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Any recommendations on petsitters in Dallas?

rhiannasmom

Well-known member
I've got a family vacation planned for late September to Disney World :-D and need to find someone to take care of Amber for the week. I was wondering if any of the board members that live around Dallas, TX have recommendations on people that take care of dogs in their home. I'll use a kennel as a last resort, but would prefer for her to stay in someone's home while we're away.
Thanks!
Melissa
 
Sorry - I don't live in Texas, but I found an amazing pet-sitter to come stay in my home through my vet. I have to preface this by saying that I like my vet and trust them and I adore the techs and the office staff. They have been there for years. So I trusted their opinion. I had the person come over to take my dogs for walks first to get them used to her and she has worked out like a charm. I alternate between her and a friend of mine who does in-home boarding.

Another idea is to look in the advertising section of Tails (http://www.tailsinc.com/). I like the magazine and they always seem to have pet-home-sitters listed. Just a thought. If you go to the home page, they will ask for your location. I didn't check to see if it was distributed in Dallas though. Good luck.
 
I checked out tailsinc.com but they don't cover Dallas. :( I didn't think about asking the vet, though.... that's some good advice!
 
Hi again. I just called my petsitter service, and she doesn't go to The Colony. However, she did recommend asking your vet. She said many times someone in the office may do petsitting on the side or they may know someone who does....good luck. I really like leaving my dogs in their own home.
 
Thanks for asking! The only places I've been able to find so far are charging $25 per day and have her in a kennel most of the time. :eek:
Can you imagine?! That sounds more like doggie prison, to me!
 
I would check with your vet, I know several of the front desk people at my vet pet sit.

Otherwise, I leave my babies at Barking Hound Village (www.barkinghoundvillage.com) and they love it. They just moved to a new location and they let the dogs play (supervised) throughout the day. I really trust and enjoy the people there.
 
Looked at petsit.com (great resource!) and found a few numbers to call.

Also got in touch today with a woman in my hometown who keeps dogs in her home. She sounds like exactly what we're looking for, except she charges $25 per day! I think I need to change professions... :dgwlk:
 
$25 a day doesn't seem too bad to me, but that's because the "elite" boarding kennel in our town charges $42 a day at last count! (And I've heard some not-so-great things about them lately.)

The place I board Daisy charges $22 a day and I felt lucky to find that. It's not perfect by any means, but I use them because I feel safe with Daisy there. The lady who runs it used to be a vet tech and is very sweet. She also does rescue work and is a failed foster -- always a good sign! ;)

I always have the fear that if Daisy stays with someone at their house, especially someone without a fenced yard, that she will dash out the door and be lost or hit by a car. We had a pet sitter stay with her at our house for 2 weeks (separate weeks) 2 summers ago and Daisy went on an eating strike. We don't really know if it was because of some sort of digestive infection or what, but I think the girl was gone A LOT during the day and evenings and Daisy got very depressed. She eats just fine at the boarding kennel, so I take that as a good sign. Plus, she gets some much-needed socialization with other dogs. The kennel owner swears that the dogs are very happy there because of the structured routine. They get to go out on walks, potty time, or playtime with other dogs 4 times a day.

We just got back from a 2 week vacation a couple of days ago. It killed me to leave her at a boarding kennel for that long, but that was part of my agreement with my husband when we got Daisy -- that we wouldn't let having a dog stop us from traveling, which is very important to him. Daisy was dirty, stinky, and matted when I picked her up, but she seemed happy and healthy. I called the lady every other day to check on our sweet Daisy Dog while we were gone, which I'm sure drove her crazy. She was probably very happy to see me arrive to pick Daisy up!
 
Thanks for the feedback! I'm at least glad to see that these rates are consistent. I still can't believe how much boarding costs! This will be the first time we've left her with someone and I just want to make sure she has human contact and is well cared for. I see all these websites that offer 'love and hugs' but when you ask how much human interaction the dogs get, the usual response is 10 to 15 minutes a day. :mad: And don't get me started on the boarding places who have flat panel TV's playing dog-friendly movies for the guests. How many dogs out there really enjoy watching TV?! Ugh!
 
25.00 a day is not out of line. I am sure I pay at least that much. It is a big expense anyway you look at it. I will be facing the same thing in November when we go to Disneyworld. Except I have TWO dogs to consider. Good Luck. I hope you find someone you are comfortable with.
 
I know what you mean about the TV thing! That is totally for the clients, IMO, and probably means nothing to the dogs. That's the kind of place the $42 a night kennel in our town is. If you want a "jungle suite" with a TV in each kennel and the ability to bring your own beds or whatever you want, it's probably over $50 a night. But in some ways those private kennels look even worse because they are so isolated. I wonder how often they see people. The other problem I had with them was that they said that if you pay for the doggy "daycamp" on top of the basic boarding cost, then they get to go out and play with other dogs about every hour and a half. I don't believe it. I've toured the place twice and both times they tell me that they take the small dog group out for 45 minutes to play and then put them back in their kennels and bring out the large dogs for 45 minutes and then keep rotating all day long. But every time I've been there there's been neither group out to play, which makes me wonder...

We left Daisy there for 2 nights one time and when I called to check on her, the lady said she was doing fine and "like most Cavaliers, she is a little shy around other dogs and was just hanging out with the "guide" (human) and wanting to be held." Nothing could sound more unlike Daisy and I said something like that to her and she said "Well, there were several Jack Russells here today and they played a little rough for her." Needless to say, I was upset the rest of the day!
 
Here is another option for you - have you found the CavalierSitters Yahoo Group?

You should be able to find it easily in Yahoo Groups and that list exists pretty much for swapping Cavalier Sitting services. So for example, another local cavalier owner would watch your dogs while your on vacation, and potentially you could watch theirs as well.

Not sure if you are interested in that kind of arrangement, and obviously you want to interview anyone you leave your dogs with and make sure you are comfortable that they will be sufficiently taken care of, protected, etc. while you're away. Personally I'm pretty picky about who I'd leave my dogs with but I do leave my dogs with a friend who has Cavaliers and they have a blast while I'm away. Cavaliers seem to love hanging out with other Cavaliers, so perhaps it could work out for you.
 
You should think about going to the DFW Cavalier Social on July 25th at Fireside Pies in Grapevine. I bet a lot of the Cavalier owners there will have many recommendations on petsitters in the area. Plus, Kingston and I will be there! ;-)
 
If you can PM me with the dates and such I'm pretty sure I would be able to watch her. :-D

PS My rates are 10$ a day plus food costs, but that is only if you don't have your own.
 
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I wish I knew someone to recommend but I live in the keller area. As above posted there will be several of our members at the social on July 25th that live in the Dallas area and I am sure you would be able to get some recommendations. This event is open to anyone interested in attending so you need not be a member to attend.

I can recommend someone in Hurst but I believe it would be too far for you..
~j
 
We live in Flower Mound and have been asking around for places to board our girls. Someone recommended this place to us recently. They are located in Rockwall. http://www.petbankservices.com/94.html?sm=28026

The dogs are allowed to roam freely during the day, sleep on the furniture, play, etc... I'm not sure we will use them but it looks like a nice home.
 
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