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But I'm not ready to board Fletcher....

MomObvious

Well-known member
Ahhhh its always drama with me. Here's is the boarding Fletcher story. My husband's grandmother lives about 7 hours drive from us, every summer she throws a Birthday party cough cough, she invites the family to the farm to do some work, for a long weekend. Last year the men, repainted a barn and built her a table outta reclaimed wood from the hay stack wood. I say the men because that how she says it, actually my daughter and I prefer labor rather than "visiting" with Grandmother. I love her she is family but......bless her, her personality sucks, she just complains mostly. She will be 95 years old this year and owns and lives on the family farm (its an estate really....been in her family forever) it is a "working farm" there is a caretaker who runs it but he works for her. Too long of a story. Yes, she lives alone at 95, has a housekeeper/nurse but is healthy. I agree turning 95 is a BIG reason to celebrate....but...........even tho we are always invited to stay at the house I hate it because she has silly what she calls "southerner rules", like children must not run inside or touch the furniture. Yes, she mails us a formal invitation with the rules :) Its her house she can make up 100 rules I do not care, however we opt to stay in one of the many outbuildings on the property (all former guest rooms, when the property was run as an inn then Bed and Breakfast) I have NO problem with that but she has ONE rule I just cannot live by this year. NO ANIMALS INSIDE!!!! My husband would rather skip the whole event this year too, he hates that she always makes the men work, but it is his Grandmother so......... I would rather stay at a pet-friendly hotel but he says that will offend her. We take our poodle but he's fine sleeping on the porch, Fletcher out in the hot weather all day then sleeping on the porch????? No way. My only option is to either board Fletcher for 5 days or not go..........I told my husband he might not be able to go with a broken leg :rolleyes: Just kidding, maybe......no its a joke.

So any advice, we have boarded other dogs before with my vet and they are will taken care of but still he will only be 6 months old...........

I hear by promise when and if I get lucky enough to be so old I will not be like Grandmother!!!!!


Melissa
 
Oh boy sweetie...this is why my husband and I don't go off for very long. Just like you said...much as there are terrific boarding facilities..it just isn't home for our pups. They aren't w/ those they love..and they don't understand "why"?
...And it's not like we can explain it to them !!
I honestly don't know what I would do. It's nice that your hubby's grandma has all this room..and can put up the family like that..but maybe just be honest w/ her? Would she really be "that" offended if you stayed elsewhere?
Might be worth it...lol !! ~wink*
Ok..my advice..Tell her you would love to come..but>....and give her your reason like you told us. Fletcher is a young pup. If she would not compromise & at least allow you bring his crate for "inside"... I might opt to all of a sudden have a case of the FLU !! ~ *j/K !!!
 
Oh, my. What a dilemma you have! I'm with you on this: Our Bentley is 1.5 yrs old and we can't stand to leave him for more than a few hours, and I do mean a few. Hubby is worse than me. Last fall I got all the shots he needs to be taken to doggy daycare at Petsmart once and I still haven't done it. Those other dogs might be mean to him. We're sick, sick, sick.
 
Melissa.... Our kids are all grown ( they are around your age)...so if we take off for a short vacation...they usually come to our house & let the dogs out for us..and also take care of our other animals ( I have birds & a dwarf bunny). I have also had friends willing to take the dogs to their homes for a few days for us as well. Maybe you could ask a friend if they would be willing to help you out w/ Fletcher for those 5 days?
 
I agree with Diane about telling her that you would love to come but explain the dilemma about Fletcher and how you guys don't want to leave him while he is this young.

Or you could look in your area for other dog sitting options other than boarding. I was very uneasy about leaving Sonny and we had a big trip planned over seas when he was about 9 months old, so I obviously couldn't bring him on our island vacation. However a couple months before our trip I researched places in our area and found this AMAZING lady that takes care of dogs but does not kennel them. She actually doesn't crate her dogs at all, but she understands that we have crate trained Sonny, so she follows our rules with him sleeping in his crate at night. She only takes dogs under 25 pounds and you have to have an interview to see how your dog interacts with hers before she will agree to watch them. She takes them for a walk every day at the beach and treats them like her own. My husband and I feel extremely blessed that we found her and SOnny now gets excited when we pull up to her house. Also we took him there for a couple of over nights before our big vacation just to get him used to the place and make sure that we felt comfortable. Anyways I know that you are in another state, but you might want to see if there are any places like this in your area and maybe do a trial run to see if you feel comfortable with the situation.
 
We take our poodle but he's fine sleeping on the porch, Fletcher out in the hot weather all day then sleeping on the porch????? No way.

I'm curious about the difference between the poodle and the Cavalier. I have different breeds (and a cat), but I treat them all the same as far as requirements for their care, health, and safety.

Pat
 
In warm weather I'd not think there's much issue in having a dog sleep with a doggie pal on an enclosed and safe porch for a brief stay (mine would be happy doing that). I also wouldn't see any difference between a poodle and a cavalier in this regard. :) If you board him -- he'll be fine.
 
Melissa, I'm not sure where you live, but as an alternative to "boarding" you might actually be able to find another local Cavalier owner and Fletcher could go for a visit with some new pals. I've pet-sat for a pair of Cavaliers in my meet-up group, and would 'generally' (not always) trust another Cavalier owner to treat my baby as their own while I was away. Plus JB really liked having the girls come to visit.

This is only a suggestion, that there might be someone who isn't a typical dog boarder that would work out well in this situation, and of course you could offer the return of watching someone else's dogs should they need to go away.
 
Disrespectful young thing I am, I'd say ok, then let the dog in. You're in an outbuilding. How mobile is she at 95?

My grandpa is 93, and in pretty good health, but he certainly isn't getting around a farm to have a look at what others are doing.

Would some other family member rat you out?
 
Ok to answer your question about what is different about the poodle. Well, Eddie is my husband's dog, he got him before we were together. Eddie is 12 and my husband and I have been marrried 5 years. My husband has very different ideas about raising a dog, for example, Eddie goes to work with my husband everyday, with bay doors wide open, staff running around and customers coming and going. And he is loose!!! Scares the pants off of me, I mean staff members and pulling cars in and out of those bays all day and it faces a busy road. My husband also cooks for the dog, and not what you think, he feeds him leftovers of wantever we are eating....yes everything. My husband always had his shots kept up to date however, I got Eddie fixed at 5 years old because well its the "right" thing to do. So my husband sees nothing wrong with Eddie sleeping on the even tied to a tree for the night. My husband says he's a dog! He can camp out for a few nights. We just have different views on raising dogs, however he has agreed no to pull any of that "its just a dog" thing about Fletcher. I spoil the heck outta Eddie too, there is not an evening he's not sitting ON my furniture relaxing with us. When the vet told us he needed XYZ amount of money to clean and remove some teeth my husband was asked the vet is it bother him the vet said well not right now and my husband wasn't going to have it done, I took Eddie in the same week. My husband was raised in the deep south, really when he was a kid his mother was told one of their dogs needed to be put down, the dog was super sick etc. Well, instead of having the vet give him a shot.....oh wow I'm sad to say this his father took the dog out back........ His father says well I loved that dog I was going to make sure he went to heaven. Really true story.

Flether is my baby, tho I do have him back in the crate at night with no probem, he's in our bedroom tho. This guest house is pretty small tho, just one room and a bathroom, smaller than a normal hotel room.

I'm going to suggest we smuggle BOTH dogs inside at night. I will personally make sure the cottage/guest house is CLEAN when we leave, but no I bet some family member does rat my out....they love the taddle on each other to Grandmother. Also she's old but she loves her golf cart so who knows.

If my parents can't keep Fletcher I'm not going, maybe Grandmother has lost so of her tack and won't even notice :)

Thanks,
Melissa
 
Wow, Melissa... what an interesting story. My thoughts, I would not sneak the dog into the residence; there are rules which she cares enough to communicate out to everyone and passionately wants followed. I would kindly state the situation, offer her the choice and then stay in a dog friendly place - either hers or one nearby. Honesty works best and will keep you out of any hot water with the family!
 
If Fletcher has a good Cavalier temperament - happy and friendly - my experience is that he will have a ball staying with your vet - twist him/her round his little paw in 5 minutes flat, get spoilt rotten, love playing with any other dogs, and probably not pine for you at all. That's what Oliver has done on the rare occasions I've had to board him in our local kennels. It may bolster our egos to think our dog will refuse to eat and be thoroughly miserable away from us, but it doesn't happen very often and it's a real plus that most Cavaliers are so adaptable. My two would have no problem with the porch either - if I produce their travelling crate (a fabric pop-up one) they settle down anywhere.

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
Melissa, where down south are you going to be. You can always stop in and Fletcher can stay with Henry for a few days :-D. Plus, it will give you an excuse to visit the beach and maybe golf a bit, lol.
 
Thanks Shari. Its near Hartsville I think....I'm not going tho so no prob. My father-in-law put his foot down, he had some health problems over the winter and cannot really do the labor this year so he raised holy h____ about Grandmother and her birthday (free labor) weekends. Hey, I agree I know she's family and old but I really can't stand her. If she was 150 years old them maybe I would understand she was raised in a different world but she's not......you'd understand if you have lived in the south for a long time. Raised in the "old ways" or not its 2012. I do not need outdated advice about raising my children, her 2 cents about how a wife "should" be, and weather or not she thinks my husband is not "manly enough" because he actually cares for our children or her rude comments about my older 2 children not being "kin". I hate to say it but because of all of this I normally have to endure I do not think we will be visiting her again. Respect or not...........

So due to my father-in-law not going to protest his own Mother we were ordered not to go either :) I have arranged for a huge flower arrangement to arrive and I sent her a wonderful birthday gift and a hand written note wishing her a happy birthday.

Thanks for the offer tho :hug:I know I will be boarding Fletcher at some point, since I have a Disney addicted family, they warship a mouse but no dogs allowed!!!!:rolleyes:

Melissa
 
Melissa, that's a shame with the "southern mentality". Hartsville is around 90 minutes from me, and he's always welcome here, there's a spot on the couch for him always!
 
Well if you even wanna come up to Va. let me know I would happily spoil your guy for a few days too.

Melissa
 
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