Karen K.
Burlington, WI
Horse trainer w/dog-friendly hours
Pet care experience
Hello! I am a full time farm/horse/dog/cat person. I work 7 days a week feeding and caring for 12-horses, and have always had dogs and cats in my life as well. I have also worked part-time as an at-home caregiver for the elderly, so care taking is very much a lifestyle for me. I can provide references to testify to my reliability, and have a somewhat flexible schedule to offer. I have a bachelor's degree in horse training, and have over a decade of experience horse, farm, and dog sitting. Since acquiring my own farm property in 2020 I have streamlined services to in-house boarding and doggy daycare to be present for the horses I also care for on property. I've worked with veterinarians for horses and used to work on a farm that also owned a small animal vet clinic there. While I would -never- assume my care voids need to contact the owner or vet in case of emergency, I am very confident (and have had many vets commend) my ability to provide care both before a professional is able to attend to issues, and also on following advised after-care for illness and injury. I have one dog, who is very, very friendly with other dogs - we gat a lot of traffic here between boarders, daycare, and foster dogs. Generally with dogs that we host, if the dog wants to play my dog is happy to engage. If the dog is not interested in playing, my dog is happy to give a visitor space and just play with me. It is a large house with plenty of space to put up gates and offer everyone some separation, but it is best if everyone can at least somewhat get along. I work in fog care around doing chores and maintenance on our horse farm. On nice days the dogs are able to play out in the yard where I can see them while I am doing this - when the weather will not permit this, or if I have dogs who need supervision with my dogs or in general, I do crate them in the house while I am out working, usually for no more than 2 hours at a time, and with a distraction toy or treat to keep them busy. Otherwise I am generally around the house during the middle of the day, if I have errands I keep them short or try to make them happen in the evenings when the rest of the family is home. I keep dogs separated and supervised at feeding times, and everyone is in a crate or play pen when there is no one home to keep an eye on them. We do try and keep counters cleared and things picked up around the house, and keep certain rooms gated off so we can see and hear where everyone is at all times while we are home.
Reviews
My dog came home happy and looked very healthy. He keeps looking outside I think he’s looking for his friends that he made at Karen‘s house. I am very happy that she takes in other animals also. I know he was never lonely because she does have a dog of her own. She also has horses that he was able to watch. I know he was not bored and I will use Karen again and again.
Thanks for taken such good care of the girls!
First time boarding our dogs, and all went great! Karen sent us pics during our trip to let us know how they were doing and what new furry friends they made. We will definitely use her again!
Karen did a great job taking care of our dogs.
About Karen K.
Communication
Skills
Safety, trust & environment
I have a larged fenced yard that is in view of the horse farm and outdoor riding space, and attached to the entire back of the house for supervision. During the day the areas of the downstairs that we are in are gated off so dogs can't wander into unsupervised rooms, and at night the master bedroom is very large with space enough for everyone to have a spot. We do use crates or play pens to separate everyone at night, so there isn't any rough housing during sleep time, but everyone usually falls into our pack routine just fine and is ready to crash by the evening anyways!
Home
Information Karen K. would like to know about your pet
Basic guidelines: ONLY CRATE TRAINED DOGS - MUST BE OKAY WITH OTHER DOGS - MUST BE SPAYED/NEUTERED OVER 6 MONTHS OF AGE. Due to the population of dogs we do host, and as we do have some regular boarders who can add on to bookings, for everyone's safety we must absolutely stick to these requirements in dogs that we host, without exception. In addition, due to our location on a busy highway, with respect to our neighbors, and as this is a horse farm as well, ALL DOGS MUST ARRIVE ON LEASH AND STAY ON LEASH UNTIL IN THE HOUSE OR YARD. NO EXCEPTION.
A typical day
We usually have a lot of entertainment in house between our friendly dog and large yard. I have a dog or 2 during the week routinely for day care who are very friendly, and some regular boarding dogs who will sometimes join in at the last minute, so mostly everyone who comes to stay here needs to be okay with some other dogs. I will always clear additional dogs with whomever books a stay here first, but I do need folks to stay open to the possibility of an addition - I do not combine dogs who have not stayed here before and I do not already know, and I do try and limit the crowd to 4 dogs per day. I do require dogs who board with to be ok in a crate for an hour or two, as I do not leave dogs loose unsupervised in my house both for safety reasons while I am out in the barn doing chores - usually 2 hours in the morning, an hour in the afternoon, and half an hour at night. If the weather is nice and I can trust everyone to get alone and not to dig holes, I have no issue letting the dogs hang out in the yard while I am in the barn - but as the weather is never a guarantee, I do need to be able to use crates for limited time as a back up. While I can limit time alone, and certainly will never use a crate more than a few hours a day, I do need to be able to keep to my work schedule. I also do keep visiting dogs leashed at all times, unless in the house or yard, just to be safe and not risk any runaways!
Services
Karen can host
Karen can watch in your home
Availability
I am usually in the barn 2 hours in the morning and another hour or so in the afternoon caring for the horses. I also teach riding lessons, and train horses but this usually happens after other household members are home and able to keep an eye on the dogs, or in nicer weather I am able to work in our outdoor riding space which shares a fence line with the yard. We usually try and coordinate errands around having someone home to be with guest dogs, so they do not spend more than 3 hours at a clip in crates, and no more than 5 hours a day, if that, without us.
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About Karen K.
Communication
Skills
Safety, trust & environment
I have a larged fenced yard that is in view of the horse farm and outdoor riding space, and attached to the entire back of the house for supervision. During the day the areas of the downstairs that we are in are gated off so dogs can't wander into unsupervised rooms, and at night the master bedroom is very large with space enough for everyone to have a spot. We do use crates or play pens to separate everyone at night, so there isn't any rough housing during sleep time, but everyone usually falls into our pack routine just fine and is ready to crash by the evening anyways!
Home
Information Karen K. would like to know about your pet
Basic guidelines: ONLY CRATE TRAINED DOGS - MUST BE OKAY WITH OTHER DOGS - MUST BE SPAYED/NEUTERED OVER 6 MONTHS OF AGE. Due to the population of dogs we do host, and as we do have some regular boarders who can add on to bookings, for everyone's safety we must absolutely stick to these requirements in dogs that we host, without exception. In addition, due to our location on a busy highway, with respect to our neighbors, and as this is a horse farm as well, ALL DOGS MUST ARRIVE ON LEASH AND STAY ON LEASH UNTIL IN THE HOUSE OR YARD. NO EXCEPTION.
A typical day
We usually have a lot of entertainment in house between our friendly dog and large yard. I have a dog or 2 during the week routinely for day care who are very friendly, and some regular boarding dogs who will sometimes join in at the last minute, so mostly everyone who comes to stay here needs to be okay with some other dogs. I will always clear additional dogs with whomever books a stay here first, but I do need folks to stay open to the possibility of an addition - I do not combine dogs who have not stayed here before and I do not already know, and I do try and limit the crowd to 4 dogs per day. I do require dogs who board with to be ok in a crate for an hour or two, as I do not leave dogs loose unsupervised in my house both for safety reasons while I am out in the barn doing chores - usually 2 hours in the morning, an hour in the afternoon, and half an hour at night. If the weather is nice and I can trust everyone to get alone and not to dig holes, I have no issue letting the dogs hang out in the yard while I am in the barn - but as the weather is never a guarantee, I do need to be able to use crates for limited time as a back up. While I can limit time alone, and certainly will never use a crate more than a few hours a day, I do need to be able to keep to my work schedule. I also do keep visiting dogs leashed at all times, unless in the house or yard, just to be safe and not risk any runaways!
Location
Burlington, WI
Pets
Karen K.
Burlington, WI