7th Attempt - AFFECTIONATE PET CARE, Fairfax Station VA

So on our seventh...yes seventh attempt of looking for dog boarding we found AFFECTIONATE PET CARE in Fairfax Station Virginia. On the phone they were very polite and informative but I wasn't holding my breath. As soon as we walked in the door our big goof was so excited to go into his evaluation. He couldn't wait! The girls working were talking to him and just letting him run around acting silly while we got to watch their standard evaluation procedure. After introducing our mutt to about a handful of dogs over time they brought our dog out with no incidents. Of course he passed... now it was their turn to see if they passed our evaluation! The girl doing the eval had been working there for over 3 yrs and seemed extremely knowledgeable about large dogs and their need for structure and manners. Even after the 100 questions we asked they were still more then willing to accommodate us. Clearly they are customer service oriented and were very interactive with our dog. While we were being told more about their services, our dog got very excited and 'talked' in his high pitched voice. While this habit is hard to break we work very hard on minimizing his annoying chatter. An employee of Affectionate Pet Care walked up and instead of allowing our loud-mouth to keep talking to her, she told him that he needs to be quiet and then she would give him some luvvin'.....Silence... and then a thud. We looked over and sure enough, he was on his back, legs in their air and not a peep coming out of his big open mouth. The girls working there expected manners from our dog and this impressed us more then anything! 

6 out of 7 places asked nothing of our dog... AFFECTIONATE PET CARE in Fairfax Station, VA, on the other hand, expected manners and their expectations were met! Our dog will definitely be visiting there for short term boarding and day care. They gave us the impression that they are more then capable of not only handling but reminding dogs of all sizes that there are manners and rules to be followed with tons of fun in between!

OTHER PLUSES: 

Affectionate Pet Care not only encourages the dogs to use the out doors for potty-breaks they have 3 out door areas for the different groups of dogs, including 3 indoor play rooms. Though toys aren't allowed, on weather permitting days, they bring out the kiddy-pools and sprinklers for the water lovers. Affectionate Pet Care focuses on cageless boarding and non-naptime days filled with play and fun. Though crates are available for special needs. 

The only downside, Affectionate Pet Care is very expensive for boarding. Though they do offer packages, it still averages out to be 48-50$ per 24 hours. YIKES!