Recommendations for dog boarding/sitting?

[teko.livejournal.com]

I'm looking for any recommendations of places to board my dog during an upcoming weeklong trip. There was a post here from January asking the same thing, but of the two places recommended, one (Paws Here) is very expensive and the other (dogzzarecool.com) doesn't seem to be answering emails or calls.

Comments

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

My family's been taking our dogs to Brookline Animal Hospital (http://www.vcahospitals.com/brookline/services.html) for boarding and grooming, as well as medical care, for almost twenty years. BAH is kind of expensive, and their reviews on Yelp (http://www.yelp.com/biz/vca-brookline-animal-hospital-brookline) are mixed re: medical care, but they have taken fantastic care of my family's dogs. I visited our current dog while she was staying there, and they let me peek into the grooming room and the rest of the spaces--super clean and well-maintained, lots of happy-looking dogs. :)

[teko.livejournal.com]

How expensive is kind of expensive, as a ballpark? Their site doesn't list any rates.

[mderidder.livejournal.com]

Patti Zackular has hiked and boarded our dog for years. She charges $35 for a night during which she takes the dog to her house and typically will take him/her for at least one hike (she will take the dog with her during the day when she picks up other dogs for 3-4 hour hikes). No cages/crates.

Day hikes are $20 and the dog will be out of the house for 3+ hours unless the weather is bad. She picks up and drops off.

Her number is 781-266-6509

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

My dad says that for a dog the same size as our dog, it's about $34 a night. He said they'll knock off one night's charges if you get the dog groomed during their stay, but he hasn't yet answered my question about how much they charge for the grooming under that circumstance. I kind of doubt it's free, unless it's an incentive they throw in to make sure they're only boarding clean dogs. :)

(for size comparison, our dog is about the size of the Obamas' dog (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/04/bo-portuguese-water-dog-obama-first-dog.html) or a teeny bit larger. (These photos are of a 6-month-old PWD puppy; parents' dog is a full-grown schnauzer-poodle mix frequently mistaken for a PWD.)

Paws Club

[blalor.livejournal.com]

I've been using Paws Club in Stoneham (pawsclub.com) for about a year. It's a cage-free place that requires you take the dog(s) in for a half-day of daycare before boarding them overnight. They're not very good at returning calls, so I always make sure to call them during their normal pickup/dropoff hours (on the website). Now that they've been a couple of times, my pups go into the common area pretty willingly. From the website, their 1-dog rate is $40/night, but they do charge a pro-rated (half-day?) fee if you don't pick up in the morning.

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

Hun, if all else fails, my Aunt boards dogs. She's out in western Mass. (This is Anakin BTW.)

dogzzarecool!

[fefie.livejournal.com]

Somerville's dogzzarecool doggie care is very much around! (I just checked, as i'm one of those who recommended her way back.)

dogzzarecool@yahoo.com

Re: dogzzarecool!

[teko.livejournal.com]

Hey thanks! The contact info on her website is way out of date, apparently.

If you're okay with it...

[tequilamckngbrd.livejournal.com]

I'm looking after my friend's dog from tonight until the 6th. Depending on your dogs needs, my girlfriend and I can take care of it, if you feel okay with that. I've had many dogs since I was a kid, and our last dog passed away earlier this March from cancer (a boxer).

We'll usually take the dogs out for a walk at least 5 times a day (twice in the morning, 3 times in the late afternoon and at night), to the dog park or just out running off leash at an empty field at least once every other day, and free roam around the house.

My girlfriend played rugby, and a lot of rugby players have dogs that we trade dogsitting days when players are away, as well as two of my friends that have dogs for when they go on trips.

Only issue is we will be away from the house at least 6 hours for work (sometimes I can work from home, and I usually have a flexible schedule).

[she-of-emeralds.livejournal.com]

Have you checked out any of the veterinarians in the area? I've known vets who boarded cats/dogs/whatevers.