'd probably do is package and lable (including am & pm) daily portions to be kept in the freezer. I think I would probably ask the staff to feed the patties and bones frozen. That way there's little chance of anything going off and it would give the dogs something to do (frozen things would take longer to eat). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted March 16, 2006 Author Share Posted March 16, 2006 mine are a bit like The Divine Miss Sophie dogbesotted - I think they'd eat what was put in front them - its their Mum that's the fussy one I spend hours chopping, mulching and mixing .... OH is complaining that the dogs get fed better than he does good idea on the freezing. I was thinking along the lines of a home carer situation rather than commercial kennels- preparing myself in advance will overcome the concern of somebody else getting the balance right and make it easier for the carer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHRP Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 On the odd occasions that I board my dogs it is with a friend who has a few extra runs. I take out frozen chicken frames for their bone meals, and if I took out frozen veggie meals they would feed them too. But, I never board for long and I let my boys have a kibble meal instead of vegies, which also has chicken mince added. It may be a bit lazy of me, but I think of it as a treat (my dogs love commerical food )and as I get a great deal on the boarding I don't want to put the people to too much trouble. I boarded my older guy at a kennel for a few days up North while we were on holidays. I took out food for him for each day. When I picked him up he did the biggest 'canned dog food poop' I'd ever seen I wonder where the food I took out went too.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted March 16, 2006 Author Share Posted March 16, 2006 mmm I'd be pretty cranky FHR if I'd gone to the trouble and my dogs didn't get their food. The last time I put my (now passed) terrier in commercial kennels he came home with a broken foot/toe The kennel owner's did their very best to hide it - carrying him to the car because the grass was wet and they didn't want him to wet his feet! I got him home, he was limping, down to the vet, plaster, etc etc. I haven't trusted any kennels since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 (edited) I just inflict my dogs on friends I think one of our local kennels is happy to feed BARF - perhaps if you talk about "special needs" diets a kennel might be happy to feed what you provide. Just don't expect a discount for BYO. Edited March 16, 2006 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 A good kennel will feed whatever you provide,it does come under the "special diet" label. Aslong as its clearly labelled & a detailed sheet is provide then a kennel should have no issues with given the dog the diet requested. What many barf feeders do is have a comprimise diet they use when away . Many dogs have different diets due to health,reactions etc etc so special diets shouldnt be an isue for a kennel that is dog minded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagalot Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 hi guys I do the dog minding, In home pet care thing as a business and i always ask my clients to provide there own food. i don,t care what they give or how often they are feed. I feel dogs that are away from there owners are concerned and stressed as it is and there diets should stay the same. they can get tummy upsets etc if you give them some thing new.....not to metion not even wanting to eat any thing else but what they normally get. alot of people say to me ohhh my dog gets fresh meat etc, but i will just bring a few cans instead to make it easyer for you, but i don't care about how long it takes, or if i have to put fresh food in my freezer etc, i am happy to do what ever the dog normally gets so they are happy, have problems and some thing is the same while they are out of ther comfort zone. most kennels that i know that provide food......feed cheap dry and can food i am not a big fan of can food nor cheap nasty dry food with lots of colouring and crap in it that can really make your dog sick or hypo etc i am sure if you check out a few places and ask if they will feed your dogs the way you want, hopefully they will be happy to do so cheers sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHRP Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 mmm I'd be pretty cranky FHR if I'd gone to the trouble and my dogs didn't get their food. The whole thing was a disaster! The people weren't there when we went to drop him off so we had to wait an hour. When we picked him up his bed that I left was saoking in urine, I wonder if he was let out of the concrete run!? Plus the food issue. Poor boy, we should have never left him there Thankfully all the boarding kennels run around here seem much better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 FHR: Poor boy, we should have never left him there Quite right. He should have been hogging the bed at my place!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted March 16, 2006 Author Share Posted March 16, 2006 Hi Wagalot ..... how about moving to Sydney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHRP Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I feel dogs that are away from there owners are concerned and stressed as it is and there diets should stay the same.they can get tummy upsets etc if you give them some thing new.....not to metion not even wanting to eat any thing else but what they normally get. Sounds like a great service. My guys get a quite varied diet, including the occasional kibble meal So, I'm quite happy to go with what they are feeding when boarded, as it's the same as they feed their own dogs. My older guy who lost 2.5kgs in 4 days at another kennel while on food I provided (a kennel that gave good care) now gains weight at my friends place. I guess it comes down to how comfortable he is where he's staying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 most kennels that i know that provide food......feed cheap dry and can food You'll find that many boarding kennels these days use superpremium dry foods, and no canned food unless requested, because they don't want to waste time, water and disposal costs thru cleaning up lots of sloppy poo from cheap dog food! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooper Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 We try to take Jack away with us, but when that's not possible he usually stays at Canberra Pet Care on Wickerslack Lane out past Queanbeyan. For the one or two nights we've boarded him there, we've just gone with the food they provide, which has been fine. But they do advertise that they cater for special diets, so food can be provided by the owner. This weekend when we're away, Jack will have his first Don't Fret Pet! in-home stay, for which the owner provides food. He has a bit of Science Diet kibble in his Buster Cube in the morning, and a takeaway-style container of BARF for dinner. Easy peasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Very few kennels i now of use tins,it isnt cheaper at all . You will find good kennels feed better foods than what alot of dogs get at home & go home in better condition than what they came. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ~*Pixie*~ Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Holly & Brody get kibble as well as raw meals so if they were boarded in a kennel, they could just eat whatever. Their teeth aren't going to fall out in the interim until I give them bones again and even if their coats go crappy, that can be fixed when I get them home. Kaeleigh stays with a friend of mine every now and again, if I'm working longer hours than usual. When she's there she eats what the other dogs eat (which is usually BARF anyway)... unless I'm going to take her home with me in the next few hours, because then if she's going to throw it up (sensitive tummy) it will be in my car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAX Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I feed my dogs a BARF only diet and when I had to board them i supplied raw chicken and barf patties frozen into daily amounts. The boarding kennel was happy to feed this to my dogs. I don't usually feed BARF patties because they are quite expensive but i thought it would be easier for the kennel. I also took their beds and blankets from home and some of thier favourite toys. I fretted for them the whole time i was away but the dogs were fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I haven't had to put Tyler in a boarding kennel, but if I did have to for a short period of time, I would not keep her on raw for this time. I would feed her a good quality dry food. I have heard of a few dogs coming home from kennels sick due to the raw meet not being kept properly. You need to be careful of other's people's ideas on how raw meat should be kept for your dog. You have no control on whether or not the raw meaty bone is left sitting defrosting on the bench all day and left to go off and then fed to the dog. My dog isn't used to high amounts of bacteria as her food is human quality and is brought straight home, bagged and frozen, so she wouldn't handle poorly kept meat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted March 17, 2006 Author Share Posted March 17, 2006 "I fretted for them the whole time i was away but the dogs were fine" Yep that will be me. "You need to be careful of other's people's ideas on how raw meat should be kept for your dog. You have no control on whether or not the raw meaty bone is left sitting defrosting on the bench all day and left to go off and then fed to the dog." That's one of my worries - I'm so picky about everything with the dogs. I'm starting think I might just fly my mother in to dogsit - probably a cheaper option if we're gone for more than a few days - just have to housetrain her :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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