Animals have always been a part of my life since I was a young child, especially dogs. I've cared for many types of animals-birds, fish, a leopard gecko, a bearded dragon, turtles, cats, bunnies, and dogs. Before I had children of my own, I worked as a family dog trainer and at a doggie daycare. As a dog trainer, I used positive reinforcement to train the behaviors, and I still believe this is the best method of training. I've trained 8 week old puppies up to senior adult dogs in basic behavior. I was certified to teach AKC Canine Good Citizen classes, and I taught basic agility classes. With my previous dogs, I attended confirmation classes for showing dogs, and I competed in hunting field trials (no actual hunting). I have experience with dogs of all ages, breeds, and sizes. I have knowledge to understand dog body language, and what they are trying to tell the other dogs (and people) around them. All of our personal dogs have been high energy dogs, so play and walks are very important to me. I also have taken care of dogs with medical conditions or specials needs. Our senior dog was treated for diabetes for a few years, so I am comfortable administering both oral and injectable medication. From August through May, we work full time and are gone from 7:00am-4:00pm. When we are home, the dogs get our full attention with walks, play, and cuddles. We are home during full time during the weekends to give your dog lots of attention! During June and July, my schedule is much more flexible, with more time at home. I have a large, mostly shaded fenced in backyard with lots of space to run and play. Dogs will always be supervised in the backyard. During the warmer months, we monitor the amount of time dogs spend outside due to the heat. Our home is very dog friendly. Dogs are allowed on the furniture to cuddle and sleep. We have two dogs, a Golden Retriever and Italian Spinone, who love other dogs! Our two children, ages 10 & 14, have grown up with dogs and love to play with them too! It is important that the dogs we have in our home are kid-friendly. All dogs will eat in separate areas to avoid resource guarding. When we leave the house, all dogs will be crated for their safety. We have a couple crates available depending on the size of the dog, or you can bring your own. We would love to watch all the dogs in your family, so we will watch more than one dog. However, we will only board one family at a time in our home to give them the love and attention they need.