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Barbara D.

Midtown, NY

5.0 out of 5 stars
125 reviews
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Animal Behaviorist

Pet care experience

Boutique service. Only available on the UES (UWS and other neighborhoods available on request). Caring for animals is a passion. I care for yours like mine- my own dog is 11 years old-I got him at 11 weeks, or should I say: he picked me when he was 11 weeks old… a wise guy, he probably tought me more about life than I ever tought him!:) As an animal behaviorist I enjoy most that training is not a vocation but a passion which I get to share. Both owners and pups learn how to bond more with each other by the time I am finished and I help eliminating separation anxiety. I love to help to see owners and pup become the desired family unit and to bridge the time while owners have to travel or to help anxious puppies to feel welcome in a hotel room or Airbnb when their parents want to see a show or accept their pet-parents having to go back to work outside of the home and help them being at ease at home, first with me and then also by themselves. My own dog can help a great deal with proper socializing and proper etiquette as younger puppies have a tendency to copy him and he is very playful initially but after the first show off a total couch potato u til it’s time to hit the streets or the dogrun… or when he hears the magic words that dinner or breakfast are served … I am self employed and when I don’t work as a model on set, i work over the phone as a healthcoach and also as a content creator a lot from home/computer and this makes for a very flexible schedule. I have a carpeted apartment and animals are allowed on the furniture. I trust them they will treat my home like their home, we welcome them as members of our family. Addendum: I get a lot of requests for puppies boarding. I do board and train puppies but the rate is incorrect on Rover. My day rate for dogs under 16 weeks is 350/day for dogs under 8 months there is a sliding scale depending on their level of supervision needed. For on site continuous service of puppies (more than 3-4 hours) with anxiety (excessive barking, inability to relax being alone after being walked, exercised and stimulated) I charge additionally to the base pay of 150 40-50$ per hour for every hour more than 3 or4 because I rather work with you on their anxiety instead of feeding into separation anxiety by doing these types of sittings. I also provide anxiety relief training and desensitization and reaffirmation training reducing/eliminating territorialism/reactivity as well as new puppy training. An individual assessment is between 175-250 l$ for 60-90minutes and I offer packages for another 4 training sessions at the cost of 750/5 sessions for which I credit an initial assessment should we proceed. Training with behavior challenges like territorialism/agression can take place in your or my home but I need daily checking with the owner (can be via FaceTime/zoom) to go over progress and adaptions and is charged at 2900+ for the first week and then consecutive weeks after we both determined we would like to continue are up to a reduced price. New puppy training (boarding) is 2100 for the first week and 1890 for the other weeks(up to 4 weeks maximum) Unproblematic no behavioral issue adult dogs I care for at the rate of 150-199/day which means sleep in my bed/on the couch/in their crate whatever they prefer and two feedings and 2-3 30-60 minute walks or dogrun when the weather allows per day together with my dog. I can only host one puppy or problematic dog at a time as the work is too time and attention consuming to care for others at the same time. Thank you for understanding

Reviews

Xinying Y.
Drop-In Visits • Jan 15, 2024
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Mina is happy and well, thanks for taking care of her again!

Xinying Y.
House Sitting • Dec 29, 2023
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Very proactive and communicative!

Amanda K.
Drop-In Visits • Nov 26, 2023
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Barbara is a great sitter and took great care of my cat over Thanksgiving!

Nikki W.
House Sitting • Jun 10, 2023
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I don’t normally like to write negative reviews but I feel a need to review Barbara for the sake of other dog owners. I hired Barbara in Spring 2022 for my elderly lab and was really upset by her behavior. She walked my dog for 2-3 months. Just recently I was looking for a fill-in dog walker while my current was out of town and came across her profile and the ridiculous prices she is asking for these days - they’ve gone up. Just to preface, Barbara never hurt my dog or mistreated her in any way. However, she often over-stepped her bounds in our apartment and with my dog’s care - ex. complained about the food my dog was taking even though it was good for her/approved by the vet and also mentioned that she was looking through my lease (that I had left out on a table that was not in our entry way) and commented on how much we were paying. I could have put up with that. But what was truly disturbing was that Barbara would call me drunk or under the influence of something at times that were not appropriate. She would leave rambling voice messages on my phone that made no sense and had little to do with walking my dog. For MDW, I booked her to watch over my dog in our apartment (she charged a WHOPPING $600 for 3 days with her own dog also stating our our place) and did so only because my dog knew her. Unfortunately, my flight was cancelled and I couldn’t go on my trip. I couldn’t cancel the booking at that point so she sympathized with me and agreed that she would do walks free of charge to make up for the money she had received without services rendered. Lo and behold, after I think about 1-2 days, she stopped showing up. No notice given at all and I texted her after realizing one day at work that I hadn’t received a Rover card for a walk when I was depending on her. My dog had been stuck inside for 12 hours without going out. She texted me back that she had supposedly hurt her toe and that was why she didn’t show up. First of all, a heads up would have been professional and I would have understood. Second of all, she has an electric scooter and lived a max of 3-4 blocks away (if she would have just let my elderly dog out without a walk, I would have also understood). When I told her that my dog had had an accident in the apartment because no one had let her out, she told me that she was “glad she had an accident” (I have a text to prove this!). After I told her I’d be finding a different dog walker, she still texted me again days later about something completely unrelated. Please find someone else who doesn’t charge egregious prices for their services. She provides these cutesy videos of your dog on walks with music (and of course herself modeling into the camera…) but I think we can all agree that this isn’t worth an extra $20-30 more than what other dog walkers are charging. I truly think that there is something wrong here and that she is a scam artist. I think a lot of the times she called me (and I was nice and listened because she seemed unstable and intoxicated) were manipulative method for her to bring up her own hardships so I would pay her more. By the way, she also told me that Rover was upset with her because they thought she was over-charging…It has been a year now and I’m obviously still really upset by her behavior and feel that pet owners need to be aware.

About Barbara D.

Communication

65 repeat pet parents
90% response rate
Usually responds in a few minutes
100% bookings with photo updates
Sends updates with Rover Cards

Skills

25 years of experience
Oral medication administration
Injected medication administration
First aid/CPR
Senior dog experience
Special needs dog experience
Can provide daily exercise

Safety, trust & environment

Dogparks which are fenced. I let no dog other than mine offleash without fence run offleash.it’s a liability and responsibility that’s owner specific. I am in NYC. PS: my dog Major Tom passed away in his 13th year April 2023. He had sudden cognitive issues and at the hospital I was informed he had a rapid growing brain tumor. I didn’t bring it over myself to change the intro to OUR profile yet, as we started this work together and it was OUR mission and life together caring also for other pups and training them. Just for transparency I wanted to add this here. Currently I’m working by myself and I keep you posted when I adopt a new family member (or I should rather say when thomas sends me my new family member my way. As I said: he picked me. I didn’t pick him). In the meanwhile I will keep caring for yours like I did for mine and let you know when I have my new kiddo that’s eventually going to come into my life. ❤️🙏

Home

Lives in an apartment
Does not have a yard
Non-smoking household
Has no pets
No children present
Dogs allowed on bed
Dogs allowed on furniture
Potty breaks every 4-8 hours

Information Barbara D. would like to know about your pet

I prefer to get to know a dog together with the owner in its familiar environment and to be filled in on the usual routine and preferences of the pup and also potential triggers and behavioral issues. Addendum: My daily rate covers up to 3 hours uninterrupted care. Overnight and additional care is up to consideration. I also offer training packages for puppies or to help with COVID separation anxiety. Rates are not covered by rover. All services are part of consideration.

A typical day

I love to take them to Central Park for long walks and I also love to take them to the dogrun for a play of fetch

Services

Boarding
in the sitter's home
$199per night
House Sitting
in your home
$229per night
Drop-In Visits
visits in your home
$49per visit
Doggy Day Care
in the sitter's home
$150per day
Dog Walking
in your neighborhood
$59per walk

Barbara can host

0 to 15 lbs
16 to 40 lbs
41 to 100 lbs
No females in heat

Barbara can watch in your home

Cats
0 to 15 lbs
16 to 40 lbs
41 to 100 lbs
over 101 lbs

Availability

I am available upon special request. I am not available 24/7 at the rates shown. I am an animal behaviorist and I am happy to take care of your pet overnight which means dinner and breakfast and cleaning the crate or taking needed walks. My rates do not mean 24/7 service . This is available but with a surplus.

Available
Not available
SMTWTFS
Calendar last updated 3 months ago
House Sitting Cancellation Policy:

About Barbara D.

Communication

65 repeat pet parents
90% response rate
Usually responds in a few minutes
100% bookings with photo updates
Sends updates with Rover Cards

Skills

25 years of experience
Oral medication administration
Injected medication administration
First aid/CPR
Senior dog experience
Special needs dog experience
Can provide daily exercise

Safety, trust & environment

Dogparks which are fenced. I let no dog other than mine offleash without fence run offleash.it’s a liability and responsibility that’s owner specific. I am in NYC. PS: my dog Major Tom passed away in his 13th year April 2023. He had sudden cognitive issues and at the hospital I was informed he had a rapid growing brain tumor. I didn’t bring it over myself to change the intro to OUR profile yet, as we started this work together and it was OUR mission and life together caring also for other pups and training them. Just for transparency I wanted to add this here. Currently I’m working by myself and I keep you posted when I adopt a new family member (or I should rather say when thomas sends me my new family member my way. As I said: he picked me. I didn’t pick him). In the meanwhile I will keep caring for yours like I did for mine and let you know when I have my new kiddo that’s eventually going to come into my life. ❤️🙏

Home

Lives in an apartment
Does not have a yard
Non-smoking household
Has no pets
No children present
Dogs allowed on bed
Dogs allowed on furniture
Potty breaks every 4-8 hours

Information Barbara D. would like to know about your pet

I prefer to get to know a dog together with the owner in its familiar environment and to be filled in on the usual routine and preferences of the pup and also potential triggers and behavioral issues. Addendum: My daily rate covers up to 3 hours uninterrupted care. Overnight and additional care is up to consideration. I also offer training packages for puppies or to help with COVID separation anxiety. Rates are not covered by rover. All services are part of consideration.

A typical day

I love to take them to Central Park for long walks and I also love to take them to the dogrun for a play of fetch

Location

New York, NY

Barbara D.'s Neighborhood
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Barbara D.

Midtown, NY

5.0 out of 5 stars
125 reviews