Doe Creek Kennels

Because we want you to find the perfect boarding facility for your dog, and we believe in full disclosure, we'd like you to know a few additional things about our kennel:

We are on a farm. Though your dogs will never get to "play" with the cows (the dog pictured above is one of ours), the cows do visit the kennels on occasion. Because of our rural location, we also see the occasional black snakes, spiders, bees, squirrels, rabbits, turkeys, eagles, butterflies, raccoon, deer, frogs, coyotes, bear and of course, ticks.
When it snows, the steep hill on Doe Creek Road (route 613, off of route 460) is slick, and our gravel driveway can be difficult to navigate without four-wheel drive, though it is regularly scraped with a tractor (thanks, Mom). We do have four-wheel drive for this reason, and if possible, will drive down to meet you at the bottom of our driveway to pick up or drop off your dog.
The chain-link fence surrounding our kennel area is 6ft high. If your dog is a jumper (or a digger), please let us know. We have learned that if a dog really wants out, they can sometimes find a way.
We have central heat and air in both of our buildings to keep our clients especially comfortable while they're inside. We will continue to use our wood furnace and wood stove occasionally in the very cold winter months or on the off chance of a winter power outage.
We do provide beds that are about a foot off of the ground (we can drop them about 6 inches for dogs that have trouble jumping or climbing), with mattresses and sheets. If your dog starts to chew or eat the mattress, we will have to remove it from his room. If you think this might happen with your dog, please bring a bed with you, so if he loses his mattress privileges, he still has a comfy place to sleep. If you know your dog likes to chew, bringing a toy or bone from home reduces the chance of destructive behavior.
We are a small facility with 9 large individual rooms. When we are full, we usually have 12 - 15 dogs here. Because of our capacity (one room per family), we book up quickly for holidays and throughout the summer. We do keep a waiting list. If you're able to, please book early. If we are full and you're on our waiting list, please have a solid plan B and be patient with us. We do everything we can to work down that list as soon as we get cancellations. That being said, please give us as much notice as possible if you need to cancel a reservation so we can give someone else the opportunity to bring their dog here. Because of our size, cancellations have a much greater impact on us than they do at kennels that house 50 - 60 dogs.

We get some dogs who display fence aggression, even if they're normally very friendly. Please do not talk to or try to pet the dogs through the fence. Please also keep your dog leashed and away from the fence when you check in and out. (It helps us greatly to have specific check-in and check-out times so we can be sure that any fence-aggressive dogs are leashed or in their rooms when you get here.)
We have a total of 8 hours during the day when dogs are out of their rooms. If all of our guests get along well together, and they're all allowed to socialize, they can all be out with us for the entire time. We usually do have to separate dogs into different play groups, for their safety and comfort, which means they have to split their time outside. We divide groups based on temperament and energy level. We do sometimes have to divide partially by size because even friendly, low energy dogs can get excited and accidentally step on a very small dog, causing an injury. If you prefer that your dog not socialize with others, we are happy to honor that. If you choose to allow your dogs to socialize with others, please be aware that there is always a risk of injury when dogs play.
This is a rough-and-tumble kind of place. We have a large yard with grass, hills, dirt (mud when it's raining), and a pool. Our guests get dirty and play hard. Your dog may seem sluggish when he gets home, especially if he's been participating in group socializing/ play. He's tired - this usually lasts about two days.
If your dog hasn't boarded with us before, you may notice an upset tummy when he gets home. This is caused by the increase in activity and nerves. If this happens, try a bland diet of rice and chicken for a couple of days to get him back on track. Of course, if anything seems more serious, contact your vet immediately, and please let us know in case we need to take additional steps here.
Because of the layout of our facility and the average size of dogs we get here, very delicate/ very tiny (under 10lbs) dogs are not permitted. If your tiny dog already boards here and does well, disregard this. We love our little clients as much as our big ones. It just takes a special kind of tiny dog (well adjusted and confident) to do really well here. Small dogs who are used to being carried like babies do NOT do well here. If you do this to your dog, please stop. It makes them insecure. Instead, show your love by taking them on long walks and socializing them with other people and dogs.