Owning a pet provides you with the opportunity to experience love and affection from an animal, but pet ownership comes with some significant responsibilities as well. Finding a safe place for your pet to stay while you are traveling for business or pleasure can be challenging.

You want to ensure that your pet is looked after properly, but you also want to ensure that your pet has an enjoyable experience as well. Here are three tips that you can use to reduce your furry friend's stress levels and improve your pet boarding experience in the future.

1. Bring along something from home.

Your pet can easily become overwhelmed when staying in a boarding facility. The presence of other animals and the newness of his or her surroundings can stress your pet out, causing him or her to feel anxious while you are away.

You can reduce your pet's anxiety by bringing along something that smells like home to leave in your pet's kennel at the boarding facility. A favorite bed or blanket or a shirt that smells like you can help your pet feel more at home while in a foreign place, allowing your pet to relax and experience less stress and anxiety while being boarded.

2. Provide your pet with a chew toy.

Even if your pet doesn't normally play with chew toys at home, providing a new chew toy for him or her to keep close while in a kennel can help reduce the stress associated with being boarded. When an animal chews on something, neurotransmitters that contribute to feelings of relaxation and well-being are released in the brain.

Many pets begin chewing when they become stressed in an effort to help calm themselves down. When you provide your pet with a new chew toy, he or she will be able to take advantage of the stress-relieving benefits that chewing can provide while being boarded away from home.

3. Keep your pet's diet consistent.

It's important that you provide strict instructions regarding the feeding of your pet when boarding him or her while you are away. When an animal experiences stress, gastrointestinal problems can follow.

By ensuring that your pet receives the food that he or she is used to at the same times you would feed him or her at home, dietary changes will not contribute to gastrointestinal issues that could cause your pet discomfort while you are away.

Being able to make your pet's boarding experience more positive will help ensure that both you and your pet enjoy your next vacation or business trip.