I needed someone to watch my Irish Setter, Scout, and our cocker/blue heeler puppy, Boomer, while…read morewe were out of town for a few days.
Before we entrusted The Dog House with our dogs, we first came and checked the place out. They have 4 main indoor dog areas. One for large breed dogs, one for medium, one for puppies, and one for senior dogs (they may also have an area for small breeds? I know they take dogs of all sizes). They have separate stall kennels for night time as well as crates if your dog is a jumper (ie: would jump over the stall wall). They also have a grassy outdoor area for the dogs to run around outside (with real grass, not fake turf that can be found other places).
The indoor areas are mostly cement floor and cinder block walls with a wooden gate for going in and out. The senior dog area is the exception. Catering to older dogs who would rather be comfortable and sleep, more than play, they have dog beds and soft, comfy couches for them to lounge on.
They arranged for us to bring the dogs for a half a day, so they could test them in the sleeping areas (decide if the stall or crate would be better), and see which area would be best for them during daytime social hours. They don't charge for this and I love that they place dogs individually, based on personality and temperament, not merely size.
For example, Scout (our Irish Setter), is large. She is by all accounts a large breed dog. However, her temperament is super mild and she does't really have an alpha bone in her body (I've seen her go belly up submissive for small poodles). They opted to put her in with the medium dogs, which was awesome as it kept her with Boomer, who is her very best friend, and allowed her to play with dogs who are a little more her style when it comes to romping.
The dogs play as much as they're up for all day indoors and every hour or so outside. Their prices are reasonable (given the level of care) and the dogs are always supervised during play. At night, they only have to go 6 or so hours before someone is there to let them out in the morning (mine go longer at home!).
We decided to have them stay. They cared for them for 4 nights and we couldn't be happier. Our dogs came home happy, healthy, and exhausted from all the play.
I will definitely use them any other time we are needing overnight care. I also will likely partake in their daytime daycare on occasions when I know, due to our schedules, that our dogs won't get much exercise/play time.
Get to it!
