Boarding Options for Your Pet: What to Do With Your Furry Loved Ones While You're Away

When it comes to boarding your pet while you’re away, you have many options to choose from. If your pet has specific medical needs, medical boarding may be your best choice. Our Cordova vets explain why.

Boarding Options for Pets While Youre Away

It can be hard to leave your pet’s in someone else’s care while you’re away - especially if they have special medical needs. After all, who will make sure their health issues are tended to, that they get their medication and are appropriately loved and cared for until your return?

This is where boarding comes in, and you’ve got a few options to choose from according to your pet’s needs and your level of comfort.

Pet Sitting

Have a pet sitter you trust to come to your home to feed, walk your dog, administer medication and keep her company? The advantage of having a pet sitter is that they visit your pet in an environment your kitty or pooch is already familiar with and comfortable in.

A word of caution: whether you decide to have someone visit your home (perhaps multiple times a day depending on your pet’s needs) or stay with your pet in your home for the duration of your trip, ensure they are experienced in caring for pets with medical needs - they may have a different schedule and care requirements than the average sitter is used to.

In-Home Pet Boarding

With in-home pet boarding, you bring your four-legged friend to a pet sitter’s home before you leave on vacation.

If you take advantage of this option, your dog may get a chance to socialize with other dogs while being supervised by a responsible pet owner, as well as individualized attention and more daily interaction with people and other animals.

While you don’t have to give up your house keys or worry about someone coming to or staying in your house, make sure any in-home pet boarding facilities have the space and resources necessary to care for pets with medical needs.

Traditional Boarding

Standard traditional boarding services are another option for pet parents who need someone to care for their pet while they’re out of town. A big caveat here is that the routine and level of care at traditional boarding facilities may not meet your pet’s current needs.

Questions to ask include whether staff are certified to care for animals with medical needs, and how much experience they have in catering to pets with these needs. While traditional boarding can be great for healthy pets, your furry friends may need special attention and care traditional boarding facilities aren’t qualified or equipped to provide.

In addition, feline-only boarding facilities or separate areas for cats are best. Unless they are from the same family, cats should not be put in the same room with unfamiliar cats, as this may result in fighting or mating. On the other hand, dogs are pack animals and may enjoy being around other pooches, depending on their care requirements and specific needs.

Medical Boarding

If your pet has specific medical needs such as a strict regimen of medications, health issues that need to be closely monitored or is recovering from a recent procedure, medical boarding may be the best option for you.

Medical boarding can be a great alternative to taking your pet with you - while you love your pet and they’re like a member of the family, you don’t want to have to worry about missing out on administering a dose of medication, or about them becoming stressed in unfamiliar environments or situations. 

Each pet is different and will have unique needs, so boarding service providers will need to keep this in mind and ensure those needs are fulfilled, and that communication with you is at the forefront from the time you first contact them until your pet is back in your arms. 

We recommend logging some extra time with your pup or kitty before dropping them off for their first day of boarding, and to ensure they get some exercise in so they are as relaxed as can be.