Alexandra B.
Arlington, MA
Couple & Cat In House by Bike Trail
Pet care experience
My name is Alex, and my husband and I live in a two family home in a great neighborhood with our extremely dog-friendly cat, Maya. We have a large two-bedroom home, in walking distance to a bike path, multiple parks, and with a big, grassy back yard. We're happy to work with pups of all sizes, ages, and levels of socialization. We have a routine with visiting dog(s) that brings us to the bike path or park regularly, and we take our dog guests out multiple times a day. We're happy to work on basic training with any dogs staying with us, as well - either helping to begin training, or reinforcing the training you've already done. Let me know how I can help! We ask to have a Meet & Greet before scheduling stays to ensure that all of the dogs will be comfortable, and that you as the owner are comfortable with us looking after your fur babies. Contact me to set one up! My husband, Theo, works full time (sometimes from home, sometimes not), and I'm currently working from home, so your dog will always have supervision and attention! I'm happy to watch your dogs any time, but on some days there may be a few hours when they'll be left with no supervision. If they're comfortable with crate-training or if being left at home is part of their routine with you, we'll have no issue accommodating your pup. If you'd like to have us watch them and they don't stay in a crate during the day, or if you never leave them unattended and don't know how they'll behave, please let me know what arrangement you think would work best for them to be comfortable so that we can determine if we're a good fit for you. Both Theo and I grew up with dogs, and I owned my own dogs (two, large-breed) for about 10 years. We've volunteered at various Humane Societies and animal shelters to help care for, socialize, and play with dogs and cats. We've been pet sitting for various friends and neighbors for the last few years and truly enjoy helping owners and pets when they're apart! Why I love dog sitting: My husband and I both grew up with dogs - my family had a Labrador and two Shetland Sheepdogs, his family had German Shepherds and a series of lovable mixed breed dogs. Dogs have always been a part of both of our lives, in ownership and volunteering at shelters, so deciding to help look after them was an easy decision. We love dogs, and all of the friends we get to meet through them - canine and human alike! Meet my pet: Our pet is our very sweet cat Maya. She's incredibly social, with humans and dogs alike, and has been known to snuggle with our pups or be found snoozing in their crates. When friends bring their dogs by, she's always willing to check them out, touch noses, and see how friendly they are - if they're afraid of her, she usually just stays out of their way, and she's never been aggressive towards a dog, even if they get over-excited at meeting her. About my yard: Our backyard is a big, open grassy area with lots of shade. It doesn't have a fence along the rear perimeter (where it opens to a creek/rain runoff drainage), and the fencing along the front has an open arbor, so we keep dogs on leash even in our backyard unless their owner tells us expressly that they're comfortable with them being off-leash because they have excellent recall. We also live about a 2-minute walk to the Minuteman Bike Path, which opens up to various nearby parks and fields, there's a fenced baseball field just down the block, and we're about a 3-minute driving distance from McClennan Park. We'll always ask about your preferences for whether or not you'd ever want us to let your dog off-leash, but our assumption is that they will always be on leash unless we're in a fully fenced-in dog park. We're a short drive to Thorndike Dog Park, Danehy Dog Park, and Waltham City Dog Ranch. My experience administering medication: We're both able to and comfortable administering medication. We can give pills, clean out infected ears, treat minor wounds, administer eye drops, etc. If your pet has regular medication, please let us know in advance, and we're happy to accommodate. If your pet is currently sick, please let us know what they have so that we can determine any risks to our own pets.
Reviews
We are so happy to have found Alex- Kahlua gets so excited when she sees Alex- amazing caring friend to all.
Kahlua looks forward to seeing Alexandra- We are so grateful that kahlua has a great friend
Our Samoyed, Sadie, had a great time staying with Alex. Sadie played in the back yard with Rosie, another dog who was spending the day, and Alex sent cool videos of the two of them romping together. We also received a number of nice photos of Sadie, who looked very at home in Alex's place. Alex is very loving with the dogs she cares for, and we'll certainly bring Sadie back!
Fantastic-amazing-
About Alexandra B.
Communication
Skills
Home
Information Alexandra B. would like to know about your pet
Before sitting a dog, I'm most interested in knowing what your routine is so that I can help ease the anxiety from being apart as best I can. What time of day your dog eats, how much, where they sleep, how often you go out with them, etc. Also, if they have any behavioral issues - this is definitely not a deal-breaker! I think of all the dogs we've known and loved, they've run the gamut on having quirks and difficult behaviors - I'd just love to know ahead of time what they're likely to get into, so that I can help prevent any trouble ahead of time. Especially if your dog is destructive when they're anxious, or still has accidents inside the house, please let me know. In these cases I'll ask that you please bring a crate or work with me on some solution for how to accommodate them best and also prevent damage to our home (especially if I have to leave them alone for a few hours). We don't have breed preferences, though we acknowledge that certain breeds have certain reputations - an old dog of mine, who was a Great Dane, would quietly lean her entire body weight against you until you had to brace yourself. If you're concerned about your dog's breed, or have had folks react poorly to your pup out on walks or at dog parks, or believe that I should be mindful of certain characteristics in your dog's behavior, just communicate openly and I'll do my best to work with you about any concerns you may have. I am open to hosting dogs of all energy levels, and can work with you if you're still working on house-training. As for house rules, we don't permit dogs to beg for food from the table, we've trained dogs in the past to leave specific rooms if they're asked, to go to their crates when we ask them to go to bed, and to stay off of our bed and out of the trash. If you'd like us to help train your dog to do any of those things, or if you have specific rules with your dogs that you'd like us to keep up with, let me know!
A typical day
Here's where we'll take our walks As mentioned above, I take the dogs on walks along the bike path, through nearby parks, and on trips to nearby dog parks. We won't go along any major roads, and the dogs stay on leash at all times unless they're in a fenced-in dog park. Your dog's sleeping arrangement: If your dog is crate-trained, we have an extra crate that can fit small dogs (probably up to 20 lbs), that we're happy to provide. Otherwise you're welcome to bring your dog's crate, if you'd like. If your dog is not crate-trained, we can talk about what they're most comfortable with. We don't have a big enough bed to share with a pup, but we can let them sleep in our bedroom or living spaces, based on your advice for what would be best, and can happily make space for a dog bed, if that's what they have. Time I'll spend with your dog: I'm working from home all day, every day, so there are very few times where your dog would be left alone. My fiance works a 9-5 job, occasionally from home, and is home in the evenings and on weekends. My routine with visiting dogs is that they're outside multiple times a day, to go potty and for brief walks, and on days when the weather allows, we like to spend an hour or so at nearby dog parks or walking along the bike path. I occasionally have appointments during the day, so there are a few hours here and there during the week that your dog may spend alone, but these are infrequent and we always ensure that they don't go any longer than 4-5 hours without one of us being around and taking them outside.
Services
Alexandra can host
About Alexandra B.
Communication
Skills
Home
Information Alexandra B. would like to know about your pet
Before sitting a dog, I'm most interested in knowing what your routine is so that I can help ease the anxiety from being apart as best I can. What time of day your dog eats, how much, where they sleep, how often you go out with them, etc. Also, if they have any behavioral issues - this is definitely not a deal-breaker! I think of all the dogs we've known and loved, they've run the gamut on having quirks and difficult behaviors - I'd just love to know ahead of time what they're likely to get into, so that I can help prevent any trouble ahead of time. Especially if your dog is destructive when they're anxious, or still has accidents inside the house, please let me know. In these cases I'll ask that you please bring a crate or work with me on some solution for how to accommodate them best and also prevent damage to our home (especially if I have to leave them alone for a few hours). We don't have breed preferences, though we acknowledge that certain breeds have certain reputations - an old dog of mine, who was a Great Dane, would quietly lean her entire body weight against you until you had to brace yourself. If you're concerned about your dog's breed, or have had folks react poorly to your pup out on walks or at dog parks, or believe that I should be mindful of certain characteristics in your dog's behavior, just communicate openly and I'll do my best to work with you about any concerns you may have. I am open to hosting dogs of all energy levels, and can work with you if you're still working on house-training. As for house rules, we don't permit dogs to beg for food from the table, we've trained dogs in the past to leave specific rooms if they're asked, to go to their crates when we ask them to go to bed, and to stay off of our bed and out of the trash. If you'd like us to help train your dog to do any of those things, or if you have specific rules with your dogs that you'd like us to keep up with, let me know!
A typical day
Here's where we'll take our walks As mentioned above, I take the dogs on walks along the bike path, through nearby parks, and on trips to nearby dog parks. We won't go along any major roads, and the dogs stay on leash at all times unless they're in a fenced-in dog park. Your dog's sleeping arrangement: If your dog is crate-trained, we have an extra crate that can fit small dogs (probably up to 20 lbs), that we're happy to provide. Otherwise you're welcome to bring your dog's crate, if you'd like. If your dog is not crate-trained, we can talk about what they're most comfortable with. We don't have a big enough bed to share with a pup, but we can let them sleep in our bedroom or living spaces, based on your advice for what would be best, and can happily make space for a dog bed, if that's what they have. Time I'll spend with your dog: I'm working from home all day, every day, so there are very few times where your dog would be left alone. My fiance works a 9-5 job, occasionally from home, and is home in the evenings and on weekends. My routine with visiting dogs is that they're outside multiple times a day, to go potty and for brief walks, and on days when the weather allows, we like to spend an hour or so at nearby dog parks or walking along the bike path. I occasionally have appointments during the day, so there are a few hours here and there during the week that your dog may spend alone, but these are infrequent and we always ensure that they don't go any longer than 4-5 hours without one of us being around and taking them outside.
Location
Arlington, MA
Pets
Alexandra B.
Arlington, MA