Greetings,

Hi Liz,

I wish I could help you but we might not be in a house by then. If we are and our adjustment to Japan is going ok, then I will send you a PM. I too have read some of the poor opinions of the Yosuka kennels and while I am paying attention and noting the details, I am still remembering that they are just that: opinions. I have also read some opinions that have been good. I have decided to go ahead and put our dogs in the Yoko kennels due to the fact that I can check on them everyday, be there to see and fix any care that may not be up to my standards, see with my own eyes if they are under distress and have the ability to take them to the vet immediately if needed, and get them out and exercised daily whereas in Yokota, there would be no feasible way to get up there and put hands/eyes on them each day that they are being kenneled- just something for you to think about.

My education and profession is in the animal sciences field and I have over twelve years experience in pet care/training in a variety of settings with different species. I have seen it all- good care, poor care, professional and nonprofessional businesses, good owners and negligent owners and even the once in awhile *crazy* owners. I know to take opinions of others concerning their pets with a grain of salt. Just remember there are always three sides to every story and only one is the truth Note: I am saying this in general- I have never actually spoken to anyone who has expressed an opinion on the kennels.

My dog is currently at the kennel in Yokosuka. I am not particularly concerned about her care right now though I feel bad for her to have to put up with all the yiping and barking dogs and it must be annoying and hurt her ears as she is a labrador retriever and therefore does not bark uncessarily. Since she is a 77lb Labrador, she can withstand to loose some weight.

I got here on Aug 17 and went over to check on her and leave dog food yesterday. I wish there was a closer place for them to be let off leash and play. I started to walk down the road where I thought there was a dog park/run area but the walk seemed really long and round about. I ended up letting her off leash before arriving at the dog area and to run around for just a short time to pee and poop (cleaned it up) and took her back. I would have spent more time and actually took her to the dog area but the wind was soo strong that it was blowing sand into my eyes and I was accompanied by a fellow spouse and did not want to infringe on there time.

I will keep you posted on my opionion of the kennel.

Another reason you may have not received an offer of dog sitting is the fact November is so far away and people may not be able to comitt that far ahead. If we have a place by then and your dog is compaatible with ours, I would consider volunteering.

Try not to stress out to much about the kennel as I have found we tend to stresss out too much on the unknown.

ange

The dog run on base isn't that great. It's nice to have so your dog can at least be off leash, but it's in a weird spot, so it doesn't get a lot of visitors. It would be nice if they had some stairs leading up to the dog run from the street below instead of having to go all the way around the baseball field. If you have two people, you could probably climb up that wall, but it would be difficult to do with only one person and a dog. Nonetheless, it's still nice to have, despite the lack of maintenance and pet owners utilizing it.

From what I recall, the Boy Scouts built the dog park a while back. Unfortunately, no one is responsible for cutting the grass inside, so it gets quite overgrown. Plus, there's nowhere to sit down while your pup plays, so you end up standing the whole time or sitting on the ground. I was willing to purchase a bench and donate it to the park when we first got here, but since we no longer use the dog run (or ever see a/one else use it), we decided against it. The dog park on Negishi Base is MUCH nicer and bigger.....still not used a whole lot, which is sad because my dogs love their fellow canine friends.

Posted By ALock92 on 08-20-2011 9:54 AM
My dog is currently at the kennel in Yokosuka. I am not particularly concerned about her care right now though I feel bad for her to have to put up with all the yiping and barking dogs and it must be annoying and hurt her ears as she is a labrador retriever and therefore does not bark uncessarily. Since she is a 77lb Labrador, she can withstand to loose some weight.

Ange, I think our dogs are neighbors at the kennel. Is yours the black lab? Mine is the Chocolate lab in the kennel beside hers

I was really worried about my dog being in the kennel after all the horror stories I have read on here about it. We got here a week ago, and while there is definitely no frills at this place, I can't see any signs of mistreatment. The kennel he is in is on the small side for what we are used to in the states, but there is plenty of room to move around. I feel worse for my cat, who is in a tiny cage just big enough for him and a litter box. The small dogs are kept in the room with the cats, I can see how they would get stressed in those little cages. My dog is in good spirits, we walk him everyday. His kennel has been clean every time we have gone there. Even though the kennel is closed on Sundays, the contractor who runs the place is there from 1030-1130, so you can still go walk your dog between those hours. The kennel does not provide any bedding at all. We went to the NEX and purchased a kitchen rug for our dog to lay on. Most days when I go in there though the rug is balled up in the outside portion of the kennel, he seems to prefer laying on the metal grate instead

As far as the "dog park" is concerned, it's just a small fenced in area. We went yesterday, and I seem to remember there being a bench in there. The grass was cut short, but there are no trash cans for throwing away poop bags. It is a suitable place if your dog can't be trusted off leash, but to be honest we just leave the kennel and walk down towards the water, then walk up the little gravel road and let him off leash there. Then we walk down to the ball fields, and the large soccer/football field and let him run there. So far, we have never seen people using these fields, and only ever run in to one other couple running their kenneled dogs there as well. At the far end of the soccer field by the fence by the water there is a water spigot in the ground that comes in handy on the hot days.

So all in all, while the kennel isn't the full acre dog park in the mountains in Hawaii that my dog is used to being boarded at, he is doing well and will be fine the couple of weeks he needs to stay there. I agree with what Shannon said above, if your dog is here on Yokosuka, you can keep a close eye on them, if they are up in Yokota, you have no idea how things are going...

Yes. Mine is the black lab. I sent you a private message as well.

Thanks for the info on where to let them run.
I hope to get there today while the weather is cooler as it is hard to be a black dog in the sun.

I should get a small bucket so I can put water in it from the spigot you talked about.

Thank you all - you have been extremely helpful! I will keep this thread in mind.