Very exciting news for me! In early - mid-February I'll be picking up an 8-week-old black Lab girlie. I don't intend to stop boarding but if your dog doesn't like puppies (and Labs are rockets, although never vicious), I'm not the boarder for you until she has some manners. Or knows her name. She'll have a pen and crate so she can be isolated when she goes on the occasional tear. I work from home and make it a point to buy groceries and take care of errands before having a dog in my home so that I can spend as much time as possible with it. While I don't have a yard, I have a sturdy tie-out for sunbathing and exploring the squirrel-filled greenery behind my apartment. I'm always outside with them. I'm very hands-on and have had the gratifying experience of dogs from out of town or newly adopted come out of their shells -- I think because I know how to give them the emotional space they need to make up their own minds about me. I talk to them a lot. I walked and boarded dogs for ten years in Brooklyn Heights, where I became known as the Lab Lady. I worked for all kinds of dogs, from Italian greyhounds to Great Danes, but my specialty was Labs because I had one. I have a lot of directionless love in my heart which makes committed to working for dogs -- I crave the companionship only a dog provide. I'm great with adopted, anxious and very shy dogs: I know how to bond with them. I speak dog. They seem to love me. I've also worked with trainers in the past so I have a few very gentle tricks up my sleeve for youngsters in need of charm school.