Since we picked Jax up more than a week ago he has went almost everywhere with us. If he could not go with me then my boyfriend was at home with him. Unfortunately, on the 22nd we are heading up to Dallas for the day to do some errands and to go to the Ice Exhibit at the Gaylord Hotel. My problem is what to do with Jax that day. Dallas is approximately 90 minutes away from us and Jax does fine in cars but I am not sure how he would do for that long of a ride.
I do not want to leave him in his cage at home since it will a little over 8 hours and he has never been left alone for longer than 30 minutes.
I do not really want to put him in a kennel because of how my golden retriever was treated years ago in a kennel.
I thought about taking him with us and finding a doggy day care center up in Dallas but, I have never used this type of service and I am not sure how they treat the dogs.
I know that there are some of the errands in Dallas that we could take him with us for but not all of them.
Does anyone have any suggestions. What does everyone do with their little ones when they have to be gone 8 hours or more?

I am lucky, my BF's mom will chi-sit for the day if I am super busy and need to be gone for 8+ hours. Is there a family member or friend who can watch him?

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Thanks LS!

My mom would love to watch (spoil) him but we are in TX and she is in WV. Unfortunately, we just moved to the area and haven't met a lot of people yet. All of our family is far away.

Some of the folks here are very inventive--playrooms, X-pens, etc.

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If someone can't watch him, I would just leave him in a room/playpen with plenty of toys, chewys, food, and potty pads. Take him for a walk before you leave and he will be fine.. It is just one day, right?

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Thanks LS!

This is what I would do too. Either that or try out a doggie daycare near your home.

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Michelle and..
Susu, Ginger, Cori, Cinna & Fen say Hi!

Having dogs is like having beautiful innocent children who never grow up.
All the best parts of childhood are right there with wagging tails.

Anyone who ever wondered if I was crazy lost all doubt once they saw me with 5 chihuahuas in clothes!!

I too would just set up a playpen for him. Set it up so one side has pee pads or litter box or whatever you use for pottying; just in case he has to go. If you don't have a playpen you can just use a bathroom. Or, even put up some babygates so that he has full run of the kitchen. The tiles will make any accidents easy to clean up and will be easy for him to stay out of trouble. Maybe leave a radio or TV on just for background noise so he doesn't feel isolated. Just be sure to leave him access to water and food and lots of safe chewies that he can have without supervision to keep him occupied (like a kong filled with frozen peanut butter, or nylabones).

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My girls are at home on all work days so it is their routine and daily life. Since your baby is not home alone much, I understand your concern.
You have been given great advice. Another thing you may wish to consider is in-home care. Our vet office and a natural pet store were both of help identifying services who do this. One is $15/visit, the other $20. They will come anytime during the day you wish. They will walk them, feed them, play with them or whatever you ask.
Both companies came to the house, met us, met the girls, interviewed us to bits about habits, do's and dont's about our house and the girls before they ever came to care for them. One has our house key on file and that way should we have some awful thing happen that requires us to immediately pack and leave town, for instance, all we do is place a call and a care giver is dispatched to our house. They are bonded and insured.

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