Winding Creek Kennels, Inc.

 Winding Creek Kennels, Inc.

A Distinctive Boarding Facility
for Dogs & Cats
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     Frequently Asked Questions:

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Q: How do I select a good kennel for my pets?
A: Before boarding your pet, we strongly encourage pet owners to take the time to visit any boarding facilities that you might be considering. Don't just visit the office area; insist on seeing the actual kennel area where the pets are boarded. Are the kennels and surrounding areas clean? What kind of disinfectant is used to sanitize the pet accommodations? How often are the dog & cat accommodations cleaned and sanitized? Is the kennel a member of the Pet Care Services Association? Talk to the owners and staff of the kennel. Do they appear to be knowledgeable?

A few good rules to follow in selecting a kennel...
  1. Show up to tour the boarding facility unannounced with no appointment. The only rule you must follow is to be sure you show up during the kennel's posted business hours. Be skeptical of any kennel that insists that you make a specific appointment to tour or allows you to tour only at a specified time. What are they hiding?
  2. When you arrive to tour, you should be able to go throughout the entire kennel and/or cattery facilities (with escort - no boarding facility should allow you to walk through their facilities without an escort). You will be surprised to find that many boarding facilities will not allow you to actually go throughout the kennel facility. They may take you to a window for viewing the kennel area instead. You may be told that their insurance does not allow a customer to walk through the kennel area, or some State agency forbids a customer to go beyond a certain point. This is of course all nonsense, and a good reason to be skeptical.
  3. On your tour, take a good look at the staff that work at the boarding facility. Remember that a boarding facility is only as good as the people that are working there. Do they have mature, trained, responsible animal caretakers or are they using high school kids, minimum wage and non-English speaking employees? It makes a huge difference in the kind of care your pet will receive!
For more information on selecting a kennel, we have two articles on our web site published by the Pet Care Services Association entitled "Let's Talk About Boarding Your Dog" and "Let's Talk About Boarding Your Cat".  To read these articles, click on the links below.

"  Let's Talk About Boarding Your Dog  "
"  Let's Talk About Boarding Your Cat  "

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Q: Who's there after hours or on holidays and weekends?
A: This is what really separates us from other facilities that board pets. Our posted business hours are only for the office (handing calls, check-ins & check-outs, etc). We have two separate caretaker residences on the property, one of which is a full time staff member responsible for night time duties. The other residence belongs to the owners who also live on the premises.  We have staff on the property tending to our canine & feline guests 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If we have a major storm in the middle of the night with thunder & lightning, we actually have a staff member in the kennel with our guests to ensure that everyone is fine. On any given holiday or weekend, you will find the kennel fully staffed.

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Q: Will my dog or cat ever be mixed with other dogs or cats?
A: No, we do not put pets that are not from the same family together. Your dog (or cat) will have its own run (or condo) and will "never" be mixed with any other dogs (or cats). Even when we take dogs out to Play time or Nature Walks, we never mix dogs from different families. There are many facilities that promote group play times and frequently blend many dogs together in a large play area. We think the practice of blending dogs (or cats) from different families can be dangerous, and potentially harmful to the pets and staff. We prefer to provide all of our guests with as much human contact as possible (touching, petting, fetch, belly rubs, giving treats, etc).

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Q: I have two or more dogs. Can they stay together?
A: Yes, our dog facilities have very large indoor/outdoor type runs. As long as your dogs get along together, they may share the same indoor/outdoor run. We offer two different size runs (Standard or King), and we will select the run best suited for your dogs. We offer price discounts for the multi-pet family sharing the same run together. We only allow pets to board together if the owner assures us that they blend well. If we see any aggressive fighting between family members, we will then separate them at our discretion.

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Q: Can my two cats share a condo together?
A: Yes, if they are of average size and get along well, we would encourage you to board your two cats together in the same three level cat condo. Our cat condos can easily handle up to two average sized cats, but not three. We offer price discounts for the multi-cat family sharing the same condo. If you have a large cat (such as a Maine Coon), it would need the entire condo to itself.

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Q: What if there is an emergency medical problem?
A: We have several excellent veterinarians in very close proximity to our facility, along with two emergency facilities that are open all night and on holidays. We treat every guest as we would our own children and will assure them the best attention available. If we think your pet needs to see a veterinarian, we will arrange to take him or her immediately.

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Q: My dog is an escape artist and is always getting away.  How can you keep from losing my dog?
A: First, it is very important that you tell us about your dog's tendencies to jump or climb. If we know we have an escape artist, we prefer not to allow the pet into our play areas, as we do play times off lead. Instead of Play Times, we prefer to walk the escape artists, as they will always be on lead and under constant watch. It is not likely for a dog to escape from our indoor/outdoor runs for these reasons:
  1. The gates to the indoor/outdoor runs are always clipped so the latch can not be opened without first removing the clip.
  2. Our runs (both inside & outside) are fully covered with chain link extending all the way up to the ceiling. Even if your dog is a climber, he will have no means of escape.

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Q: My little dog is easily intimidated by big dogs. Will my dog be comfortable in your runs?
A: Unlike many kennels that use only chain link to separate the runs from each other, Winding Creek uses solid cement to separate our runs. The inside runs are separated with 7 ft. tall solid cement walls, so from the dog's perspective, they have no neighbors on either side. This makes the inside area a very safe & secure area. In addition, for our smaller guests, we include a bedroom enclosure filled with lambs wool type bedding. Our outside runs are also separated by several feet of cement wall, then we use heavy gauge chain link from the top of this wall up to the outside ceiling. We do the cement wall separation for several reasons; first, it protects the runs from any cross contamination of urine or fecal from run to run, secondly, it helps prevent any fence fighting or aggressive behavior between runs. It allows a smaller dog the opportunity to go in and out without being intimidated by a much larger neighboring dog.

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Q: Can I bring my pet's personal bedding?
A: For sanitation purposes we ask that you do not bring your pet's own bedding or pillows. However, we do put down a raised platform called kennel decking, designed to keep the dogs up off the concrete.  On top of the kennel decking, our own very comfortable machine washable lambs wool bedding is provided for all pets.

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Q: Can I bring toys & treats for my pet?
A: Yes, we encourage you to bring toys and treats for your pet. Please use some discretion in selecting toys that your pet will not chew or shred into small pieces. For more specific information on bringing toys & treats, please click here. 

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Q: Do I need to bring my pet's own food?
A: No, we provide everything necessary to care for your pets including high-quality balanced dry and semi-moist premium foods and all stainless steel food and water bowls. You need to provide the food only if your dog is on a strict veterinarian prescribed diet. For more specific information on bringing your own food, please click here. 

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Q: Is the kennel area heated and air conditioned?
A: Yes, we have forced air & radiant heating systems for the winter and air conditioning for the hot summer months, along with ceiling fans and several large power exhausts to exchange the air. Your dogs will stay very comfortable no matter what the outside temperature or weather.

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Q: Will my pet come home with fleas?
A: No, we do not send pets home with fleas. Upon check-in, we inspect each pet thoroughly. If fleas, ticks or evidence of them are found, we must first treat the pet prior to entering the kennel or cattery. In addition we treat the entire facility with a broad spectrum germicidal disinfectant which also repels fleas and other types of insects.

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Q: My dog may not go potty in his run. Will this be a problem?
A: This is something we routinely look for. We check every run before cleaning them several times each day. We make a note of any dogs who are not going potty in the run. After a period of time, if we see no evidence of urine or fecal, we begin rotating your pet outside to the play area two times a day in order for your pet to go potty (we call this No Po rotation). If your dog does not go potty in his or her run (becomes a No Po), you will be advised upon check out and on future visits there would be a small fee for this service.

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Q: Do you Pick up or Drop off Pets?
A: Yes, we do offer a Pet Taxi service. Simply call us well ahead of time to get on our Pet Taxi schedule. Pricing is based on your location. We do not, however, pick up or drop off early in the morning or late in the afternoon. During the week (Monday thru Friday) we do all our pet taxi's in the middle of the day (from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm). On Saturdays, we pick up & deliver in the afternoon only (never before noon). On Sundays and on or around major holidays, we do not offer a pet taxi service.

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Q: My dog has severe storm fright. What do you do in case of a bad storm?
A: First and foremost, when we have a bad storm with thunder & lightning, we believe it is important to have a staff member out in the kennel with the dogs. This is one of the reasons that Winding Creek has 2 separate caretaker residences on the property. We always have staff on site who will go out to the kennel buildings during storms, even at 3 am in the morning. We always have music playing in the kennels all night long, but during storms, we crank up the volume to help hide the sound of the thunder from outside. In addition, we turn on all the inside lights, we close down all the dog doors so the dog is safely protected inside, and finally we rotate to all the dogs that appear to be nervous due to the storms. When you first register to board your dog with us, we have you fill out a "Pet Information Form", one of the questions on this form is regarding storm fright. If we know we have a dog that is prone to storm fright, we tag the kennel card with a black cloud type sticker that helps us identify the dog during a storm. The staff member can simply walk through the kennel building looking for storm fright stickers. If your dog has extremely severe storm fright, and will do physical harm to himself, we recommend that you consult with your veterinarian to prescribe a tranquilizer that will help your dog get through the storm. We administer the medication only as needed should we have a severe storm.

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Q: What must I bring with me when checking in my pet?
A:  (1)  The most important item would be proof of current vaccinations from your vet. We do not accept check off type health booklets. If we can not confirm that your pet is current on all vaccinations, we will not allow your pet to enter our boarding facilities. We always recommend that you have your pet's vaccinations faxed to us in advance.
(2)  The next most important item would be your itinerary with phone numbers. We want to be able to reach you should we have a question concerning the care of your pet. It doesn't matter where your destination will be, if you are near a phone, we want the number! A hotel phone number, cell phone or pager number is fine. As a last resort we will take the number of a family member or friend, but our preference is to be able to reach you directly.
(3)  Leash and collar for dogs - your dog must be on a leash and under your control at all times. Other optional items include: treats, toys, chews, etc... Please do not bring bedding or food bowls. You do not need to provide food, unless your dog is on a veterinarian prescribed diet.
(4)  Finally, if you are a new customer, you will need to download, print, and fill out the following forms: New Customer Information and New Pet Information. Please fill these out completely and return to us (scan and email, fax, or just bring with you to check-in).

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Winding Creek Kennels, Inc.
354 Pleasant Hill Church Road, SE
Winder, Georgia 30680
770-725-2700      FAX 770-725-2829
Copyright © 1999-2009, Winding Creek Kennels, Inc. All Rights Reserved