If you're a new dog owner, is it safe to dog board anymore?
Why meet-and-greets and dog walks are important for dog caregivers
I crack up telling the story of how I met and adopted Junee every single time someone asks. Then known as “Ducky,” this black dog — whose breed is still not clear but dog breed apps consistently confirm she is a Hound although her face looks more like a Dachshund — walked up to me, sniffed around my ankles, walked a few feet away, turned her back to me and pooped. In the movies, the dogs run up to you, sit in your lap, make a sad face or puppy dog eyes. “Ducky” had more of an “adopt me or leave me be” attitude, and I thought this was hysterical.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I prioritize featuring intriguing products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and Black-owned businesses. All five of my Substack publications include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a VERIFIED Black-owned business.
A tiny part of me was in panic mode, wondering how much she’d ruin my laminate floors before she was crate trained. But personality wise, we vibed.
As a dog caregiver on Wag! and Rover, I assumed dog boarding was permanently off the table. I wasn’t losing any sleep about it considering I adopted this dog in the middle of the worldwide pandemic when pet owners were involuntarily working from home anyway. Who needs a dog caregiver when you’re already around to walk your own dog?
Additionally, I did not want to bring a strange dog into my home while being busy enough with a hyperactive puppy. For a full year, I stopped dog walking, dog sitting and dog boarding, and I focused on Junee. But I missed some of my favorite dogs that I’d grown used to walking. After one year, I re-opened both dog caregiver accounts.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links.
Coincidentally, the two dogs I wanted to walk most were no longer active on either app, a third one (a Pit mix) required dog sitting two other Labs, and a fourth dog only needed a Christmas dog sitting. (My mother loved that last dog and still talks about him on occasion. She bought him a Christmas dog toy that the owners and dog still have.)
Regardless, dog boarding and dog sitting was way too much work after I had to keep an eye on my own puppy. I believe one couple moved away during COVID-19 because I only saw them one time (from a six-foot distance and yelling out of my window) and never saw that dog peering out of their apartment window anymore.
I shrugged and wondered if I would find new favorite dogs. But dog sitting and dog boarding were clearly off the table. That is, until my mother finally talked my father into agreeing to take care of a third dog. Clearly, I needed my own dog to befriend their dog. Before I knew it, I was dog sitting two dogs when they went on vacation and always around both dogs during the holidays (and random family gatherings).
Still, I wondered how other dog owners could board unfamiliar dogs and why their own dogs weren’t protective. Then again, some of the dogs I met at dog parks got along with everybody, humans included. Then there were a few who made me want to walk the owner and the dog to the gate, and hope they never returned.