Cageless boarding kennels for dogs - Learning more

If you need to go away on holiday and cannot take your dog with you, or have any other reason to need to be away from home for a while and find someone to care for your dog, the chances are that you will have to plan to put them into a boarding kennel for the duration. You may also wish to try to find an in-house dog sitter to come into your home and care for your dog, but such services can be hard to find, as well as potentially expensive!

One option that is becoming more and more popular at the moment and increasingly well provided for, is the possibility of cageless boarding, which provides care for your dog away from home without the need to be kennelled or locked up when not directly supervised. This option provides a rather nicer environment for social dogs, and one that can make your dog’s stay away from home rather more pleasant.

If you are not sure what cageless boarding is, what it entails or if it might be a good fit for your dog, read on to learn more.

What is cageless boarding?

Cageless boarding is sometimes marketed as a canine spa or resort, or a dog hotel. The concept is based around ensuring that your dog has a good time and receives plenty of attention while you are away, and generally, a cageless boarding kennels will have less dogs there at any time than other kennels, and also be slightly more costly.

Depending on the type of cageless boarding kennels you choose, the facilities can range from a live-in environment in the home with the kennel’s proprietors and a few other dogs, or a commercial enterprise that is set up to provide homely sleeping arrangements, lot of play and attention throughout the day, and more freedom for your dog, as they might get at home.

The advantages of cageless boarding for your dog

Many dogs very much dislike being kennelled, for a variety of reasons that can include the close proximity to other dogs, being caged, and not getting as much one to one attention as they would get at home. Done correctly, cageless boarding can help to address all of these things.

The main advantages of cageless boarding kennels and why they might suit your own dog are numerous, and include:

• A warm, welcoming environment that is less stressful than being left at a large caged kennels filled with many other dogs and lots of noise. Some dogs find this type of environment very stressful, particularly dogs that were adopted from a rehoming shelter; they might become anxious or upset that they are being abandoned!
• A greater level of one to one attention for each dog; a smaller number of dogs will be present, and the staffing levels will allow for much more one to one time to be spent with each dog individually. The accommodation and provisions for the dogs tend to be nicer, and basic care such as toileting and feeding is less rushed. This also means that if your dog is in the middle of a training regime, or is relatively young, their training and general level of routine should not be set back.
• There is generally someone on the premises all day and night, and in some establishments, dogs get to board in the home with the owners.
• There is more room in general, both within the accommodation and individual sleeping areas, and in the area at large. Dogs are allowed to move around much more freely than when they are caged, and as well as of course regularly scheduled walks, there is plenty of opportunity to play and have fun.
• Dogs get to socialise with other dogs, who will be carefully matched to ensure that everyone gets on and plays nicely! When you register your dog, they will ask you a lot of questions about your dog’s level of socialisation and how they get on with other dogs, to ensure that both your dog and all of the others get the chance to play and socialise safely.
• Your dog might also get the chance to do some things that they cannot always do at home, such as go to a canine swimming pool, or see a dog groomer. If you work closely with the establishment and they offer extra services, they might even be able to work on your dog’s training and general behaviour too!
• The owners and managers of cageless establishments are very accessible to owners while you are away, and you will rarely find a problem being able to get hold of someone on the phone if you wish to enquire after your dog. Some places will even send you updates on a regular basis if requested, and let you know how your dog is getting on and what they have been up to!