Animal Kennels at Parks

We once dropped off Dudley at Hersheypark for a few hours. The kid there was nice and we didn't have any problem with fleas or kennel cough or any of that.

Usually we just board him at our local kennel. He gets groomed, too, I think he actually enjoys it more than he should.

Here is the funny thing.

Last year we went on a two week vacation (normally we go on 1 one week trips) and we boarded our two golden retrievers at the "animal hospital and kennel" that I mentioned above.

We used to use another kennel that "looked good" on the outside, but when my wife stopped in one day to drop our dog (we only had one then) off for grooming and she heard a worker screaming at the dogs, we decided to change. That is about the same time our vet started up the kennel, so it was very convienent.

Anyway... we notice now when get home, our oldes (9 1/2 years old) is not "moody" like he used to be at the old place. We also noticed a change in our 1 1/2 year old. When we first boarded them, he was only 8 months old. He was a nervous little pup before that... kind of shied away from people... and refused to eat. I am not sure what happened over those two weeks, but when we got him home, his nervousness was gone, and now he runs for the food dish when we sit it down. It certainly affected him for the good.

As a guy who loves his lab, and also loves to travel to lots of parks, I've used kennels all over the country... I have many a story, but certainly not enough time or energy to type them all out. I prefer using neighborhood kennels if possible, versus using the parks (make sure you have shot records if you go this route). I just trust people who board dogs as their primary business versus an amusement park that does it out of necessity.

I've never had terrible experiences at parks per say...but I can tell you that, in general, the Six Flags are the least staffed and most probable to “not be so clean.” In fairness, I have not used a Six Flags kennel in 2-3 years, so maybe they have improved. It is not uncommon for air conditioners to be broken and staff to not be at the kennel upon park opening. These types of frustrations have happened more than once, but certainly not the majority of the time. Just do not expect anything other than a cage to sleep in, and you won’t be disappointed. They will not love your dog like you do. I just check on my dog and give him frequent walks throughout the day. He does not mind…

P.S. I once visited Worlds of Fun during a 90 degrees plus day and broken air conditioner in the kennel. They were nice enough to take my new lab puppy into their administration building where some super-nice employees kept close watch over him. I saw a crowd during the day and realized that people were admiring my dog as one of their employees was walking him in the park. My dog proceeded to repay their kindness by finding a box of stuffed animals (for game prizes) and eating the eyes off quite a few of their “bears”. They would not take my offer to repay no matter how hard I tried. I’ve never forgotten the kindness those employees showed my dog some 9-10 years ago now…

P.P.S. What parks are you considering? I may be able to give a little more information if I knew where you wanted to go. Don’t bother with anything north of New York in New England nor the extreme Northwest as I’ve not made it to these regions yet.

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Jeffrey R Smith said: I can tell you that, in general, the Six Flags are the least staffed and most probable to “not be so clean.”

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Is that about the kennel or the actual park? :)

(Since Coasterpunk beat me to the Six Flags dig...)

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Jeffrey R Smith said:

Just do not expect anything other than a cage to sleep in, and you won’t be disappointed.

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Wait... I thought this was a thread about park kennels. The Price Line Hotel thread was a few days ago.

*** Edited 5/16/2005 8:54:42 PM UTC by SLFAKE***

Man, I REALLY want to go to Knoebels now. ;)

But a dog on a coaster? Hmmm...perhaps, they sure do love sticking their heads out the car window. ;)

Still, the restraints weren't designed for them. Bad idea probably.

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CoasterFanMatt said:
I seriously can't imagine taking my dog *into* the park, but it seems that its possible in Germany!

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The German's take their dogs everywhere. I was in a restuarant (fairly nice restuarant) in Germany and a family had their dog with them. He laid down next to the table and was very well behaived. During the course of the meal, the waiter came out with a few kitchen scraps and gave the dog a treat.

The German's love their dogs!