Published For AKC
Janet Krynzel, TTCA Editor for the AKC Gazette magazine
Janet Krynzel, Bio: Although I was born in Louisiana, I was not destined to become a Southern girl. My family’s roots were in Ohio and Massachusetts, so after my father’s time in the Air Force in Texas, we headed north back to Yankee country. It was in Dayton, Ohio, that I spent my childhood, with summer vacations at Cape Cod with grandparents who lived outside of Boston. I stuck close to home when I went to college, and graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a B.S. in Art Education. I had always loved art, and when I was in seventh grade, I decided I was going to be an Art teacher so that is what I did! I was fortunate to be hired right out of college to teach junior high art classes in a suburb just outside the Dayton area, and I remained in that school district for my entire career. I eventually transferred to the high school Art department and retired in 2011 after 35 years. I loved my job and my school district was very good to me. The last 15 years of my career were spent in a computer lab teaching Photoshop so it really didn’t seem like “work”! In 2007, I met my now-husband, who owned a large dog boarding kennel in the Dayton area. I helped him at the kennel part-time until I retired then I became full-time “unpaid kennel help”! We married in 2012 and ran the kennel business together until we sold it in 2018. It was time for us to enjoy our lives. We decided to escape the dreary winters and humid summers of Ohio and we headed west to Prescott, Arizona. We built what we thought was our forever home, but it didn’t end up that way, so off we went on our next adventure. We landed in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, a suburb about 25 miles north of Albuquerque, and again built our forever home. This time we think we got it right! We love the Southwest where there are over 300 days a year of sunshine! And somewhere in between college graduation and moving to New Mexico, I have managed to be blessed by 12 Tibetan Terriers and been the co-owner of four gorgeous TT show dogs along the way, all of which have guided me in some way to the happiness I have in my life now.
June, 2024
ON THE ROAD AGAIN . . . OR NOT!
It’s that time of year again- vacation time! Your travel plans are in the works for your next adventure (or maybe your trip to the Tibetan Terrier National Specialty in Colorado in September!). But one gigantic decision lingers: what do we do with the dogs while we’re gone? As any Tibetan Terrier owner will tell you, these “little people” are a tough sell when it comes to leaving them out of your plans. And rightly so. Tibetan Terriers are true masters at making their owners feel “abusive” if they are left behind and are well-known for their epic “stink eye” looks when it comes to pouring on the guilt. So now what? Should you board the dogs or find a pet sitter to come to your home? I must admit that not many places are good enough for my TTs, and I am a “boarding kennel snob” because my husband and I owned/operated a large boarding kennel (132 spaces on 32 acres) in southwest Ohio for 16 years. For that reason, I must be the pickiest person in the Universe when it comes to the care of my two Tibetan Terriers, but I know I do not stand alone amongst all the dog lovers out there! So, here is my advice.
Let’s start by acknowledging that your expectations are high because let’s face it, leaving your beloved dog under someone else’s care is stressful. My first and most important advice- do your research before you need to make any decisions. The more comfortable you feel with your choice of care, the more relaxed both you and your dog will feel. Let’s assume that Option 1 is to make a reservation at a local boarding kennel. Before you book that spot, my number one requirement is to visit the facility and talk to the staff. That will tell you volumes about the quality of care your furkids will receive. Have your list of questions ready but “seeing is believing”! Ask for a full tour of where your dog will stay and exercise, but if the staff is reluctant to show all areas of the facility or you need an appointment for the tour, turn around and run! That lack of transparency can often mean they have something to hide. If you are satisfied with what you see, then start asking questions, lots of questions. There are five general areas:
Housing–
Where will my dog be housed? How often are spaces cleaned? Can I bring my dog’s bedding? Will my dog have private access to fresh water at all times? Will my dog see people throughout the day? What climate controls are in place? Is the air circulated and sanitized? What security measures are in place, so my dog doesn’t escape? Is there a staff member on site 24/7?
Exercise/Breaks
Where and how often does my dog go for potty breaks? What plan is in place for breaks during inclement weather? Does my dog have a separate or shared area for exercise and breaks? If my dog is not social, does he/she get the same amount of break time as the dogs who go in playgroups? Are playgroups monitored by staff members? What is the earliest and latest time my dog is let out each day?
Feeding/Medication
Can I bring my dog’s own food? How often is my dog fed? What plan is in place if my dog does not eat? What measures are taken to ensure that my dog gets the proper medication and dosage? Are medications kept in a secure location?
Staff qualifications/training
What training is in place and/or required for the staff? What is the staff-to-dog ratio? How does the staff handle a stressed or anxious dog?
Emergency Plans
For your dog’s health: Is the entire staff trained in emergency first aid and canine CPR? Is there a veterinarian on call? Is the facility able to safely transport my dog in case immediate emergency veterinary care is needed?
For unexpected emergencies: Is there a plan in place for the safe exit of the animals being housedat the kennel in the unlikely event of a fire or weatheremergency?
These are a few of the many questions you need to ask, so take some time to add to this list. You will also need to ask about the vaccination requirements* for boarding, and how the kennel communicates with you about any issues they might be having with your dog while under their care.
So, after all your research, you have decided that your dogs will do better with an in-home pet sitter! Sounds like a perfect solution, right? The dogs stay in their own home and a loving pet sitter spends hours at their beck and call. Well . . . once again, do your research and ask a lot of questions! Recently I needed to make arrangements for my dogs in a hurry. I have yet to find a kennel that meets all my requirements (remember, I’m a kennel snob) so I enlisted the services of a recommended pet sitter in the area. Bad idea. When he came over to meet the dogs, my first red flag was that my girl was terrified of him, and he did nothing to change that. But I was desperate, and it was only for a few days, so I hired the sitter. He assured me that he stayed around 30 minutes each visit so the dogs could be outside for fresh air and exercise. I told him we had security cameras and that I could check on the dogs (and him) any time. Even with that knowledge, the longest time he ever spent at my house was 8 minutes, which included letting the dogs out, meal prep, feeding and clean-up. Yes, eight minutes. For $35 each visit. The dogs survived but I was a train wreck worrying about them.
Regardless of the circumstances, the needs of your dogs or the options available to you, each dog owner needs to have a plan in place for the expected and unexpected times when the dogs just can’t come along. It’s a tough call (and probably more stressful for dog owners than for dogs!), but a little research and time investigating those options will put you and your dogs at ease when the time comes.
Author’s note: To be honest, my Tibetan Terriers are convinced that I bought an RV just so they could come along . . . and I’m certain they are right!!
Janet Krynzel
Tibetan Terrier Club of America
www.ttca-online.org
September, 2025
Puppy Fever
Let me start with a full confession- I am in my early 70s and I recently had a bad case of “puppy fever”. Any dog lover of any breed can tell you that this fever hits without warning and all logic totally and unapologetically disappears when those little puppy eyes look deep into your soul and say “take me home”! And recently I came within a signature of getting a gorgeous Tibetan Terrier puppy, but my “voice of reason” (aka my husband) stopped me in my tracks and got me thinking about something that had never been an issue before- my age. I have been blessed to be owned by 12 Tibetan Terriers over the past 30+ years- most were puppies, some older adults- and not once did I hesitate to bring any of them into my life because of my age. We all know there are no guarantees that any of us will live long, healthy lives, but the thought of any of my dogs outliving me never crossed my mind . . . until now. But I sure wanted that puppy! I currently have two TTs, ages 8 and 11, so enough time has passed that I have totally forgotten how much energy goes into having a puppy! I know fully well that Tibetan Terriers often live well into their teens, so if I did the math today, that would put me in my late 80s (assuming I survived the puppyhood!). All this got me thinking about my responsibilities as a dog owner and how a breeder, who does not know anything about me, might react to an application from someone in their seventies. Age alone cannot be a valid reason to refuse to sell a dog to an individual but concerns about a person’s ability to care for the animal throughout its life can be legitimate reason for denial. I asked for feedback on a Tibetan Terrier Facebook group and got some fairly consistent answers. Age, for most who responded, was not as much of a concern as were the lifestyle and health of the individual applicant, experience with the breed, and having a documented plan in place if the owner was no longer able to care for the dog. All that made perfect sense, but I am still conflicted about the wisdom of getting a puppy in my later years because it is the later years of the dog’s life that worries me the most. Right now, I am fortunate to be active and healthy, and my life revolves around my dogs, but there are certainly no guarantees (at any age) that will continue as I celebrate each birthday. I decided (with my husband’s encouragement) that I had forgotten about how much work a puppy can be, and that was enough to convince me to say no to that little bundle of adorableness that I (still) wanted to take home.
Each of us, old or young, comes to the table with different circumstances and stories, and I know there are wonderful people out there who are “up in age” who would give a puppy the perfect home, and who would benefit greatly from that relationship. Getting a dog at any age should always be a conversation each potential buyer should have with themselves and with the breeder. To this day, I still (kind of) wish I had said yes to that puppy, but I know he is spoiled rotten and living his best life with his new family, and I take comfort in knowing that I made the best decision for both of us. I still see my future with a TT or two in it, so when the time comes to look for another companion, I will seek out a senior Tibetan Terrier in need. That will be the perfect cure* (if there is one!) for my ongoing “puppy fever”!!
Janet Krynzel
tibterrsrule@aol.com
Tibetan Terrier Club of America http://www.ttclubofamerica.org