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Doggy Day Care vs. Dog Sitting Services

March 11, 2019 by Mary Telesz

a dog owner holding her dog while deciding between doggy day care or dog sitting services while she is out of townAs a busy dog owner, it can be a struggle to leave your dog home alone for long stretches of time. Whether you have long days at the office or find yourself away from home for lengthy periods of time, your dog needs assistance to make sure that all of their needs are met. As a general rule, your dog should not be left home alone for more than six hours at a time. If they are left home alone for a long time, they may have accidents inside or suffer from stress and anxiety without you around.

To help avoid these situations, you can either hire dog sitting services or take your dog to doggy day care. Both options have pros and cons, but it is important to decide which option is best based on the needs and personality of your dog. Dogs have different temperaments and personalities, so what might work for one dog, might not work for yours. Some dogs will prefer being at home, while others will enjoy being in a more energetic environment around other dogs at day care. Carefully weight both options so that you can make a decision that works for both you and your dog.

Benefits of Dog Sitting Services

One of the best things about choosing dog sitting services is that it can be completely personalized and customized to fit the precise needs of your dog. From administering medication to taking long walks or having one-on-one play time, you can have a dog sitter who is able to develop a unique routine with your dog. Dogs also tend to be less stressed when they are in the comfort of their own home, so you don’t have to feel guilty giving them any unnecessary anxiety. You know your dog is guaranteed to get the personal attention they desire because while your dog sitter is at your house, they only have to focus on taking care of your dog.

Utilizing dog sitting services can also be a major time-saver for you. Your dog sitter will come to your house so you don’t have to worry about taking the extra time in the morning to take your dog to doggy day care. Depending on what you want your dog sitter to do, dog sitting services are likely much cheaper than doggy day care.

Drawbacks of Dog Sitting Services

With dog sitting services, you’re allowing someone else into your home and trusting them with a key. However, if you work with a trusted dog sitting company with positive reviews, you should be able to have complete trust in your dog sitter. One other minor drawback of dog sitting services is that if you have a high-energy dog, your dog is still going to be home alone for a majority of the time. They may not be able to get enough exercise and attention when your dog sitter is not at your home when they are not scheduled to pay a visit.

Benefits of Doggy Day Care

a doggy day care in Northern Virginia that is watching multiple dogs at onceSome dogs thrive on playing with other dogs and love to do so any chance they can get. If your dog has this kind of hyper personality staying at a doggy day care center may be a good option. Depending on which day care center you choose, they may have an open area where a large portion of your dog’s day is spent in the company of other dogs. Another benefit of choosing a doggy day care is that your dog will become accustomed to the routine of the day care center. This can help to relieve their separation anxiety and boredom that they might experience being home alone.

Drawbacks of Doggy Day Care

It may become a burden on you to have to bring your dog to day care every day. Not only can this become time consuming for you, but the actual transportation itself can be another potential stressor for your dog. Doggy day care centers usually aren’t super flexible either, they tend to have specific drop-off and pick-up times that you have to comply with.

Doggy day care presents a number of cons because it means that your dog is going to be around other dogs. There’s no way for you to control the other dogs and the interactions they may have with your dog. Because there are other dogs present, you also can’t ensure that your dog is getting the personal attention that they deserve. You also have no control over who works at the day care center, which means you can’t control who is interacting with your dog.

Choosing Dog Sitting Services

While doggy day care can seem like a fun and exciting place to send your dog, more often than not, it’s cheaper, easier, and more comfortable for your dog to hire dog sitting services. They get to stay in the comfort of their own home and develop a personal relationship with their sitter who is well- trained in taking care of dogs. If you are going away on travel or have less time than you would like to care for your dog, contact Paw Pals for more information about their dog sitting services and to schedule an initial meeting with a dog sitter.

Filed Under: Pet Care, Pet Sitting

Contact Paw Pals for More Information

Paw Pals specializes in professional dog walking, dog sitting, and pet sitting services. One of our reliable, adult staff members will keep your pet safe, while providing your pet the love and care they need when you are away. Contact us to learn more!

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Office Location

Paw Pals Pet Sitting, LLC
14001-C Saint Germain Drive #213
Centreville, VA 20121
(703) 345-1695

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Office Hours

Monday
9am - 5pm
Tuesday
9am - 5pm
Wednesday
9am - 5pm
Thursday
9am - 5pm
Friday
9am - 5pm
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
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Areas Served

Centreville – 20120, 20121
Chantilly – 20151
Clifton – 20124
Fairfax – 22030, 22033
Fairfax Station – 22039
Manassas – 20109, 20110, 20111
Reston – 20191, 20190

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4.9
Paw Pals Pet Sitting
Paw Pals Pet Sitting
4.9
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith
21:22 03 Oct 21
I never worry when Mary and team take care of my dog!
Michæl Silva
Michæl Silva
21:38 01 Jul 22
Mary at Paw Pals Pet Sitting is the greatest! She has helped me train my pooch Chico how play nice with other dogs and for that I am extremely grateful! A+A+A+A+A+A
Kwi Kim
Kwi Kim
22:37 17 Jun 22
I hired Paw Pals based on my sister’s referral. Meet & greet was very thorough and detailed. I was surprised that my finicky cat came to check the sitter out. Subsequently, a sitter watched my cat over several separate visits, and it was clear through the visit reports that my cat loved the sitter. All the visits were completed having followed my directions & with professionalism.I would highly recommend Paw Pals to anyone who’s looking for a dependable, personable, & professional sitter.
Joseph Walter
Joseph Walter
19:55 13 Jun 22
Paw Pals provided a large number of photos of our pets along with a personalized message on how our pets were doing with every single visit. I would highly recommend using Paw Pals, we'll be continuing to use them whenever we go on vacation.
Ashley Manning
Ashley Manning
09:50 11 Jun 22
Highly recommend as pet sitters!Initially, a sitter from the company will visit the house to meet the pets and learn where everything is. Tatiana took careful notes and we got her some spare keys.While we are away, Paw Pals sends sitters to come and look after our boys. They feed them, scoop litter, bring in mail and packages, and they will even manage trash, recycling, blinds and lights so that everything is comfortable for our kitties. Each time they check in, we receive an email message with updates and pictures, which is so comforting when we are on the road.Also, if you don’t let Paw Pals know when you are home, they assume something has happened and will continue to care for your babies. If something were to happen, I know they would be okay.Five stars for Paw Pals!
Brian Wood
Brian Wood
04:08 22 May 22
We have used Paw Pals for a number of years now and would highly recommend to anyone looking for help with their pets. Great communication from owner Mary and flexibility to make adjustments in schedule as life changes over time. Have had a consistent set of walkers who have gotten to know our pup and the various walking routes around our neighborhood quite well.
Lesley Bush
Lesley Bush
13:58 18 Mar 22
We can't rave enough about Paw Pals. They took care of our 18 year old Cat and 20 year old Chinchilla while we were away and when our flight got cancelled, they were so accommodating and available last minute for an extra day. We worked with Jen to coordinate visits from Miko and Danny. I loved the pictures and updates on how our Lil geriatric guys were doing. Thanks a million, Paw Pals!! Our special pets were so well cared for.
Sebastian Barnes
Sebastian Barnes
01:06 17 Jan 22
I have used Paw Pals for several trips over the last few months, and they have been phenomenal every time! Mary is extremely kind and responsive, and she makes sure that my cat and dog have the care that they need every time I am out of town. All of the pet sitters that I've had have been incredibly sweet to my pets, and they treat them like their own! Will gladly continue using Paw Pals every time I need a sitter.
Julie Shildt
Julie Shildt
17:45 14 Nov 21
It has been a pleasure doing business with paw pals. We have used this company for several trips we have taken over the past 6 months. They have been wonderful caretakers for our 2 cats. Anytime there is ever a question they don't hesitate to give us a call and they leave the best notes and pictures in the emailed report of each visit. We are so glad have found such a great company.
Andrea Hall
Andrea Hall
22:45 03 Oct 20
I wasn't sure about hiring a new doggie walker service... after all they are our kiddos... my babies were in great hands and I felt relaxed having them in their care. Thank you for everything!
Katie McCune
Katie McCune
19:19 15 Jul 21
I honestly cannot recommend Mary and her whole crew enough! We started using Mary originally about 7 years ago to stop by occasionally when our Aussie Lana was younger. Over the next couple years Lana stayed with Mary and her family for a couple weekends when we went on vacation. When we moved to our new house in Manassas, Lana stayed with Sam, who lives in Manassas, overnight for moving day, and did great. Right before the pandemic, we adopted our second Aussie, Goose, and Mary recommended a fantastic trainer for him.We now have weekly walks for the dogs, and they love all of their walkers! Trevor, Paul, Hazel, Sofie, and probably a couple others have helped Goose get used to more people, and have helped my husband and me when our schedules are crazy.Paw Pals is our go-to for any help with our dogs, so I highly recommend them!
Alexandra Hill
Alexandra Hill
22:43 23 May 21
I was a nervous mommy to leave my cats with a sitter service for the first time. Paw Pals went above and beyond to care for my cats and ease a nervous mommy. I already made a reservation to use them again!
Cindy Welgoss
Cindy Welgoss
13:12 27 Nov 20
We have been using Paw Pals for several years, and through a variety of pets that we have loved. Mary and her team have always been *exceptional* in every way. They are professional, courteous, and truly love our fur family! Mary herself is an organized and stellar administrator of her pet care business, keeping detailed records of our pet’s needs, scheduled pet visits, payments, and balance due easy to keep track of as the pet owner. The pet caretaking team is reliable and trustworthy. When our dogs see any of their Paw Pal friends, they get SO excited to see them! Follow up comments are left via text to keep the pet owner informed of the visit and how the pets are faring. Paw Pals has allowed our family the peace of mind to leave our pets at home, for work, weekend getaways and longer times away when necessary, where they are the most comfortable and familiar. We are grateful to Mary and her team for giving us the ability to enjoy pet ownership without feeling tied down. The responsibility of having pets comes with the need to keep them safe and comfortable at all times, and Mary and her team affords us this when our family has to be away.
Dr Tammy Cashion
Dr Tammy Cashion
21:11 12 Mar 19
We have used Paw pals pet sitting on multiple occasions for our bunnies while we are away. Many pet sitters are not interested in small pets however; Mary and her team, are amazing and we trust her implicitly! We are very happy with the outstanding service we have received from her team including texts and photos of our pets when we are out of town. They always go the extra mile and we highly recommend them!
Kristin Conrad
Kristin Conrad
16:00 16 Nov 19
We are so grateful we found Mary and her team at Paw Pals. They are exceptionally responsive, amazingly organized and detail-oriented.We have such peace of mind when we travel knowing our home and pets are so well cared for. Paw Pals is the best pet sitting service we’ve used, and we’re so happy we found them.
Katie Russell
Katie Russell
15:01 17 May 20
Paw Pals is fantastic! I have had a great experience with Mary! Compassionate, professional, responsive, and prompt! Thank you!
Phillip Evans
Phillip Evans
14:38 11 Jul 20
When we adopted our new dog in January, Paw Pals agreed to walk her and give her some outside time so she wasn't in the crate all day. She loved her dog walker and you could see her excitement every time the walker showed up. We moved out of the area but would recommend Paw Pals to anyone needing someone to care for their pets.
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