How social media websites can help kennel owners spread the word

“I’m a kennel owner - get me out of here!” you might think, when faced with the sometimes bewildering world of the internet. OK, you have got a website or maybe a web page on a larger site. But now that’s not enough. You hear that there is more you should be doing. There is the arcane world of social media with its blogs and wikis and vlogs and social networking. What is a poor kennel owner to do? You want people to board their dogs with you for goodness sake, not create a virtual empire for Fido the cyberhound!

Well the good news is that, just like your dog, the internet really can be your best friend. Let’s look at some facts. Over half the population of the UK own dogs and a large proportion of those also use the internet regularly. Many people use the internet at work — especially in an office environment. This may be bad for their bosses but should be music to your ears. Because this translates into a huge targeted potential audience who will at some point need your kennels.

Today’s web users are highly likely to choose a good kennels using testimonials and recommendations from their online ‘friends’ - people they have probably never met in real life. It may sound odd if you are not a regular web user, but these written recommendations from strangers are taken very seriously. There are hundreds of thousands of people who choose everything from DVDs to dog food based on the opinions of fellow users online.

People exchange information and tips, moans and groans on myriad forums (places where like-minded people ‘meet’ online to discuss topics of interest like their pets, dog breeds, veterinary problems etc). There really is something for everyone. A forum is something you can really use to your advantage. Sign up at somewhere like groups.yahoo.com then ‘lurk’ awhile (read messages without posting) to get a feel for the group. Make sure you create a ‘signature’ with your website address in (check this is allowed first) the start posting. Don’t go rushing in promoting your business. Start by being helpful, friendly and offering advice and you will gradually get known, and your kennels will too.

Scarcely a day goes by without a social networking site like www.facebook.comor www.myspace.com being mentioned in the press. Although you may think these sites are just for kids, they are actually a perfect opportunity to let people know about your business. A recent statistic showed that 49% of web users make a purchase based on a recommendation through a social networking site! You need to be on there.

After a simple registration procedure you fill in information and upload photos or videos for your page and then invite friends to view it. It sounds very simple and it is. You also get invited by people to be their ‘friend’ and you can view their page and photos too. And how can this help your business? Well you can start a club about your kennels, have your own page totally dedicated to the kennels and let other users know about them via regular updates.

Blogs are not as scary as they sound. They are online diaries really, ranging from banal ramblings to press releases. You can create your own blog easily using a site like www.wordpress.org and then use it to promote your kennel business. Write about your daily routine, the dogs you care for, the ups and downs of the business, anything dog related. Try to set yourself up as an expert in a niche category. If you know about homeopathic remedies for Yorkshire terriers then blog about that!

Again comes the question -why? Well if you blog regularly several things happen. As long as your blog links to your website then search engines like Google will start to pay attention - they just love fresh content! You will find your site moves up the rankings for certain keywords and phrases. (These are words or phrases people type into Google to search for something.) Another thing that happens is that people will start to comment on your blog content (there is a space for this at the bottom) and maybe even link to it from their own site, or recommend it to other users. A word of warning though. Keep your blog updated. There is nothing worse than a blog that is months out of date. Try to write something at least once a week. Ideally every day. Have a look at our advice blog  www.boardingkennels.org/advice/ here (you’re reading it!) to give you an idea.

It really pays to get to understand social media. Remember how many potential clients you can reach this way. Today, it’s not ‘word of mouth’ but ‘word of mouse’ which is king!

Although we could ask kennel owners these questions directly, we feel it is more prudent to ask dog owners who have used or visited kennels to look for these problems throughout the year.  That’s why we ask every dog owner who leaves a boarding kennels review on BoardingKennels.org if they noticed any of them.

Top 10 Kennel Sins

To make it easy for you to find out what to look for and avoid, here are the Top 10 Kennel Sins and what they mean for your dog:

1. Did the kennels smell?
   If it smells - it’s unhygienic. If it’s unhygienic, it can lead to illness and disease. Old or poorly designed or constructed kennels often have  materials that are completely unsuitable. The floors and walls of kennels should be easy to clean and stop any liquids (urine, washdown water with urine/faeces) soaking into the material. If liquids, bacteria and disease can soak into a building, it will smell (even more so for dogs, who have much more sensitive noses than us), and be unhygienic which can cause illness and disease.

 

2. Were the kennels constantly noisy?
   The more noise, the more stress is caused. Stress is extremely dangerous, it can kill.
   There are many ways to reduce noise and stress, such as boarding less dogs in total, less than 20 kennels in any building, dogs not facing each other, providing daylight, views and stimulation, places to encourage resting and relaxation, correct management of visitors, and good (and enough) staff are just a few ways.

 

3. Were staff/owners welcoming, friendly & polite?
   Helpful and kind treatment will leave you feeling less guilty, and much happier about leaving your dog, whereas unhelpful and unkind treatment will be very distressing for you, and will cause you concern about the treatment of your dog while you are away.
   Reasoned answers to your questions or any problems will be of comfort, whereas rudeness, bad manners, being unreasonable or even anger does not show a person in control of their feelings, and is not at all professional. This has the potential to completely ruin your holiday or vacation.

 

4. Were you shown where your dog would be staying?
   One of the oldest tricks in the book is to make an excuse why you can’t see where your dog will be staying, or even to flatly refuse to show you. The kennels has something to hide, feels they may lose your business, and the accommodation is certain to be substandard.

 

5. Were the kennels in good repair?
   If in poor repair, old and tired, or dilapidated, there is no pride or interest in providing good accommodation. A poor state of repair means there is more risk of smell, noise, stress, disease and injury.

 

6. Were there newspapers, shavings or gravel on the kennel floors?
   Anything absorbent placed on the floor tells you it’s porous, and will soak up all the urine, washdown water and faeces, bacteria and viruses - which of course means it will smell and be unhygienic and be a disease risk.

 

7. Was there bedding in both the sleep AND run?
   If a dog has bedding, it is more likely to rest.  If there is nowhere to rest in an outside run, then it’ll be cold and uncomfortable for dogs to lie down and rest.  So what do they do?  Try and take their minds off it by looking outside and being forced to stand or sit for a long time causes discomfort and frustration which usually causes more barking. It’s so simple, give dogs different places to rest, and they will relax and settle!

 

8. Did they require proof of vaccination?
   Vaccination is a legal requirement to help prevent the spread of disease. Boarding dogs who are not vaccinated is thoughtless, dangerous, and shows a distinct lack of interest in animal welfare. Kennels who do this should be reported to the local authority who license them. 

 

9. Were there signs of overbooking or overcrowding?
   If you see dogs kept in cages or odd places it is a sure sign that the kennels have overbooked themselves and may well be charging the same amount from owners who expect their dogs to be in secure kennels. Another problem is placing dogs from different households in the same kennel. This is unwise, unprofessional, could lead to extreme stress or dog fighting, it’s just downright dangerous.

 

10. How was your dog when you collected him/her?
    If your dog shows previously unseen signs of depression, is withdrawn, suffering or fearful - then you must find out why. This isn’t the kennels for you.

Objective Rating System

We use these 10 Questions for our ratings by dog owners.

When a dog owner writes a review, we ask them these 10 questions about the kennels they’ve used. Each answer can earn or lose half a point, so if kennels achieve the maximum 10 points, they get a 5 Paw Rating from their customer.

Ratings by Dog Owners

	10 points
	9 points
	8 points
	7 points
	6 points
	5 points
	4 points
	3 points
	2 points
	1 point
	0 points

Now when you search any of our boarding kennels profiles, you’ll be able to see if there are any customer reviews, and what objective rating they received.

We are here to make it easy for you to tell the difference for yourself - and once you know, you’ll never be bamboozled again!

Kennels or Dog Hotel - How can you tell the Difference?

Dog Hotels have

ROOMS

Dog Hotels have large, light ROOMS of over 8ft x 8ft (2.4m x 2.4m) with full-height, solid-built walls, and full/part glass doors, and some may also have windows. This creates a quiet, calm, balanced environment, feels secure, is spacious, and lets in lots of natural light.

Dog hotels are likely to have fewer dogs (perhaps just 5 - 15 rooms), and therefore providing a more tailored and personal service.

If a dog hotel has 15 or less rooms, you will have the benefits of more tailored and personal services, special requests and even quirks can be catered for. The lower number of dogs means much more one-to-one attention that your dog will receive (both inside and outside, perhaps with other dogs if your dog is sociable) and the atmosphere will be calm and quiet. Larger rooms mean more personal comforting items can be brought from home to help your dog settle in quickly and feel much more at home.

Rooms can also be called Suites, but it is only in the largest, most spacious accommodation,where the main building roof extends over the attached exercise area to protect and enclose it as another room (rather than an open run), that this term truly applies. 

This is the closest to a home environment. 

Kennels have

PENS

Kennels have partially open PENS of over 4ft x 4ft (1.2m x 1.2m) built with partial walls or panels, with mesh/bars above, and mesh/bar doors.

This creates an open environment where dogs can see, smell and hear everything, which can lead to higher stress and noise. The higher the walls, the more secure a feeling is created. Active, healthy and confident dogs will fare better in kennels. Nervous and more sensitive dogs should be boarded separately, ideally in a building or section with similar dogs in smaller numbers, or a separate kennel.

Kennels with no walls should be avoided (i.e open chainlink, wire, mesh or bars between kennels where dogs can touch or injure each other, and the risk of injury, disease and stress-induced illnesses will dramatically increase provide no privacy)

The fewer kennels there are, the lower the stress and noise. Fewer kennels (for example less than 20 kennels) means your dog will receive much more attention than larger facilities (unless they are exceptionally well staffed). We would recommend you choose suitable facilities with fewer kennels whenever possible. 

Dog Prisons are

DARK, DINGY,

DEPRESSING &

DANGEROUS

A small, dark, almost totally enclosed area of 2 - 4ft (60cm - 1.2m) without windows, dog door/hatch or exercise run, with solid walls/panels/doors is not a hotel or kennels, it’s a prison.

This is the image that many dog owners have of kennels. I regularly receive emails from dog owners describing kennels as ‘concentration camps’. We hope that if nothing else, this website will show you it doesn’t have to be like that.

Nothing to look at except other barking dogs?
… It’s a prison.

Depriving dogs of a view and stimulation (other than other barking dogs) will create extremely high levels of frustration, stress, and noise, resulting in depression, lowered immune system and ultimately illness.

If dogs NEVER leave the kennels?
… It’s a prison.

Getting out, spending time with humans/other dogs, sniffing, playing, exploring - in short, being allowed to ‘be’ a dog and express natural behaviours will create more balanced, calm and happier dogs. Depriving dogs of these basic needs is appalling. If you use a kennels with such low standards you are keeping these people in business.

If the local authority aren’t doing anything about it then you can. Vote with your feet - go somewhere better, and help us stop more dogs from suffering.

Every kennels with a profile on our website is asked if dogs are taken out of the kennels for exercise. We show this, and other important information when you SEARCH for kennels, you’ll see special icons at the top of each kennels’ page on our website. For example:

Dogs ARE/ARE NOT taken out of kennels during their stay

This icon tells you whether dogs are taken out of the kennels, or not.

and…

Dogs ARE/ARE NOT walked or exercised with a person

This icon tells you if the dogs are walked/exercised by a person, or not.

 Dog owners – at last you can have your say with our REVIEWS feature! 

• Good kennels have nothing to fear but a rush of new bookings. 
• Bad kennels should be quaking in their boots.

 One of the most powerful aspects of the internet is that wherever you live, you can meet people online with the same interests as you. This means you can share information, both positive and negative, about the things that matter to you. In this case it means reading what fellow dog owners have to say about boarding kennels, allowing you to make an informed choice.

After getting your dog, one of the most fundamental decisions you have to make where to board him when you have to go away.  You want a place you can trust.

Short of visiting every kennels yourself, or relying on local word of mouth, the next best thing is to read a selection of reviews from fellow dog lovers, who care about their dogs and are concerned about the boarding kennels they use. Using our new reviews feature allows you to make your voice heard. You can praise or complain, warn or reassure.

If you’ve had a great experience and want people to know, then tell us. On the other hand if you would rather stab your eyes out with dog chews than send your pet back to a dire kennels, let us know! 

This new kennel reviews section is something dog owners and good kennels have been requesting for a long time. You wanted to know how to pass on your complaints but also how to share your delight in finding really great kennels. Here’s a typical request:

“I am looking for the best way to warm people about a kennel that was neglectful and possibly abusive towards my dog when she was boarded there.  They are ignoring my letters.  Do you have a place to log complaints for Canada?”

A user review section is a common feature of websites like Amazon and Ebay, and reading a selection of people’s opinions on a kennels will help you make up your mind whether to choose them or not. Modelling our reviews on the Ebay 2-way system, you’ll be able to see the dog owner’s profile, not just the kennels. You can read someone’s previous reviews, learn about their dogs and the kind of standards they’re looking for.

After all one person’s idea of ‘luxury’ may not be yours – try and find people like you, and you’ll be more satisfied with the results.

• We ask for real names, avoiding dodgy aliases, or just plain anonymous ‘guests’ promoting their friend’s kennels, or people paid to add positive reviews
  
• We only use first-hand experiences, not hearsay
  
• We check IP addresses to make sure reviews are not all coming from the same computer or from the kennels themselves
  
• As our positive/negative filter, you’ll be able to see if the dog owner would use the kennels again or recommend them to a friend, which is really the acid test, isn’t it?

From the kennels point of view, this is all to the good. Not all kennels have websites, and possibly some of the best, most caring ones are run by people who don’t have the time or knowledge to get one. Our reviews section means you can still find these little gems, even if they don’t have their own website. (Kennels who want a public profile can in fact use the pages of www.boardingkennels.org as their own kind of ‘mini-site’ anyway. In fact, we hear from kennels that dog owners thing this is the kennels’ own website anyway!)

Now, we are not the only kennels directory or review site, but most just give you a list of kennels and contact numbers, and if they do have reviews then they are often added by ‘guests’ or – guess what – the kennels themselves! (That’s going to be objective isn’t it?!). We personally know of kennels who have admitted doing this and some absolute dives are described in the most glowing terms on some sites. We have the technology to weed out the bad kennels we know about and the IP capturing facility should help prevent bad-mouthing of good kennels by disgruntled former employees or competitors.

Most other review sites only give you a very brief choice of aspects to rate a kennels on, (for example cleanliness and value for money). Our detailed review section is much more thorough covering the points that you have asked us to include and which concern you.

Our ‘five paws’ rating system is based on facts, not opinion.
It’s based on the top 10 kennel ’sins’ such as smell, noise, bedding, state of repair, crowding and the professionalism and friendliness of the kennel owners are all included.

We know how much this kennels review feature has been needed because we have already got a lot of people using it and it’s only been live since the beginning of December 2008.

Here are a couple of extracts:

“Loved everything about your kennel, the facility is clean and well kept. The staff is fantastic you can tell they really do care about my pet like I do. I think Jingles would have stayed if I let him. Just like us he did not want his vacation to end.” 

and…

“I picked my dog up today.  I am happy to say that she seems to be relaxed and well looked after.  I am also very grateful to the kennel staff for the effort they made to make friends with her, as she really doesn’t like strangers.” 

We know it takes a bit of time and effort to write a review, but we’d really appreciate it if you could write about your boarding kennel experience.

Great kennels deserve praise for the time and effort they put into looking after our dogs. Bad ones deserve to be ‘outed’ so that we can stop the suffering. If we dog owners unite and share our experiences, then we help those who need it most, because they can’t speak for themselves… our beloved dogs.

They say the world is divided into people with dogs and people without, but I’d take that further…

 Within the dog-owning group there are people whose dogs are “just dogs” and people whose dogs are “part of the family” with their own character, personality and needs.

The ‘just dogs’ people probably don’t agonise too much over where to board their pets when they need to go on holiday or be away from home. The dogs have to fit in with their plans and if that means a few days at the nearest kennel, so be it.

On the other hand, those whose pets mean a lot to them will spend hours, if not days trying to find a home-from-home for the family member who has to be left behind.

This can mean, as in my own case, not having a holiday with my husband for 15 years, because I don’t trust a kennel or cattery to look after my own much-loved (and, yes, spoiled) pets.

It might sound mad to some people, but I know I’m not alone in this. Here are extracts from a couple of the many emails we receive regularly here at www.boardingkennels.org.

“I’m just sick with worry, our dog is a rescue dog and we will have had her for  two years in July. She suffers from silent separation anxiety to the point that her temperature can rise as high as 45 degrees…”

While another writes:

 “I am desperate to find a luxury dog hotel or kennels for my Yorkshire Terrier… a very much loved little dog …Our home and garden is specially designed so there is no way she can get out. If she got a door open I would be afraid she would run out and maybe be killed on the roads…  My husband and I haven’t had a foreign holiday for a few years.” 

It’s so hard to find good kennels you can trust and who will understand that, as in the case of my own dogs, one likes to sleep in a bed under a duvet, another on her own settee. One has to have her ‘dolly’ in her mouth before she goes out and will pick up anything on the ground that is dolly-shaped before she will budge. That they have to have their rawhide chews immediately after their meal and, above all, that they want to stay together.

 Good kennels are like gold dust. Maybe even scarcer than that. How do you find one for a start?

How do you know that ‘luxury’ really means ‘luxury’ and isn’t just an adjective tacked on to help market somewhere mediocre?

Increasingly frustrated and desperate, you spend hours trying to locate suitable accommodation for your dogs. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this can take longer than finding and booking your own holiday

And after trawling the internet, you then have to face the fact that the only place even vaguely acceptable is hundreds of miles away. So off you go on a pre-holiday inspection trip. (We already know that caring dog owners have to travel many hours and miles to find kennels they are truly happy with. How mad is that when the demand is already there?)

You check that the kennels really are luxury, that beds mean beds, that your dog won’t get eaten, escape or freeze/boil to death. It is a nightmare.

You have to know and love dogs to understand.

Well, our aim here at www.boardingkennels.org is to help you. We understand (believe me!) the agony of the search, the sleepless nights and the frustration.

On these web pages we’ve created a way to help you find the very best kennels for your dog. The pages have everything you need to make an informed choice. We’ve set them out in a consistent and easily navigable way so you don’t spend half your time trying to understand and compare information. You’ll be able to find fees, descriptions, services, special care, location, reviews for every kennels with a profile.

Personal recommendations and customer reviews are vital when you are choosing a kennels and we value those really highly. Now you’ll know if ‘luxury’ actually means it or not.

We hope these pages will save you time and heartache and allow you to relax while you are away, knowing your four-legged friend is in safe hands. After all that’s what you really want, isn’t it?

And on your return, after the reunion, its frenzy of welcome kisses and leaps of joy (and that’s just you – never mind the dog!) maybe you’ll feel inspired enough to put pen to paper or mouse to keyboard and write your own recommendation here to put another worried dog owner’s mind at rest. Please do…