Kennels, Homestay vs Dog Retreats

What to do with your whippet when you're travelling and can't bring them along.

Hopefully before you've brought your new puppy home, you've already taken the time to consider what you will do when you're away. If not, it's important to do so now! Many Breeder's may offer home-boarding for dogs from their own program to return when their family is away for a small fee. If you haven't already discussed this with your Breeder, now would be a good time!

Why not board your whippet with a kennel or dog boarding facility? We DO NOT recommend that. Whippets tend to find those environments stressful having been used to a comfortable life on the sofa and a much quieter home environment than a boarding kennel. It's not uncommon in that environment for them to go off their food, lose perhaps a couple of pounds or more even though they may not be in a position to lose. It is also extremely distressing for the owners and caretakers to see a dog fast day after day. Then when the owners return, they may falsely assume their whippet wasn't cared for when in fact it was, but was too overwhelmed in the kennel environment to eat properly.

If you're not able to take your whippet to their Breeder for home-boarding, inquire within your trusted social circle if anyone would be a position to care for your whippet when you're away. It's important that your dog is crate trained so they are safe in their new environment when you're on the road. Alternatively, some families find someone to house sit and care for their dog while away. If friends or family aren't able to, then look for a sighthound friendly home boarding facility like Hound Haven.

In terms of what we offer at Aureate, any dogs from our Breeding are always welcome for stays while their family is on vacation. Please reach out to us as soon as you have your dates to inquire with our availability. In order to be eligible for boarding here they must be comfortable in a crate. They will spend a great deal of time outside of their crate, exercising in the yard and on leash walks, but it's important they can settle in a crate. You will also be required to pay a nominal fee of $10/day. We charge a very small fee for this service which can typically cost anywhere from $50-100/day. Why do we charge? We feel people respect and value receiving a service they've paid for as opposed to one they receive for free. We also require the dog to be picked up and dropped off. We keep in contact with our families with pictures and updates each day and your dog is treated like one of our own and may even be allowed to sneak into bed once they've settled.

We normally DO NOT recommend collars on dogs in the house when they're left unattended and certainly this is no exception! When your dog visits they will wear a safety collar in the house and on walks either one you provide or one of our own along with a GPS tracker. We HIGHLY recommend you invest in Tractive service (annual subscription) which provides worldwide GPS coverage of your dog once you purchase the tracker on Amazon.