Facing the dreaded No Pets Allowed vacation rental

[anatess]

We have a 4-day weekend planned next week. I have family coming over from out of town and we all rented a vacation house.... and it has No Pets Allowed. We usually don't go anywhere that doesn't take our pets but we have not much say in the matter this time. And usually, if we have to be out of town for a day or two, my brother takes care of my pets just like I take care of his when he goes out of town. But, my brother is going to be with me on the vacation, so he is facing the same dilemma.

Last time we did this was 2 years ago and we only had 1 dog then. It was cool because my mother-in-law was okay taking my dog in. But this time, we have 2 dogs and my in-laws will definitely not go for 2.

So, I'm facing the decision of who to trust to take care of Bullie for 4 days. I cannot put her in the boarding house - they don't ever get out of those kennels but once or twice a day...

So, my question to all ya EBN'ers - especially those in the Northeast Florida area - who takes care of your babies when you're away?

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

We have a great house sitter/ petsitter! She does everything! It's a great solution..critters stay home..your house isn't empty..and it forces me to really clean the house before she comes! you might ask at your vets...a lot of the staff might do pet sitting!

 

[Vickiebarrios]

I can understand your concern. I live in Las Vegas, NV and we have Doggie hotels. The have ask the comforts of home. They also have web cams to check in. See if you have any in your area. That is the best I have right now.

 

[SunDog]

Ugh. I dread dog-less trips. I've basically sworn off international travel until for some reason there's a time in my life without pets. We use a pet-sitter for the cats a & boston terrier, but we board Lupe because she a) refuses to use our dog door and b) I'm just too nervous about the sitter walking her or not "reading" her needs. To me, there's just less variables for emergencies when Lupe's boarded.


These days, there are a lot of new "dog resort"-type places. Ours has TVs, webcams and dog-rooms instead of crates or cages. At about 50 bucks plus extra affection time from the staff, and an on-site Vet, it's worth it for my peace of mind to have her with professionals. That said, I cry when I leave her. blech. Good luck, and just remember how amazing it will be to come home!

 

[nyerathrt]

for us it depends on where we are going. when we go to the outer banks and rent a house with a no pet policy we actually take them with us and put them in a boarding place down there. we researched it before hand....they are 5 miles from where we stay, this way if something happens we run over and get them. when we go away local, AC or Massachusetts we board them at Camp BowWow. they play ALLLLL day then sleep in big kennels....they come back exhausted. and then if we can grandma and grandpa take them but i don't like to burden them to much

 

[anatess]

Hmm... I found a Pet Paradise close to where we are going. It looks nice and clean in the web cam. They have a doggie pool... yikes... not sure if it is deep enough that Bullie will have to swim - she's going to make a run for that pool, I'm sure, and sink to the bottom! $34/night for the 1st dog and $17/night for the 2nd dog. Sounds promising.

Grrr... I have a feeling I'm not going to enjoy this family reunion as much as everybody else.

 

[anatess]

Okay, update... we are supposed to go to Pet Paradise today - but then I get a call from my nephew saying he can't make it to the reunion and so he wants to have Bullie. I'm like - what about Gizmo - and he says, nah, just Bullie. Okay, so that's great! I don't have to go to Pet Paradise anymore! So then we go to the in-laws to drop off Gizmo... erm... they want Bullie, they don't want Gizmo.

Poor Gizmo! I feel so bad for the guy. Nobody loves him anymore!

 

[BruceP]

Ya gotta tell them its a package deal... if they take Bullie the get Giz too... lol ..... Good luck with that.

 

[Sarah]

I understand, if your bichon is anything like my boyfriends grandparents. he is crazy. and marks everywhere, including in the house. they were staying at my boyfriend parents house visiting when Brooke was there (when we went to lake george) and he kept peeing and Brooke kept getting blamed since she is the young one and is newly potty trained. they didn't figure it out until we got home and picked up Brooke but the pee continued to appear that it was Rory peeing all over. He is 8 years old and was neutered when he was like 6 months old, so irritating.

 

[anatess]

I understand, if your bichon is anything like my boyfriends grandparents. he is crazy. and marks everywhere, including in the house. they were staying at my boyfriend parents house visiting when Brooke was there (when we went to lake george) and he kept peeing and Brooke kept getting blamed since she is the young one and is newly potty trained. they didn't figure it out until we got home and picked up Brooke but the pee continued to appear that it was Rory peeing all over. He is 8 years old and was neutered when he was like 6 months old, so irritating.

Gizmo is not crazy! Well... not to me. :D

Erm... yeah, he marks everywhere... but that's not really a problem - Gizmo will pee on command. I know right! So, when it's time to go out, I would tell him to pee and pee and pee until nothing comes out... then he won't have "juice" to mark in the house. He doesn't have free access to water. And, if I'm too busy to take him out, then he wears a belly band.

The marking is not a problem with my family though. They know how to deal with that. But, my family think of dogs as playmates - they wrestle and play tug of war and fetch and run around like crazy - and Gizmo just doesn't do that kind of thing. So, they love Bullie because she does all of that!

Gizmo is really more like a cat than a dog though... He will love on you all day long but it's in his own terms. If he doesn't want to anymore, he'll go under the bed and he's not coming out until he's ready for lovings again. The flip side is - if he wants lovings, then he'll whine at you until you pay him attention - he likes to run in circles like a helicopter propeller - like a lunatic. LOL. He doesn't play with toys, he doesn't fetch, he ignores treats... my nephew calls him "decoration". LOL. But, I love that little poof ball! He's my dog and so he gives me special attention. :D

 

[Vicaroo1000]

Speaking of Dog Friendly vacation destinations...
If anyone is ever planning a trip to Washington State's Olympic Peninsula, be sure to check out Sunset Marine Resort for your accommodations! The cabin (palace?) offered stunning views and was a fantastic jumping off point for all the "must see" destinations. The owners, Lavon and Tracie, aren't just dog friendly; they are dog fanatical! Imagine this: me, Bo and Bea are headed down to the beach one morning really early and Tracie is there, cleaning another cabin. She says, "Let them off leash down there. There's TONS of fun stuff to roll in!" Who DOES that, right? My dogs LOVED it and if Yelp let you give ten stars, I'd have cranked it up to eleven. (LOL@my Spinal Tap reference)

Here's a YELP entry about the place that also offers a link to their website:

Sunset Marine Resort - Sequim, WA

Here's Bo enjoying the beginnings of a gorgeous sunset, on the giant deck, overlooking the bay.

 

[anatess]

[MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION], that's awesome!!! I've never gone that far northwest, but if I ever find myself there on the way to Vancouver, I'll definitely stop by!

The vacation went without a hitch. Gizmo stayed with his groomer - which was great for him because she's groomed him for over 3 years now so he's very familiar with her.

Bullie went with my nephew who also ended up watching his lab retriever, his uncle's german shepherd mix, and Bullie. It was so hilarious - he told me that when the shepherd walked in the door, Bullie ran full-speed from the other side of the house and jumped (all 4 paws airborn) and shoulder-butted him! The shepherd is over 100 lbs big, and he ended up rolling on the floor from the impact! And the game was on... LOL! Bullie looked like she lost at least 5 lbs from all the exercise - chasing 2 big dogs all over the place. All 3 dogs didn't eat much the entire 4-day weekend. They were too busy wrestling.