Pets are expensive...this is just one of the expenses.

I put an add on Craigslist several years ago for someone in my neighborhood willing to swap dog sitting services throughout the year. I made a connection with a guy and his dog who lived a few blocks away. We would watch each other's dogs when we went out of town. It was a great relationship until he moved away. You could probably find something like that on NextDoor.

Now that Rover.com exists, I offer dog boarding and daycare through the site and also use it for my own dog when I go out of town. I basically use my Rover earnings to pay for services, so it's kind of like swapping, too.

Anonymous wrote:Local place wants $58 a night. Boarding became expensive when it was no longer acceptable to lock dogs into kennels for the duration of their stay. Now they are out, mingling, playing, and sleeping with the staff. Facilities to accommodate that (and the increased liability) cost money.

My bigger questions is, when did it become impossible to find neighbors willing to watch a dog over the weekend? Even my closer friends demand payment. Are there any social clubs in DC where people agree to watch each others' pets as favors to be returned in kind?

My vet, and many other places leave at 7 or 9 or whatever. Until 7 am the next day..no monitoring. That isn't ok with me anymore. Had someone here, accidentally let dog out. Good ending, but it almost wasn't. I'll pay the big bucks for peace of mind.

$69 for overnight with people THERE and supervised play if you want it. Cameras.Vet on premises.

YEAH..two dogs are 130 a night. Thats ok with me.

Anonymous wrote:Local place wants $58 a night. Boarding became expensive when it was no longer acceptable to lock dogs into kennels for the duration of their stay. Now they are out, mingling, playing, and sleeping with the staff. Facilities to accommodate that (and the increased liability) cost money.

My bigger questions is, when did it become impossible to find neighbors willing to watch a dog over the weekend? Even my closer friends demand payment. Are there any social clubs in DC where people agree to watch each others' pets as favors to be returned in kind?

I would love to find this type of social club!

Local place wants $58 a night. Boarding became expensive when it was no longer acceptable to lock dogs into kennels for the duration of their stay. Now they are out, mingling, playing, and sleeping with the staff. Facilities to accommodate that (and the increased liability) cost money.

My bigger questions is, when did it become impossible to find neighbors willing to watch a dog over the weekend? Even my closer friends demand payment. Are there any social clubs in DC where people agree to watch each others' pets as favors to be returned in kind?

I pay $70/night but they do pickup and dropoff and my dog, who has severe separation anxiety in kenneling situations, loves it there. Free range.

I've found cheaper on Rover.com but it's a bit of a hassle to arrange IME.

You can pay a lot less for someone to stay at your house.
I have a coworker who stays at my house with 2 dogs for $30 a night. He still lives at home so its nice for him to have some space now and again.
Reach out and ask people if they know anyone who would be interested.

I board my dog at the vet's office (Columbia Pike Animal Hospital, if it matters) because he gets sick at the cage free / doggie daycare places every single time and I can't get myself to trust the Rover.com model (which I know I should just suck up and go for). It's $30 a night or something like that.

I'm so lucky. My awesome dog sitter is just $25/night.

You can find decent dog sitters on Rover.com for $45/night, either to have your dog go to their house or they come to you.

Everything is expensive here because everyone is paying the same cost of living here. Things got really expensive in the last 15 years.

We pay a $50 per night for a small dog in a home. It's more than Pet Shart, but at least we don't have to worry about poor conditions and care and disease.

OP here again: also, when did this stuff get so expensive?!?

The place I went to for years raised their price from about $45/night to $60. I’m looking for a place in Arlington / Alexandria / close-in Fairfax. Any recommendations?