The bit nobody tells you about booking around a flight
If you live around Newtownbreda, Carryduff or Cregagh and you're flying from Belfast City Airport or out of Aldergrove, the honest starting point is your flight time, not your own morning routine. A lot of people book their dog's stay to match when they personally feel ready to leave the house, then discover on the day that traffic on the Saintfield Road or the queue through Forestside has eaten the buffer they thought they had.
Early morning flights out of George Best Belfast City are the trickiest. If you're on a 6.30am departure, you're realistically leaving Newtownbreda while it's still dark, and dropping a dog off at that hour isn't always practical or kind - dogs settle better with a bit of daylight and normal morning noise around them, not a torch and a rushed goodbye. Where possible, an evening-before drop-off works far better than a same-morning one, even if it means paying for an extra night.
- For early or late flights, ask about drop-off the evening before rather than the same day
- Traffic through Newtownbreda and Forestside towards the M1 or A55 can be slow at school run times, so allow for that
- If you're driving to Aldergrove, factor in the airport's own drop-off traffic, especially on a Friday
What a proper handover actually looks like
A good handover is boring, in the best way. It's not a five-minute chat at the door - it's someone actually reading through what you've written and asking questions back. If nobody asks you anything at drop-off, that's usually a sign the information isn't being read properly.
Write down more than you think you need to. Not just 'two meals a day' but what time, how much, whether he's fussy in the afternoon heat, whether she gets carsick, whether he barks at the postman or ignores him completely. Medication needs the exact dose and time, and it's worth writing out what happens if a dose is missed rather than assuming that's obvious. If your dog has a particular way of being clipped onto a lead, or panics at hoovers, say so - the small stuff is what actually causes a bad first day.
Bring your dog's normal food if at all possible, even for a few days' boarding. A sudden diet change on top of a new place is asking for an upset stomach, and February in Northern Ireland is grim enough without cleaning up after a dog whose gut has taken offence at unfamiliar food.
- Written feeding times and amounts, not just 'as normal'
- Exact medication doses, with what to do if one is missed
- Anything that frightens or overexcites your dog - lorries, other dogs, children, hoovers
- Your dog's own food, lead, and something that smells like home if that helps them settle
How much contact is normal while you're away
This is where people's expectations vary the most, and it's worth being honest with yourself before you go. Some owners want a photo every single day; others would rather hear nothing unless something's wrong, because a daily update just makes them miss their dog more on a beach in Portugal. Both are completely reasonable - the mistake is not saying which one you are before you fly.
Agree a rough plan before you leave: a photo update every couple of days, say, or a message only if there's a problem. That way nobody's checking their phone anxiously in a departure lounge, and nobody feels ignored on the other end. If your dog is anxious or elderly, it's fair to ask for more frequent updates for the first day or two while they settle, then less as the week goes on.
One honest caveat: don't expect a running commentary. A busy day care or boarding setup, including here at Johnny's Doggy Hotel, is genuinely busy with dogs, not staff sat by a phone. Updates tend to land at quieter points in the day - after lunchtime walks, or in the evening once everyone's settled - rather than the instant something happens.
What happens if your flight's delayed or the weather turns
This is the part people forget to plan for, and it's the one that actually causes stress. Flights get delayed. Snow closes Aldergrove for a morning. Your connecting flight from somewhere gets pushed to the next day. If your dog is booked in for a fixed number of nights and your return slips, someone needs a plan that doesn't rely on you having signal on a plane.
Before you go, agree what happens if you're late back - whether an extra night or two is simply added on, and how that gets confirmed if you can't get online straight away. It's a five-minute conversation before you leave that saves a genuinely stressful phone call from an airport gate.
The same goes for the other direction: if your flight is cancelled and you're stuck at home a day longer than planned, most places would rather know as early as possible, even if it's just a text the night before.
Boarding, or someone coming to the house — which actually suits your dog
There's no single right answer here, and it depends more on your dog's temperament than on convenience. A dog that's anxious around other dogs or noise might do better with a sitter coming into their own home in Newtownbreda or Carryduff, keeping their own bed, their own garden, their own smells. A dog that's social, bored easily, or genuinely enjoys other dogs' company often does better somewhere with company and structure through the day, rather than a house sitter popping in and out.
It's worth being honest about which one your dog actually is, rather than which one feels easier to arrange. A dog left alone for long stretches in their own house with visits is not the same as a dog boarded somewhere with people and other dogs around most of the day - and for some dogs, that difference matters a lot more than the paperwork or the price.
Getting your dog ready in the days before you fly
If your dog hasn't stayed away from home before, a trial night or a day care day in the weeks before your trip is worth far more than any amount of written notes. It lets whoever's minding them see how your dog actually behaves - not how you describe them - and lets your dog work out that a new place isn't the end of the world before it's tied to you disappearing for a fortnight.
Avoid changing food, routine, or introducing anything new in the last few days before you go. Dogs pick up on packed suitcases and a change in the house's rhythm well before you leave, and a stable routine in that final week makes the actual drop-off far calmer than it would be otherwise.
And practically: bring an up-to-date vaccination record, confirm your vet's current details are on file, and check your dog's microchip details are correct. It sounds obvious, but it's the thing people remember at the airport, not before it.