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Arlington (Ballston) Dog Walker - Someone Who Will Walk Dogs Individually


Rovers2000

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So in exactly 3 weeks I'll have sold my place in Cleveland Park for a move out to a town home in VA (Ballston to be exact).  To that end, I'm going to also be leaving a dog walker that we love and trust (he's helped us since our english bulldog Lucy was 10 weeks old) and searching for a new dog walker.

One thing that's important to me is that the service (or individual) walks the dogs individually as opposed to having a handful of leashes with dogs crowded together.  Cost is less important to me than quality here.

Appreciate any help!

Best,
Dave Hofman

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Cannot vouch for their dog walking, but we have used Fur-Get-Me-Not (http://furgetmenot.com/) for various training and specialty classes for the past 2 years and they are top notch. The owner and lead trainer are very knowledgeable and the business has been around for some years and that stability is good. I would imagine that they run a good dog walking operation as well and think they would warrant a call.

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Dave,

Don't know exactly where you will be.  I have lived in Ballston for about 8 years now.  My two neighbors have used a guy Jason Johnson. He's at 202-413-1727.  I have met and walked with him a few times as my neighbors dog and mine are quite cozy.  He is really nice and dependable and honest.  I actually just asked my neighbor for his contact info because I am going to start to need a dog walker.  It is on the bulletin board in our condo, but I emailed my neighbor too.  I will post it as soon as I get it.  I know he also walks dogs in DC and his sister has joined his business, but I haven't met her yet.

I have other neighbors who use someone else and I can ask them about their dog walker too.  You should join Nextdoor Ballston, it's an online site and neighbors will chime in with recs for different things in the neighborhood, it's really useful.

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Appreciate both of the suggestions above - I may end up using both as our pup probably could leverage some training as well.

I was going to call Furgetmenot about some training for my dog too, they get very good reviews from people who have used them in the neighborhood for training.  Also Ballston Animal Hospital is where we go to the vet and we have liked them, they don't tend to be pushy or recommend un-needed things.  You don't always get the same doctor unless you request it, but we like all the doctors we have seen.  Welcome to Ballston!

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So in exactly 3 weeks I'll have sold my place in Cleveland Park for a move out to a town home in VA (Ballston to be exact).  To that end, I'm going to also be leaving a dog walker that we love and trust (he's helped us since our english bulldog Lucy was 10 weeks old) and searching for a new dog walker.

One thing that's important to me is that the service (or individual) walks the dogs individually as opposed to having a handful of leashes with dogs crowded together.  Cost is less important to me than quality here.

Appreciate any help!

Best,

Dave Hofman

Dave, have you checked our previous recommendations? Pet Care has gotten a fair amount of attention here in the past, and I suspect you could find something in this list - if not a dog walker in Ballston, then perhaps a recommendation from one of them. That said, mdt and ktmoomau seem to have given you two pretty good leads.

(PS - A reminder for people to write about businesses and professionals they've had good experiences with! I have one of these myself that I'm delinquent about writing up.)

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I had checked them - but most were for training / animal hospitals / or pet sitting (all of which I've duly noted).  Since we have such a great dog walker (more of a set up like Katelin references above) in DC, I figured it was worth a shot checking if anyone used a specific walker since we were referred to ours through a neighbor in Cleveland Park.

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I was going to call Furgetmenot about some training for my dog too, they get very good reviews from people who have used them in the neighborhood for training.  Also Ballston Animal Hospital is where we go to the vet and we have liked them, they don't tend to be pushy or recommend un-needed things.  You don't always get the same doctor unless you request it, but we like all the doctors we have seen.  Welcome to Ballston!  

As I hinted above we used Fur-Get-Me-Not for their levels training and it was excellent. I particularly liked their "Levels Class" model as you buy a subscription to their training program and you can attend any of the appropriate level classes that you want each week. IIRC, they do 2 of each level per week and it's helpful if you need to skip a class or want more training. The levels training also provides you the flexibility to move up as you and your dog progress without being stuck in a set class for x number of weeks.

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So in exactly 3 weeks I'll have sold my place in Cleveland Park for a move out to a town home in VA (Ballston to be exact).  To that end, I'm going to also be leaving a dog walker that we love and trust (he's helped us since our english bulldog Lucy was 10 weeks old) and searching for a new dog walker.

One thing that's important to me is that the service (or individual) walks the dogs individually as opposed to having a handful of leashes with dogs crowded together.  Cost is less important to me than quality here.

Appreciate any help!

Best,

Dave Hofman

This is not a recommendation, but an additional source to investigate.

As I'd just gotten my coffee, pulling out of the McDonald's Drive-Thru,"‹ I noticed a tiny apartment building on Lee Highway, right across the street from Cowboy Cafe, with a somewhat well-designed, expensive-looking sign pasted on its side. It was for "Time For A Walk," and offered a free at-home consultation, with 15- and 30- minute walks available. It may be worth going to their website and giving them a call.

In the meantime, I'm going to check with both my landlord and my next-door neighbor, who volunteer with a NoVa Westie group.

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In the meantime, I'm going to check with both my landlord and my next-door neighbor, who volunteer with a NoVa Westie group.

Okay, this research paid off.

From my landlord: 

1) across the street from you is a family with responsible kids who are looking for jobs including snow shoveling, house sitting, and dog walking

2) there is a dog walking service called "Time for a Walk" [This is the one I noticed yesterday on Lee Highway]

3) my neighbor, Mary Scanlon, who has 2 rambunctious terriers has a dog walking service. I mention the terrier part because if she can handle those kinds of dogs then she can handle anything. [Note, I couldn't find Mary's service, but someone else here may know her, or be able to find her - she would live in the Military Road area of Arlington.]

 

From my next-door neighbor: 

 

Everyone in our neighborhood uses Arlington PetPals. Bob, the owner, lives about 5 blocks from us on Williamsburg Blvd. He does not walk tons of dogs at the same time -- individual attention. He has walked dogs for several neighbors.   

 

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My brother and sister-in-law use Fur-Get-Me-Not in south Arlington. They're fantastic.

Caveat: his dog got attacked by another dog there once. That dog was there on a "trial" day, which it had failed, and busted out of its kennel. Its owners paid poor Henry's bills, and he's gotten extra special care from the staff since then. They know not only the dogs, they know the owners, to the point when I go to pick him up for whatever reason they recognize me because I look like my brother!

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