Barking mad dog boarding service

[Notonaschoolnight]

I want to find a more homely alternative to kennels as I'm worried the ewok won't like it so I've contacted the local franchise of this business as they've advised;

They come to my house and meet the ewok and if they're happy they register on the barking mad database at a cost of thirty pounds

They don't have your dog, they have host families which you just see pics of you don't get to visit the, see where they live.

The boarding cost are £30 pound transport cost and then £20/day, so if you're away 2 nights, the cost would be 3 days.

I'd love all your thoughts on this especially if any of you have used the service or something run in a similar way, as right now I'm really struggling with the idea of not meeting the people she will be staying with plus the one off fees for reg and transport seem unreasonably high.

On the other hand I suppose you don't meet the kennel staff either.

Oh is sitting there just saying "and now your understanding why I didn't want a dog" which is really helpful.

Really interested to see what you all think

[dazzlingdeborahrose]

We've used barking mad several times and they've always been great. The dogs went to the same host family until one fell ill and couldn't board anymore. When we needed to board my pil's dog who had quite complex medical issues, they boarded him with a host who had a nursing background who just wasn't phased by the medication regime. You tell them what you need and they accommodate as much as possible so they will have a host who doesn't have a dog of their own.
Bear in mind that it is a franchised business so there may be differences between areas. I'm in Northumberland.
They are expensive, there's no doubt about that. When we first started to use them they were pretty much the only option for dog boarding. Now there are a lot more options so definitely worth shopping around.

[AgathaF]

I looked into it a few years ago. Carers received £6 per day back then, which is a pittance for the hard work that should go into home boarding.

[Hoppinggreen]

Yes geek THEY know the boarders personally ( they claim) but you don’t
You don’t even know exactly where your dog is, I’m baffled as to how anyone would be comfortable with that
penn I’m pretty sure they do get paid as I looked into becoming a home boarder myself

[Pen1000]

The reason you do not meet the host who has your dog is because they do not get paid a penny. Most of them do it out of the goodness of their heart. If you met them you would want to make sure you paid them. They are very clever slave drivers

[geekone]

It’s a franchise so it it fully dependent on who runs the franchise as to the manner that their borders are handled. We use barking mad in Fife and they know all of the dog borders personally and they don’t just land them with any dogs.

Our pup has a ball we would use them again.

[pigsDOfly]

The whole point of doing home boarding in this way is, surely, so that your dog is in a one to one situation in someone's home, someone you feel comfortable leaving your dog with.

I have a lovely kennels that I'm happy with but I have looked into home boarding just out of interest and all of them, even the agency type ones, insisted on a meeting between owner and dog and the person who would be looking after the dog.

There's no way I'd be handing over my dog to someone to have in their home who I'd never met.

You might not meet all the kennel staff when you put your dog into kennels but at least you meet the people in charge and can have a good look round the kennels before deciding if you want your dog staying there.

[FoxesAreFabulous]

Hi we looked after a couple of dogs via Barking Mad before we got our own dog. There is no way I would dream of letting poodle boy stay with people we hadn't met - he can be quite tricky but even if that were not the case, I wouldn't feel comfortable. We applied as dogsitters to BM as my daughter was just desperate for any time with a dog and we weren't ready for our own at that point.
We ended up with 2 very sweet Yorkies for one stay and a slightly mad terrier for the other - I think they all had a pretty good time with us and one of the Yorkies was quite overweight so we gave her plenty of exercise while she was with us! From our point of view, I don't think either set of owners was completely honest about the info they gave BM to pass on to the sitters - we were told the Yorkies would only sleep in their crate - turned out they would sleep anywhere but!! We were also told they had to be hand-fed!! (not in our house, they weren't). I hadn't realised what they charge owners and think it's too steep. I do feel you need to meet the person who'll be looking after your dog - hope you manage to find someone you like x

[GlitterEverywhere]

As a PP said, I wouldn’t write off the place with pack walks. My friend is a walker and boarder and I see her visiting dogs regularly. It is astonishing how the ‘pack’ seems to gel together without any problems - her own dogs and regulars are used to other dogs coming and going and are happy to welcome new dogs to the fold.

Recently I have seen a timid young thing blossom into a confident and super friendly girl in the 2 weeks she was there - ‘mentored’ by the older ones and completely showered in love by the whole family. I’m sad she’s gone home

[Abfb]

The dog sitter only gets £5 a day and they have no say as to which dogs they have. They don’t meet them before they are dropped off and can sometimes have several dogs at a time who have never met each other.

[newme175]

Old thread but have a look at DogBuddy or Tailster or even an independent local dog walker/boarder :)

[missbattenburg]

I'm really struggling with the idea of not meeting the people she will be staying with

I'm with you - they can eff off if they think I am handing over my dog to someone I have never met.

Barking Mad indeed.

[JAD04]

Hi, That is really interesting. I have just had barking mad rep around my house. They give the pet sitter £6 per day. While the person who picks it up gets the rest., I know were the word barking mad comes from now. I have joined DogBuddy - you met the person who looks after your pet before hand and you can decided wether you like them or not. You book via the internet and they are fully insured ect.... I look after peoples pets, I only have one person pets at a time. uk.dogbuddy.com/JZOUY. This is much better service.

[Domers]

‪I'm sorry to say but I have been absolutely disgusted by how my dog Lucky and I have been treated by Barking Mad Dog Care, Cobham.

Upon reading the information on the BM website, what they had to offer and all of the positive reviews, I was most attracted to the fact they offered individual care and that I was able to meet the host and see where my dog would be staying prior to booking - BM have massively FAILED these statements on this occasion and I therefore want to make others aware.

Whilst I was away on holiday, the BM host based in Leatherhead, decided to put Lucky into a car and drive her to a local park, despite being told that Lucky does not handle car journeys well.

Once at the local park in Cobham not leatherhead as advertised in the host profile poor Lucky in a panic, ran all the way to her home NOT once but TWICE in 2 days and obviously nobody was home to help her.
Fortunately my neighbour was concerned for the safety and wellbeing of Lucky whilst I was away and fully informed me upon my return.

When Lucky arrived back home all of her belongings were wet and when asked why, it was confirmed that they were unsure because Lucky had been transported from Leatherhead to another host in Hounslow without any of her belongings (toys, chews, brush etc) for the duration of her stay, but most importantly she was without her eye drops to help her infection which BD was fully aware of.

So, for some unknown reason Lucky was moved without my knowledge, to someone I hadn't met and a environment that I did not know, without her medication!

‪Since being home, my wife and I have had to tend to Lucky crying through-out the night and taking it in turns to sleep on the sofa to ensure Lucky feels calm, safe and not alone.

Unfortunately Lucky still has the eye infection obviously due to neglect/lack of care in my absence.

‪Louis from BMDC Cobham kindly came to my house to hear my complaint but refused to let me explain and quickly became defensive and aggressive - in return Lucky nipped him to protect me.

Louis decided to phone the police with false allegations and as a result I was arrested for ABH and later released when the police realised that the claims were not true and the case was then closed.

‪My holiday has been tarnished and I have never been in trouble with the police. It has been an awful experience causing my family and dog stress and anxiety, caused by a company I thought was reputable.

[snowinafrica16]

My dog used barking mad a few times - transport cost was £35 and £25/day for the boarding, he loved it and we liked that he wasn't with a lot of other dogs in a kennel (he's had kennel cough before). Scotland. I'd recommend it, our experience was very good both times.

[dazzlingdeborahrose]

I use barking mad for my dogs. Different franchise I think ( Northumberland). We certainly were not charged a 'registration fee'. We've never been charged for transport either. In don't think we're charged anywhere near £30 per day either. We've boarded 3 dogs with at one point. They took a very comprehensive history and lifestyle and matched them with people who would let them on the sofa. The first three times, our dogs went to the same hosts. But the last time they went our regular hosts weren't available due to ill health. One of the dogs had quite complex health issues by this point so our BM lady placed them with a host who was very comfortable handling his drug regime. The hosts then write us a report on the stay and also send photos of the dogs too

[RooDaisy]

I use petstay, they find a local boarder, arrange a meet and greet and if both parties are happy you go ahead and book.
I like it because there aren't any family dogs with my particular lady.
She follows my routine to the letter and send regular pictures and updates when I'm away.
It costs £30 per day for both dogs.

[StandardPoodle]

I sometimes bump into a dog walker when walking my two dogs. She also dog boards. My standard poodle is very young and bouncy but the dog walker's pack (comprised of her dogs plus the dogs she walks/boards) welcome him and play with him, and he learns to behave in a pack environment. All have a whale of a time, with the dog walker and me keeping an eye on them. So, OP, I wouldn't rule out a "pack"environment for your dog - it may just work out well!
(I did ask the dog walker if it would be ok for us to walk with them a while when we first met - now when she sees us she calls my boy over - she has a poodle too. Rescue girl is getting on and watches the lunatics race around).

[Hoppinggreen]

I looked into this when I was looking for a home boarder for my dog.
The prices were eye watering - registration and collection and delivery before you even paid for the actual boarding ( which was pricey anyway)
I also couldn't get my head around sending my dog off somewhere and I wouldn't have any idea where he actually was. I would get a profile of the person who had him but that was it, couldn't meet them or even speak to them on the phone.
Found a lovely ex dogs trust behaviourist who has ddog during holidays instead who is happy for me to visit when I want and send me daily updates on him.
Can't understand why anyone would use Barking Mad

[Muttleyboard]

Such a shame that people don't set up their own home-boarding business as we have done. Our clients always visit us with their dogs to ensure that all parties are happy, and we do not charge a registration fee. On completion of our registration forms we require a £25 deposit per dog per week's board and charge £18 per day per dog, £23 per day for dogs under a year old, or £30 for a pair of family dogs. We are inspected yearly and licensed by our local council to ensure that our services are of a good health and safety standard.

[frostyfingers]

We were boarders for Barking Mad for a year - it worked fine from our perspective (although I have to admit that some of the owner's demands for the dogs did raise an eyebrow or two) eg "toast for breakfast, with whatever marmalade you have" - hmmm.

We were "vetted" by the BM agent, they put together a profile and pass it on to prospective dog owners if they think it's a suitable match. Dog then comes to stay with instructions, you write a feedback report at the end and it seemed fine.

We stopped because we took on my mum's dog for a while and didn't feel it fair on her to have strange dogs visiting.

I don't know whether I would do it, for the reasons others have said, but I suppose if you're desperate for your dogs not to go in to kennels and can't find anything else it's ok - pricey though, and we got paid £10 a day.

[ihatethecold]

Ahhh I see,
Thanks.

[ClaimedByMe]

ihatethecold our vet told us that feeding bakers complete to your dog for every meal is the equivalent to feeding the children mcdonalds for every meal.

[LegoAcupuncture]

This one is used by a few of my friends and we have been to view it as well. It is lovely and the people who run it are so friendly.

[QuietTiger]

Where do I start? It has 42 different additives, colourants, e-numbers, fillers, several chemicals/additives banned by the USA & other countries in Europe, - think the equivalent of feeding your child blue smarties as their staple diet.

Leads to hyperactivity in dogs, food intolerances, digestive upsets, I can go on and on and on and on...

[ihatethecold]

Quiettiger,

I have to ask, why won't you feed a dog bakers complete?


I don't use it for my dog, he has BARF but I'm just curious.