Who takes care of my Frenchie, if I am away? [Dog sitters, dog hotels]

Obviously, we want to be with our pup as much as possible, and take him or her with us wherever we can.  However, there might be some cases when we can’t – when traveling for business or at a hospital stay among others. What to do with our darling then? We give you some tips below.

Probably the most obvious move is to ask someone from the family, friends, or neighbors to pop over and help. If you can trust someone who loves dogs and can really commit, this is the best and easiest choice. But in some cases, Frenchie parents are not as lucky as that and you need to look for an other solution.

Hire a dog sitter for your Frenchie

If you prefer your pup to stay at his or her familiar surroundings, in your home, a dog sitter is a good option. Ask other puppy parents for recommendations (you can use our fantastic Tomkings Frenchie Family Facebook Group), or look for online databases like Petsitters.com.

In any case, have a chat with the sitter before you hire them. Ask about their earlier experience, what they love about pet sitting, what they usually do during the sittings. In the databases, you can filter those who have experience with a French Bulldog, or if it’s not stated, ask them about previous Frenchie-related experience. If the sitter lives nearby and can pop in for a pre-visit, it’s a great opportunity for your pup to see and play with them before the sitting.

Hire a HouseSitter for your Frenchie

If you’d like the sitter to take care of your home as well as your pup – if you have to leave for a longer time, – try TrustedHousesitters. You can search for people in the database who are happy to take care of your Frenchie and your home for a free stay. There are several reviews of the sitters to make sure you can trust them, but a pre-chat (or meeting) – as above – is highly recommended.

Hire the sitter only if you feel you can trust him or her, if you see they love dogs and don’t do it only for the money, or the free stay. Make sure you inform the sitter about any special circumstances, dietary requirements, what your Frenchie likes and dislikes, how much activity he or she needs. Leave your contacts behind where the sitter can reach you if there’s any question or problem.

Take your Frenchie to a pet hotel

If you prefer not to have anyone in your home while you’re away, – and/or you want your pup to be among other dogs – leave your girl or boy in a pet pension, resort or hotel. Look around in the area and visit a few ones before you decide. (If you’ll need this service repeated times, it’s really worth the effort to find the best one for your pup.)

As there’s a low chance of you finding a pension specialized on Frenchies, check if they have separate spaces for big and small dogs. Spend there an hour while you talk to staff, see how they treat the dogs, what kind of activities they do, how much potty time the dogs have (and how many times), and how they are fed. There are resorts where each pup has his or her own suite with indoor and outdoor spaces. If your Frenchie is a bit antisocial – rare but happens – ask the staff if they have facilities for those dogs who prefer not to be with the others.

After you have decided, have a second visit with your Frenchie so that he or she can be a bit accustomed to the place (although French Bulldogs are very easy with new places).

Don’t feel guilty

You have a good reason not to take your pup with you and you don’t have to feel guilty about that. After you have done your research and have chosen the best solution, trust your instinct that everything will go well. Frenchies socialize easily and quickly and they will survive some time without you:)

The article was written based on the experience of the TomKings Puppies Team. TomKings Puppies have been breeding French Bulldogs for 10 years on their farm. All the pictures in the post belong to them and show a puppy from their breed. Check their available puppies here, or if you have any questions or comments let us know below the article.