Dana's Dog Care, near Manassas is great for dog boarding. She matches them with other dogs so they have a well-balanced playing partner, which makes a huge difference. We previously used a doggy daycare in Arlington, and it took a couple years for our dog to get over the damage that place did.

Where are you located. I have a wonderful
Per sitter I use in silver spring for my senior dog.

+1 They do all book up. I like to find a place that has grass and runs. Our local vet in McLean offers a transfer service. All you have to do is take the dog to them; they drive it out to the country where the dog has wonderful time. Much nicer than, say, Woofs! in Shirlington, which is all cinderblocks.

Anonymous wrote:I have had dogs my entire adult life and have never boarded. Try to get a pet sitter - you can check yelp for reviews. In NOVA, I like KSR PetCare and DogOn Fitness. Lots of good independent ones too. The person can stay in your house or do visits - your call. Often the same price as boarding. Less traumatic for everyone. Plus, the pet sitter will take in your mail, garbage cans, etc, usually for free. And water your tree at Christmas!

Book early for holidays and spring break - they are often booked. Teens work great too - they often have the time/desire to spend lots of time with your dog.

I have had dogs my entire adult life and have never boarded. Try to get a pet sitter - you can check yelp for reviews. In NOVA, I like KSR PetCare and DogOn Fitness. Lots of good independent ones too. The person can stay in your house or do visits - your call. Often the same price as boarding. Less traumatic for everyone. Plus, the pet sitter will take in your mail, garbage cans, etc, usually for free. And water your tree at Christmas!

I've done both home pet sitting and boarding. My dogs are typically in better shape (mentally) after boarding than staying at home. Perhaps it has to do with living in the city and all of the day-to-day foot traffic, but they are exhausted and neurotic even after an overnight when they stay home without full-time people.

My dog loved Wagtime, and likes Dogtopia of Rockville a lot. We moved too far away for Wagtime to be practical for anything but the longest trip.

We can recommend Paradise for Pets in Beltsville - its a dog place (i.e. it is noisy and it is set-up for dogs, not humans to find aesthetically pleasing), but they are in mini backyards during they day so they are TIRED (and not homesick) at night. Jonathan, the manager, is extremely tolerant of anxious emails asking how fluffy is doing.

My mother is a little more high maintenance than I am, and loves the Coventry School for Dogs and Their People in Columbia. You can combine dog daycare with kenneling so Fluffy will still be tired. This might be a better set-up for an anxious dog owner who is terrified of boarding

I agree on no kennels where the dogs are in crates and get one or two "walks" or potty breaks a day. THAT is cruel and would be a shock I think. I also agree it is worth a drive to the right kennel. You will enjoy vacation much more if you feel good about where the dog is.

I recommend Dogtopia of Manassas, they are great!

www.dogdaycare.com/manassas/

Good advice to research the kennel carefully. Read reviews on Yelp too.

We recently boarded our 6 YO rescue dog for the first time. The kennel required a 3 hour play date to determine admittance. Once admitted, we brought her back again for another few hours to get her used to the idea that we get her again and she's not being abandoned.

We had someone come stay in our house when we went away for a week. She was a part of a group of dogwalkers that also do pet sitting. She didn't charge any more than any of the kennels we looked into charged. She texted us every day with a picture of the pup and let us know how thing were going at home.

This group only works in DC, though. http://www.brighterdayscollective.com/

Anonymous wrote:The one suggestion that I have is to research kennels before you go. They are not all the same- we typically drive over an hour when we have to board our dog (we rarely board him, but occassionally the need arises) and we may be picky, but not all kennels are the same. Many will leave the dogs along from 5pm- morning and not even have a staff member on site. The one we go to has water for bigger dogs to play in, large grounds and is a 'camp-like' atmosphere.

I agree with this. Definitely research kennels carefully. I will not board my dog e.g. at any kennel that keeps the animals in crates (a lot of them do), or where the dogs are unattended at any time.

You could hire someone to stay in your house with the dog while you are gone. It is not cheap but it does provide peace of mind.

Another option is to create a network of friends with dogs who take each others' pets from time to time. I have three friends who are willing to take my dog sometimes, and the dog stays at their house, is walked, sleeps in her bed in their room, etc. I pay one of the friends (her teenage DD does a lot of the walks, etc. and is happy to earn the money) and the others refuse payment, so I make a donation to a rescue org in their names each time we use their services.

The one suggestion that I have is to research kennels before you go. They are not all the same- we typically drive over an hour when we have to board our dog (we rarely board him, but occassionally the need arises) and we may be picky, but not all kennels are the same. Many will leave the dogs along from 5pm- morning and not even have a staff member on site. The one we go to has water for bigger dogs to play in, large grounds and is a 'camp-like' atmosphere.

Is he unusually sensitive, as in he might not eat if he is scared or worried or depressed? But I think he'll be fine, they usually are. Don't worry too much and enjoy your trip.

Our dog is 1.5 and we've had him since he was 12 weeks old. This spring we will be taking a trip that will require us to board our dog for 1 week. We've never boarded him before or even left him for a night (he's come with us to the beach a few times and on weekend trips.) I am worried that this will be a huge shock to his system, to go from never being left to being boarded for 8 nights. Am I worryig unnecessarily- do dogs adjust okay? Or if I am right to worry about this, do you recommend I board him for a night or two before we go, so that he is a bit familiar with the kennel. I honestly don't want to take this trip because I feel so badly leaving our dog but I know I can't live that way ...