Dogs of Berkeley

If you want the best care for your dog look no further. We have had many dog walkers and doggy hotels over the years and Tom is a breath of fresh air. He is the best. Thank you Tom!

We had a great experience with Tom. He’s professional and very caring with the dogs. Our small dog, Lobo, is a little nervous with strangers and hasn’t ever been away from my family. Usually she stays with my parents when we’re out of town… but this time we were taking a big family vacation to Yosemite. The hotel doesn’t allow dogs so we were in a pinch. Other facilities I looked at required the Bordetella (kennel cough) vaccine, which isn’t recommended by my veterinarian and isn’t necessary since it’s easily treated. Tom requires the major vaccines that keep animals and people safe, but he also understands not wanting to over-​vaccinate and over-​medicate our pets, I was a little worried leaving Lobo with a stranger for the first time. but she did great. Tom sent me pictures and updates everyday. It was very reassuring and really sweet to see pics of her with the other dogs. His prices are very reasonable too. I appreciated his care for her and thought the best way to thank him is to leave a review. When we take another big family trip we’ll know where to bring her.

If you are looking for an AMAZING dog sitter this is it! We have worked with Dogs of Berkeley for the last two years. Tom has watched our Finley multiple times and has been a lifesaver! His communication is great and our dog has loved his time spent there. Dogs of Berkeley is one of the best businesses we have worked with and we couldn’t leave the area without writing them a review. Obviously they are highly recommended!!!
Thanks Tom!

We just moved to the Bay Area from the east coast, and one of the things I had been dreading was finding somewhere for my little guy Jackson to go when we had to go away. I relied heavily on Unilocal to find some contenders, and after doing a few home visits, decided that Tom from Dogs of Berkeley would be a good choice for our 4 day vacation this past week. I was still a little nervous, of course, because Jackson is a special member of our family and it’s always kind of hard to leave them with someone new for the first time!
On our first night away I was feeling a little anxious as I was waiting for dinner, and as soon as I said out loud that I was wondering about Jackson, a text came from Tom with pictures and updates about how Jackson was settling. I immediately felt at ease and enjoyed the rest of our vacation. Tom continued to send pictures and even a video of Jackson playing with all of his new friends. I couldn’t wait to pick him up and see how he was doing-​he was excited to see me but clearly sad to say goodbye to his new friends! Jackson slept for the whole rest of the day when we got home, which I know means he had nonstop days of playing and good times!
We booked for our next vacation in April and I know that Jackson will be just as excited as we are. It’s so nice to find a place where you feel truly comfortable and confident leaving a member of your family. Tom is easy going, reliable, easy to communicate with, and clearly cares about your dogs as much as you do! So happy I found this place for Jackson, and totally recommend for anyone else looking!
Thanks so much, Tom! Jackson loves you!

Tom has had Nico, our Portuguese Water Dog, this summer while we were traveling for a couple weeks. Tom’s communication and follow through and kindness were extraordinary. Great to get some snapshots of your dog in email to see he’s doing great while we’re away. I think Nico had a great time in general, and especially getting out with the other dogs. Like a really fun summer camp for dogs.

Wow just realized that our dogs have been in their care for almost 4 years now whenever we go away on vacation.
Recenlty Tom has been watching our dogs as we are closer to him than Judith, and Tom is just as great as Judith. He is so clam and sweet. He was also very accomodating we had the last minute request.
We woof you!

I had never boarded a dog before and was really anxious about finding someone to take care of Jolene when our family dogsitter cancelled at the last minute. Tom was wonderful and completely put my mind at ease, and I would happily recommend him to anyone.
We went for a meet and greet beforehand to make sure that Jolene would mesh well with the other dogs. Tom did a great job of controlling the introductions, adding one dog at a time so Jolene didn’t get overwhelmed. By the end of our half hour visit, Jojo was already having a great time with the pack.
While I was gone, Tom sent a couple emails letting me know how Jolene was doing, and he included pictures of Jolene on the trail hike (her first!), looking happy as can be. His emails and pictures helped put me at ease so I could enjoy my vacation without worrying.
Tom makes the whole process easy — he’s flexible about pick ups and drop offs, and accommodating about your dog’s personality and preferences. It wasn’t a problem at all that Jolene has to have special food and can’t have treats — he was happy to meet her unique needs. When we picked Jolene up, we had to practically drag her away from playing with her friends. (Bonus — she slept for nearly two days straight after we brought her home!)
Tom is clearly a dog lover — you can tell from the way he interacts with the dogs, how he talks about them, and even how his house is set up like a doggie playroom. I will definitely be bringing Jolene back to visit Tom and her other new friends! Wish I had found Dogs of Berkeley sooner.

Back again. I’ve gone to dogs of Berkeley half a dozen times, and have been amazed with the service each time. Sam, my dog, loves it, comes back tired and yet has a jump to her step. She loves it there, and I cant say enough about the service. It’s amazing!

I just left my high-​strung Dalmatian, Sammy, with Tom and Judith for over a week. Sammy has some serious energy, as well as a bit of separation anxiety– but this is nothing that Tom and Judith can’t handle. I received daily pics of Sammy having a blast at the dog park, hiking with his new doggy friends, and relaxing at Tom’s house. Sammy came home a very happy, and very tired dog. I feel so relieved that I have a great place to send Sammy now whenever I leave town! Yay Dogs of Berkeley!

Dogs of Berkeley continues to be our go-​to, trusted dog walker! We love the care and FUN our pup has on her hikes with Judith and her crew. After a hard day of work/​baby/​errands, it’s so nice to have an email with pictures of our girl smiling and playing with friends. THE best in dog walking services — couldn’t recommend her more!

WE LOVE DOGS OF BERKELEY!!!
My pittie, Parker, has been staying with Judith and Tom off and on for over a year now. She welcomed his stocky breed with open arms and now he walks into her house as though he owns the place. I wouldn’t leave him anywhere else besides Dogs of Berkeley, and I hope I never have to!
20,000 STARS!!!

Dogs of Berkeley is fantastic in every way. Tom and Judith are so accommodating and understanding with scheduling and dog needs — not to mention that our dog loves them. I think she may prefer being with them and their fabulous walks than with us at home. Thank you Tom and Judith!

Dogs of Berkeley is the best! Judith is wonderful, she really goes out of her way to be accommodating and is just a really nice person. And my dog loves staying with her. Getting updates and pictures while I’m away is really nice, because you know, it’s embarrassing, but as soon as I go out of town I start missing my doggy! He’s always happy and calm and well fed and exercised when he gets back. The prices are really reasonable compared to other dog boarders too. I completely trust Dogs of Berkeley with my pup!

I cannot say enough about Dogs of Berkeley. Our dog, Winston, absolutely loves his «staycations» while my fiancé and I are on business trips or just need to get away for the weekend. Judith clearly cares about the well-​being of every dog she takes in and Winston always leaves happier than when I dropped him off. Daily walks in Tilden park, plenty of dog pals for our papillon to socialize with, and daily emails with pictures of all the fun he has been having… if it were possible to give six stars Dogs of Berkeley would earn them all!

As new residents of Berkeley, we were so happy to find Tom and Judith! Our twelve year old black lab was extremely well taken care of. She is used to off leash, cage free care. And, boy was she happy! We regularly received emails and photos of our dog. She ended up staying with Tom at the annex because she can act like a baby. He did a great job of transitioning her to the pack. It was such a relief to know our sensitive girl was treated so wonderfully. We highly recommend these awesome dog companions!

I am so happy I used Unilocal to find a dog boarder when my fiancé and I went out of town for a wedding. Our two pups loved staying with Tom! We got updates every other day with photos and an email letting us know how they were doing. They stayed in his home and basically had free reign which was great for them to be able to relax without having to stay in a kennel, giving them their own mini vacation. It made the whole experience so much easier especially since I work from home, and don’t need to leave them for very long usually.
We ended up having to extend our stay in Boston by an extra three days because of Hurricane Sandy. Tom and Judith were very accommodating even giving us a 33% discount on those extra days because of the weather inconvenience. I couldn’t have imagined a better situation for both us and them. The pups ended up passing out for a few days at home out of sheer exhaustion. Thank you so much Tom and Judith!

We’ve had Judith walking and boarding our Golden Retriever, Maddie, for the last 9 months. Maddie gets walked on those days we work too long to leave her at home. I cannot recommend Judith enough. Judith is incredibly flexible with our ever-​changing schedules and last minute requests. She’s great at cleaning Maddie up after a fun filled day up at Tilden or other hikes. All the dogs always get along fantastically well. And we get pictures at the end of the day of all the doggie craziness. We’ve also had her stay with Judith on occasion and are always very satisfied with her help. We are 100% certain that Maddie is in good hands with Judith!

Until a couple months ago I brought my puppy to work with me everyday. When I got a new job and could no longer do that, I found Dogs of Berkeley. Both Penny and I are so glad we did. She gets picked up and taken to Tilden Park, wiped down afterwards, and dropped back off– and I come home to a tuckered out Penny– much more tired than she was after spending the entire day with me; taking a short hike and getting walks throughout the day.
Knowing Penny’s having wonderful adventures that tucker her out while I’m at work really alleviates my puppy-​parent-​guilt.
Thanks Judith, Tom, and Jon!

Our dog prefers Judith and Tom to us, I’m pretty sure. When she stays with them, she gets long off-​leash hikes daily (or twice daily if she’s lucky) in the Berkeley or Oakland hills. After that excellent exercise, she hangs around the house with lots of great company, both canine and human. We went to Hawaii and few years ago, and one of the trip highlights was seeing what fun our dog was getting to have «at camp» while we were gone, via daily photo updates from Judith. When she got a little something in her eye, Judith took her to our vet, administered eye drops for days, and even got us reimbursed for the cost through her insurance.
Dogs may stay at either Judith’s place in the Berkeley hills or Tom’s, very convenient to the Oakland airport. Both have great set-​ups and lots of love and attention for their visiting pups, and they’re both very flexible and great communicators. Best of all is seeing how excited our dog is to be there when we drop her off.

JUDITH IS THE BEST!
Why you ask? She’s friendly and kind. She clearly loves dogs. She picks up and drops off my pup, saving me a lot of shlepping. She sends me pictures the same day of Cali having fun with her hiking buddies. The price is right. And, with just a quick email or call, she’ll add my pup to her schedule, even at the last minute. And… best of all, Cali is happy and worn out and I don’t have to worry. That’s worth a lot in my book!

Judith who owns Dogs of Berkeley is the best. We have left our dogs when we have gone on vacation and I wouldn’t leave them anywhere else. The dogs stay in her home, and she loves our dogs as if they were her own. Every day she takes them on long wonderful walks in Tilden Park. She feeds them their own food; they sleep in their own beds, and she gives them lots of love.
She is also excellent about any special needs. One of our dogs needs daily medicine and she has been excellent with it. When we were away recently, one of our dogs got sick with what turned out to be a bacterial infection. Judith noticed her behavior and watched her carefully for about a day, and then brought her to the vet. It turned out the illness was serious, and required antibiotics and some repeat visits. It was the kind of fairly invisible illness that a less careful observer or less proactive caregiver would have let slip, but for our older dog, that could have been fatal. As it turned out, we had only to administer a few more days of medication when we got home, and our girl was as good as new.
Another surprising and nice feature of leaving your dogs with Judith is that she keeps you updated on the dogs’ vacation through daily emails with photos of them frolicking and sleeping and a brief note.
I only hesitate to recommend her because we want to keep her for ourselves! ;-) Well, I’ll have to book WAY in advance.

Judith of Dogs of Berkeley is just great. Our dog Blue is always so excited to see her and comes home tired and content. Judith emails pictures of the day’s walk and if Blue gets dirty or muddy, she takes the time to give her a good rinse with the warm water hose at her house.
Her pick-​up and drop-​off service is so convenient and Blue just loves overnight doggie sleepovers when we go out-​of-​town. Judith takes such wonderful care of Blue and she genuinely cares for all the dogs entrusted to her care. I highly recommend Dogs of Berkeley.

Judith took great care of my little yapper Max on a recent weekend.
She knew I was nervous because usually I never leave him with a sitter. She took the time to send photos of Max on his adventures while I was away, and was caring, thoughtful and responsive. Dogs that stay with Dogs of Berkeley get long walks and lots of attention.

This is a great place to take your dog. Judith really cares about all of her four-​legged friends. I saw her interact with several dogs during a long walk at Point Isabel and was very impressed with her dog-​handling skills (especially considering some of the out-​of-​control dogs from other dog-​walkers).
In essence, I would totally trust Judith to watch my dog at any time, and I would highly recommend her to anyone in the Berkeley/​Oakland area looking for dog care services. Her house is just a short walk to Tilden Park, so your pup is guaranteed to be well taken care of, well exercised, and given lots of love.