Tips to Choose the Best Pet Boarding Kennel

With the holiday season quickly approaching, many pet owners will be faced with the decision of taking their pet with them or finding an alternative means for making sure they are taken care of.  For families that have to travel by airplane, it may be in their best interest to choose to board pets in a kennel.  That also goes for people that have to travel long distances by car, whether it’s because of the trip itself or the fact that your pets are “not welcome” at your destination.

When the decision is to board your cats or dogs at a kennel, there is preparation that must go into the planning in order to choose the safest and best location.  The first thing you need to do as a pet owner is to realize that you are not alone when it comes to leaving your beloved pet behind in order to travel.  In fact, over 30 million pet owners choose to use the services of a boarding facility each year.

Tips to Choose the Best Pet Boarding Kennel

1. Start by getting recommendations from friends, neighbors, and other pet owners who have used certain facilities in the past.  The best recommendations will come from someone you trust who has needed to board their pet.

2. Check the Better Business Bureau.  Start by asking about a specific kennel’s reputation and if any complaints have been lodged against them.  You’d be surprised about how much information you can acquire with a simple phone call.

3. Visit the kennel ahead of time.  Once you have narrowed down a few possible boarding kennels, visit each one in person to get an idea of how the place is run, its cleanliness, play area for pets, where they are housed, etcetera.

4. Find out about the type of security used by the kennel.  Once your pet is in the hands of the kennel, they may decide they are houdini and try to escape to track you down.  You’ll want to know ahead of time how difficult (or impossible) it is for your pet to escape the kennel.

5. Another thing you should find out about each kennel is how much play time and outside time your cats or dogs will get each day.  A kennel that has abundant play/exercise time will generally be a better bet than a place that keeps them indoors in their cages all day.

It is never an easy decision to make when it comes to trusting someone else to take care of your pets, afterall, as far as you are concerned, they are part of the family.  These are just a few of the things that are important in choosing the best boarding kennel.

What other tips do you have?