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Dog boarding, also known as dog sitting, refers to overnight care for dogs. [1] It is offered through various establishments, including dog kennels, professional boarding facilities, dog hotels, dog resorts, private dog sitters' homes, or the homes of dog owners.
The practice of dog boarding emerged as a solution to accommodate dogs when their owners were away, whether for vacation, business trips, or other reasons. Dog boarding facilities can vary widely, ranging from traditional kennels to more contemporary free-roaming dog hotels. In addition, some individuals opt for in-home dog boarding services or seek local dog sitters in their communities.
The concept of dog boarding evolved in the early 1990s, evolving from traditional kennels. [2] Before World War II, dogs in the United States predominantly lived outdoors, but urbanization led to increased indoor living for dogs. In the 2010s, demographic changes, such as a growing population of childless adults, contributed to heightened attention and expenditure on pets.
Since its inception, the dog boarding industry has experienced continuous growth. In 2022, the global pet boarding services market was valued at US$6.72 billion, and it is projected to maintain a robust compound annual growth rate of 8.30% from 2023 to 2030. This expansion is primarily driven by factors like the increasing popularity of pet boarding and dog daycare services, the rise in pet ownership, the trend of humanizing pets, and the growing expenditure on pet care in both developed and developing nations. [3]
The United States boasts a considerable number of over 8,500 dog-friendly boarding kennels. These facilities provide a safe and secure environment for dogs to reside while their owners are away. Unlike breeding kennels, which focus on producing puppies, boarding kennels may offer additional services such as doggy day care, dog walking, dog training, and grooming.
Kennels serve as temporary housing for dogs in exchange for a fee, providing an alternative to hiring a dog sitter. Many kennels offer one-on-one playtime opportunities to allow dogs to socialize outside their kennel environment. Furthermore, some kennels permit the inclusion of familiar items, such as blankets and toys from the dog's home. [4]
In-home dog boarding is overnight dog care that is provided by a dog sitter in their own home. Home boarding offers your dog the opportunity to stay with a boarder in their own home. [5] This form of boarding is popular for dogs that suffer from anxiety as it is typically crate free and in a similar environment as their home. Dog sitters can be found through classified ads, personal websites, or pet sitting marketplaces where they are commonly background checked. Many dog sitters offer "Meet & Greets" to ensure dogs and their owners are comfortable with the sitter prior to a stay. [6]
House sitting is a form of overnight dog care that takes place in a dog owner's home. Many dog owners prefer to leave their dogs at home in familiar surroundings while being cared for by other dog lovers. Pet sitting is the reason for 80 percent of house-sitting arrangements. [7] Outside of dog boarding, house sitters frequently perform other general maintenance tasks including watering plants, collecting mail, and protecting a property from trespassers. House sitters can be found through provider websites, classified ads, or pet service marketplaces. Similar to house sitting, drop-in dog sitting offers short check-ins in a dog owner's home. Drop-in sitters can provide dogs with food, water, and potty breaks during short daily visits.
Pet hotel means boarding for dogs and other domesticated animals for overnight or daily stays, and may include pet grooming and training. [8] Dog hotels offer upscale accommodations and represent a more luxurious option for dog boarding services. Amenities at dog hotels can include entertainment options like TVs, spa treatments, swimming pools, personalized attention and exercise plans, and group playtimes. These establishments often provide climate-controlled indoor and outdoor areas, supervised community play zones for safe interactions among canine guests, and around-the-clock supervision.
Pet adoption is the process of transferring responsibility for a pet that was previously owned by another party. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters, rescue groups, or other pet owners. Some organizations give adopters ownership of the pet, while others use a guardianship model wherein the organization retains some control over the animal's future use or care.
A puppy mill, also known as a puppy farm, is a commercial dog breeding facility characterized by quick breeding and poor conditions. Although no standardized legal definition for "puppy mill" exists, a definition was established in Avenson v. Zegart in 1984 as "a dog breeding operation in which the health of the mill’s dogs is disregarded to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits". They are cited as being a result of increased demand for household pets, especially after World War II. The Veterinary Medical Association of the Humane Society of the United States defines the main characteristics of a puppy mill as "emphasis on quantity over quality, indiscriminate breeding, continuous confinement, lack of human contact and environmental enrichment, poor husbandry, and minimal to no veterinary care."
A kennel is a structure or shelter for dogs. Used in the plural, the kennels, the term means any building, collection of buildings or a property in which dogs are housed, maintained, and bred. A kennel can be made out of various materials, the most popular being wood and canvas. The term "kennel" can also refer to a dog crate or doghouse.
A pet shop or pet store is an essential services retailer which sells animals and pet care resources to the public. A variety of animal supplies and pet accessories are also sold in pet shops. The products sold include: food, treats, toys, collars, leashes, cat litter, cages and aquariums.
An animal rescue group or animal rescue organization is a group dedicated to pet adoption. These groups take unwanted, abandoned, abused, or stray pets and attempt to find suitable homes for them. Many rescue groups are created by and run by volunteers, who take animals into their homes and care for them—including training, playing, handling medical issues, and solving behavior problems—until a suitable permanent home can be found.
PetSmart Inc. is a privately held American chain of pet superstores, which sell pet products, services, and small pets. It is the leading North American pet company, and its direct competitor is Petco. Its indirect competitors are Amazon, Walmart, and Target. As of 2020, PetSmart has more than 1,650 stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores sell pet food, pet supplies, pet accessories, and small pets. Stores also provide services including grooming, dog daycare, dog and cat boarding, veterinary care via in-store third-party clinics, and dog training. They also offer dog and cat adoption via in-store adoption centers facilitated by the non-profit PetSmart Charities.
Pet sitting is the act of temporarily taking care of another person's pet for a given time frame. It commonly occurs at the pet owner's home, but may also occur at the provider's home or at a pet sitting place of business or organization. Pet sitting is a more personal and individualized arrangement for care compared to boarding or kenneling. Specialized training is usually not required for pet sitting.
House sitting is the practice whereby a person leaving their house for a period of time entrusts it to one or more "house sitters", who by a mutual agreement are permitted to live or stay in the property temporarily, in exchange for assuming any combination of responsibilities. These can include taking care of the home owner's pets, performing general maintenance, keeping trespassers off the property, readdressing the mail, and in general, making sure that everything runs smoothly, just as if the owner was at home.
Dogs Trust, known until 2003 as the National Canine Defence League, is a British animal welfare charity and humane society which specialises in the well-being of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for over 15,000 animals each year. Dogs Trust's primary objective is to protect all dogs in the UK and elsewhere from maltreatment, cruelty and suffering. It focuses on the rehabilitation and rehoming of dogs which have been either abandoned or given up by their owners through rehoming services.
A cattery is any building, collection of buildings or property in which cats are housed, maintained, cared for, and bred. A cattery can be anything from a simple building associated with a residence to a state-of-the-art facility with CCTV, televisions, and water features. There are two general types of catteries: boarding and breeding.
Dog grooming refers to both the hygienic care and cleaning of a dog, as well as a process by which a dog's physical appearance is enhanced for showing or other types of competition. A dog groomer is a person who earns their living grooming dogs.
Pet Sitters International (PSI) is an educational association for professional pet sitters located in King, North Carolina. The professional pet-sitting association represents nearly 7,000 independent professionals. PSI was established in 1994 by Patti Moran, author of Pet Sitting for Profit.
Dog daycare, or doggy daycare, is short-term daytime care for dogs. It differs from multi-day kennel boarding and pet sitting, where the sitter comes to the pet's home.
The National Animal Welfare Trust (NAWT) is an animal welfare charity founded in 1971, which operates rescue and rehoming centres for companion animals. It has branches in Watford, Berkshire, Essex, Bedfordshire and Cornwall. They operate a number of premises, including Trindledown Farm, the UK's only retirement home for elderly pets. Formerly known as the Animal Welfare Trust (AWT), it originated from the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection.
Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh (HARP), formerly known as the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania, known commonly as Animal Rescue League Shelter & Wildlife Center (ARL), is an animal welfare organization founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1909. The ARL is a non-profit organization that offers various services to support both animals and pet owners alike. It is the only animal shelter in the Pittsburgh area that accepts both domestic animals and wildlife. The agency's shelter and clinic are located in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood, while its wildlife rehabilitation center and boarding kennels are a few miles away in Verona, Pennsylvania. The organization maintains a contract with the city of Pittsburgh and accepts all stray pets that are apprehended by the Animal Control unit.
Rover Group, Inc. is an American company which operates an online marketplace for people to buy and sell pet care services including pet sitting, dog boarding, and dog walking. Rover.com was founded in 2011 in Seattle, Washington and is formally incorporated under the name "A Place for Rover, Inc." The company serves as a broker and takes roughly 20% of each transaction booked through its site. The company was publicly listed on the Nasdaq since 2021, until it was taken private by Blackstone Inc. in 2024.
A pet taxi is a type of transportation taxi service that transports various pets. Some pet taxi services also provide pet ambulance, animal boarding and grooming services. Some pet sitting companies may also offer pet taxi services. Some pet taxis charge by the mile, while others may offer a flat rate for various trips. Less commonly, some pet taxi services may offer long-distance pet transportation, such as a trip from New York City to Florida.
The Humane Society of Harford County, Inc. (HSHC) is a nonprofit open admission animal shelter located in Fallston, Maryland, contracted with the Harford County Government to provide sheltering services for all animals brought to HSHC by Animal Control as stray, or subjects of animal cruelty or neglect cases.
PetCloud is an Australian company selling pet care services based in Brisbane. PetCloud, screens potential pet sitters for pet owners. PetCloud was named a finalist in the Lord Mayor's Business Awards for Digital Strategy. In 2017, founder Deb Morrison was selected as 2017 Finalist for Young Entrepreneur in Brisbane.
Groomit is an American company which operates the first app for dog and cat owners to schedule in-home and mobile pet grooming for their pets. Groomit was founded in 2016 in Yonkers, New York and launched the app in 2017. It currently serves communities in New Jersey, Connecticut, New York City, Westchester County, New York, Long Island, New York, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, Naples, Dallas, Austin Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Denver, Phoenix, San Antonio and Houston. The company is formally operated as Groomit for Pets, LLC.
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