Laurie

Hi there dog owners! My name is Laurie. I live with my husband, Andrew, our youngest daughter Amy (17), and our gorgeous ball of canine fluff, Jasper, a golden retriever chow chow cross. We are happy to offer overnight boarding to dogs needing a safe, fun place to stay as well as dog walking from your home.

My husband and I work largely from home so during their stay, your dogs will be well supervised. Under our care, your dog will get daily walks (a long one in the morning, 1 hour plus, and a short one in the evening of about 20-30 minutes, adjusted to the size and age of your dog of course) and plenty of play in our large urban backyard. We have found our own dog to be quite empathetic with other dogs. If your dog is older or more reserved, Jasper will respect that, but if your dog loves a good roll around, she’ll be right in there too. Over my life, I have had plenty of experience with pets (dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, mice, chickens, a guinea pig, lots of fish, a tortoise, and a budgie) so I am confident with most care requests you might have (e.g., administering medications, brushing, clipping nails, keeping up on your training schedule). I’m a believer that dogs should have time in the day to just be themselves. Here, they’ll get lots of opportunities for a good sniff-fest, mud and water play, laying in the sun, digging in the sandpit, and lots of happy sleeping through the afternoon. If you don’t like your dog to do any of these activities (I know. Mud is a nightmare), then please let me know and I will drain the doggy pool for their stay or cover the sandpit.

We are happy to continue any training your dog is doing. Just let us know what skills you’re training, the words you use, the hand signals you prefer (if any), and we will get the job done.

All dogs in our care must be crate trained for overnight sleeping please. They will never be alone for the night as their crate will be alongside our own dog’s crate just outside our room. We like to crate dogs overnight because we can ensure they don’t wander and can thus ensure their safety. Plus, we find the dogs rest better in the safety of their crate.

We also ask that your dog be vaccinated. Having seen the abbreviated version of kennel cough in a vaccinated dog (poor Jasper), I have no desire to see it full-blown in an unvaccinated dog.

We can take small, medium, and large breed dogs. Small breeds beware, Jasper is a medium breed dog and while respectful of her smaller breed cousins, if your small breed dog suffers from anxiety or reactivity around larger dogs, we might not be the happiest placement for your lovely small dog though we are willing to have a daytime trial if you would like to go that route.

Ngā mihi

Noho ora mai