Your canine
conundrumsanswered
I’m going to a dog-
friendly campsite in
Norfolk for a week with
my family — wife and two
kids aged five and seven,
plus our two-year-old
cockerpoo called Jake.
I’m conscious that Jake
occasionally barks at
outside noises at night at
home. The kids sleep
through it. But what will it
be like in a tent? We want
Jake with us — the walks
will be amazing. But is
camping with a dog a
wise idea?
John, EssexGraeme says: Frankly this
is going to go one way or
the other! I have friends
whose dog curls up with
them in their tent and
sleeps soundly despite
being a bit of a barker
normally. It may well be
because he never gets to
sleep with the humans at
home. You could be lucky.
On the other hand, if Jake
is triggered by sounds,
well ... tents are hardly
soundproof, are they? Do
you know what I’d do? I’d
make sure he’s really tired
at bedtime and hope for
the best. Those walks, full
of new sights and sounds,
sound ideal. Add some
sea air and by bedtime
there’s a good chance
you’ll all sleep through the
night. Happy camping!
Email your doggy
dilemma to dogslife@
sunday-times.co.ukBy Rupert Fawcett
kennels before the family
piled into an overloaded
Cortina /Marina / Viva and hit
the road. Happy days. For the
family, at least.
Kennels have changed a lot
since those days when many
resembled poorly maintained
gulags. They are all registered
with the local authorities now,
and hygiene and comfort
standards are much improved,
but naturally questions remain
in the mind of many owners:
how do dogs really cope with
kennels? Do they miss us?
Is it cruel, even? Or do they
live in the moment so much
that they forget about us until
we return? It certainly seemsthey miss us — but are we
imagining that?
The more I work with dogs,
the less black and white
questions such as these seem.
Rather unsatisfactorily the
answer is: “It depends.” It
depends on your dog to a large
extent, but also partly on you.
When I had my two
rottweilers, Axel and Gordon,
they were very happy at the
kennels I used. I couldn’t be
sure the first time I dropped
them off, but I knew for certain
by their reaction the second
time. As soon as they realised
where they were, they would
pull my arm off to get into
reception. When the kennel
assistant took them from me
and opened the door to thewouldn’t have got a dog in the
first place had they not had
family willing to look after
Fido over the holidays. For
many dogs it’s arguably less
of a shock than a kennel
environment if they’ve not
been used to it.
Whether or not dogs miss
us while we’re gone is a tricky
question. I’m convinced they
do feel a form of separation
anxiety to a greater or lesser
degree, depending on the
individual. Yes, dogs live in the
moment, but that doesn’t mean
that they don’t have a memory
— they’re almost invariably
overjoyed when we return. But
it may be they don’t fret about
the future quite like we do. The
fact is, we cannot tell. One
thing’s for sure: you can’t
explain to a dog that you’ll be
back soon and not to worry. The
language barrier is too great.
Fortunately we can choose
to take our dogs with us. I’m
quite a convert to that these
days. Do your homework in
advance — make sure you’re
choosing a destination with
plenty of dog-friendly options
and plan your journey to allow
for stops (as a rule of thumb, a
leg stretch and comfort break
every two hours). Think
carefully about provision for
water, food and bedding, and
bear in mind that some holiday
cottages and hotels that accept
dogs expect you not to leave
your dog unsupervised in the
accommodation.
If you’re travelling to an EU
country or Northern Ireland
check your paperwork:
post-Brexit, pet passports
issued in Britain are no longer
valid, so you’ll need to get an
animal health certificate instead
(visit gov.uk/taking-your-pet-
abroad for details).
Finally, when the planning’s
done ... have fun! You’re all
going on a summer holiday,
after all. Singing is optional nGraeme Hall is on tour until
June; visit graemehalllive.com.
Perfectly Imperfect Puppy:
The Ultimate Life-Changing
Programme for Training a
Well-Behaved, Happy Dog by
Graeme Hall is published by
Ebury at £14.99inner sanctum, they were off
like a shot, without so much as
a “See ya, wouldn’t wanna be
ya!” Actions speak louder then
words: they loved the place.
This was the case for many
years, until Axel died. Gordon
continued to go to the kennels
occasionally, but he really
wasn’t the same. Without the
unflappable Axel to look up to,
Gordon, who’d always been a
little nervous, changed. By day
he was happy to hang out with
the kennel owner and run about
the paddock (senior citizen’s
special privilege), but by night
he was clearly anxious, pawing
at the bars and breaking a claw,
urinating on the floor (whichhe’d never done before) and
barking. I didn’t take him back.
It was no one’s fault: the
kennel owners were the same
lovely people, the place was the
same, but Gordon had changed.
For some dogs, especially
nervous ones in a single-dog
household, a kennel simply isn’t
the best option.
One last word about leaving
your dog at kennels — and in
fact this applies whenever
you’re leaving them with
someone else, be it the
groomers or doggy daycare
— make sure you adopt a
matter-of-fact demeanour at
drop-off. Body language that
says “this is all perfectly
normal” helps a lot. Hand them
over and just leave without a
fuss. Preschool teachers say the
same thing to parents who
struggle to drop off their
children without a scene. If you
look anxious, you’re hardly
convincing them that all’s well
with the world.
The obvious alternative to
traditional kennels is home
boarding: either a business
where your dog stays in a home
environment, or perhaps with
friends or family members
for a week or two. Thank
goodness for relatives: many
people I have spoken to say theyPlan your journey to allow for
stops. Aim for a leg stretch and
comfort break every two hours
ILLUSTRATION © OFF THE LEASH (RUPERT FAWCETT), GETTY IMAGES
The Sunday Times Magazine • 41