DOG VACAY

[a.k.a. Rodney]

As a follow up on my investigating possibilities for a dog sitter for DerbyDoodle I have been looking at this site DOG VACAY ..anyone had any experiences with it or with peeps from it??
Thanks in advance

[Sharon & Monty]

I recently stumbled upon this option too.  I have not used it, but it surely seems like a viable option, especially when you can google them, their neighborhood, drive over and meet the people etc. 

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

 I looked into this last month...did not get a quick response from the woman I tried to contact.  I called the web site and they took care of it right away (seems my contact e-mail went to her spam folder and this was fixed).  The website sent a follow up about it to me with a $15 credit.  We ended up not needing it but I was pleased that we can contact the people directly, that they let you  visit the site and that the website stays on top of the people working through them and their reputation.

[Deborah Brown]

We've had a really good experience with dogvacay.com.  There are quite a few options in the Chicago area but we searched for someone with specific criteria:  a large house and yard to accommodate my three doodles, good reviews and experience with "special needs" dogs.  One of my dogs is a tennis ball nut with fear aggression issues and another was a 6 month puppy at the time.  The people we found are landscapers, have a large beautiful yard and work at home much of the time.

We met them first for an hour or so and they really seem to understand my dogs and enjoy them.  Then we did a one night trial run to make sure they would be OK.  Well, my dogs absolutely love these people.  I'm pretty sure Wayne didn't want to come home after the last visit!

Of course, dogvacay is only as good as the hosts.  Talk to the people, do a meet and greet and make sure you are happy with the situation.  Trust your gut feeling! 

[a.k.a. Rodney]

Good News Alert!! Through a good friend in Fl. a woman was recommended to me that has been taking care of dogs for 18 yrs. my friend said to me...why are you researching this topic,when I have best possible solution?
She called today & "had me" practically at " Hello" .
Super Sweetie...came right through loud & clear & she hopes she can stick to the "No treat rule" and having DerbyDoodle sleep in her crate. She says she's a softie. But she sounded so loving & caring....I won't stress about 4 days of possibly a little spoiling. I did speak to someone from Dog VACAY who sounded almost as good, but the woman today came with stealth recs from Peeps I know..