dog boarding suggestions

I am looking for recommendations for dog boarding in the Maplewood South Orange and surrounding area. We have a 1 year old pup, a bit shy, that needs to be boarded from a Sunday till the following Tuesday. I really don't want her in a crate/caged the entire time. I prefer somewhere she can walk around. Thanks for suggestions.

Talk to @Gabbie at doggone farms. Great place that does pickup and delivery.

Preferred Pet Care Inc.233 Rutgers St, Maplewood, NJ 07040

I took my two dogs here, they seemed to like it.

You need proof of shots and have to send them for a test run. They can have their own beds and toys.

preferred pet care doesnt separate the small dogs from the big dogs (such as the doggie park does in the south mountain reservation)....my dog is a "small dog" (9 pounds) and she did NOT do well at preferred pet care.....whether she got "body slammed" by a larger dog, playing around roughing with bigger dogs or simply caught a virus from a sick dog

yes, its true that they DO require vaccination proof; but that BY NO MEANS assures that one of the dogs could be sick and contagious "with something" and it gets passed along......which i believe happened to my little one on two occasions

i know that one could always go to preferred pet care, however after those incidents, i looked for a smaller place to park my dog for a few days....it should be not be too too difficult to find, especially if the dog IS a puppy.....a little leg-work on your part should find the answers

if your dog is a larger dog, then my opinions would certainly be different!

We considered Preferred Pet Care a few years ago, but didn't like the fact that there is no one on site at night. We used the PetSmart facility on Route 10, where they have 24/7 coverage and dogs have their own rooms (our guy didn't like to be surrounded by big dogs, either). We set it up so he'd be walked separately (they have an indoor walking area) and have some one-on-one playtime with a kennel person each day. Our dog was a pug, and had never been away from us before the boarding. He didn't eat for the first 24 hours, but then he did start to eat and when we picked him up on the 3rd day, he was happily interacting with the kennel staff. Didn't come home with any illnesses and we got a written daily account of how he was doing. I also liked that I could call in and they would tell me how he was doing. Made being separated from him much more tolerable for me!

We brought his own dishes, food, blankets and a few toys that he liked. They have both wire enclosures (about 3' x 6') or enclosed rooms with viewing windows if your dog is stressed by the noises and smells of lots of other dogs. The rooms are a little larger than the enclosures and I think they have TVs in case your dog is used to certain sounds or programs.

We've been happy with The Barker Lounge in Cranford, right off the GSP: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-barker-lounge-cranford

When we lived in Maplewood, we used various dog boarding services, and then we found that there is a network of women who earn their livings boarding dogs in their homes. We liked that better. Then we made friends with dog owners and did mutual boarding with them. We liked that even better. It's fun to have a guest dog in the house from time to time. A good dog is a good guest, and it knows how to behave.

We've used both Preferred PetCare and Doggone Farm and for boarding would definitely recommend Doggone Farm - that place is like dog heaven, seriously. While there are some very capable handlers at Preferred Pet Care, in general, their customer service policies can make them difficult to work with (even for loyal, regular, customers such as myself.)

We started using K9 Resorts in Madison and we (meaning humans and dogs) really like it. Although we've used PP in the past, I find K9 to be a smaller, cleaner facility with dog size separation. The staff is extremely hands on and friendly.

Another recommendation for Doggone Farm. Gabbie and Stew are wonderful. Our pup has a better time than us when we go on vacation.

+1 for Pet Smart on Route 10. Barker Lounge is good too. I use PP in a pinch - too expensive and my dog has always come home with some sort of injury albeit small.

We've used PetSmart happily. Our rescue dog isn't very well socialized to other dogs (we understand that the first owner was a senior citizen, and suspect the dog was never exposed to other dogs), and PetSmart has the flexibility to give her a happy boarding experience.

Also, the fact that they have vet services on-site saved us from problems when she once started throwing up at the kennel...they could examine her, give nausea meds, and do the needed blood test to check for bigger issues, meaning that we didn't have to rush home from a trip to deal with what turned out to be a minor event.

Thanks filmcarp, caltonj, and jmo!

@azzerori unfortunately we are closed next week but if you're interested, we'd be happy to meet you and your pup anytime after the 8th. We do not crate our dogs at all (unless still potty training), so they get to play and rest with their friends all day. We also post regularly on facebook so you can see what your pup is up to while you're away. Feel free to contact me through our website anytime.

www.doggonefarm.biz

Thank you so much for the recommendations. We decided to try Pet Smart and next time possibly Doggone Farm.