Doodlebug Dog Walker, LLC

I have been a customer with doodle bug dog walker for several months. As an organisation they have provided me with outstanding service. They respond to email request very fast. On several occasions I have request last minute service for my dog, and they have always come through for me. If your looking for an organisation to take care of your pet when you are away. I highly recommend Doodle Bug.
–Rustic Traveller & Whiskey–

We loved Doodlebug! Highly recommend.
We moved out of state, but Carlyn was a great dog walker during the year and a half we used Doodlebug. Jacoby can be a bit mouthy & defensive when he first meets people, but Carlyn was super patient and ended up becoming Jacoby’s best friend!
Scheduling dog walks, canceling dog walks, and paying the monthly bill is all conveniently done online, which I loved. The cost of pet sitting wasn’t too bad either.
My only complaint was towards the end of our time with Doodlebug, they made the switch over to a different method of storing keys for the walkers, which didn’t really work well for apartments. But that’s not enough for me to rate them any less than 5 stars.

Doodlebug is seriously like another part of our family, especially our wonderful Katie who we — and our furkids — absolutely ADORE!
DBug is always super quick and responsive, and FRIENDLY, even when I have to schedule or cancel at the last minute. They get that things change and are sometimes beyond our control — and they genuinely seem care about our babies more than anything else.
They are excellent with communications, too. I love that we get notified when our sitter checks in and out, and the notebook is the first thing I check when I get home (after my baby-​loves, of course). If there’s ever an issue like snow they send out emails way ahead of time to prepare you. We always get notified and sent the profile of a walker if they are new to us, which is nice so we know who is coming into our home.
Honestly, we couldn’t be happier or trust anyone with our babies (and our home) like we do DBug!

Doodlebug is a wonderful company! I feel I have a great basis on rating this company because I previously owned a Dog Walking Company for 13 years. They are extremely professional and knowledgable. They have definitely taken the time to think out the processes for each part of your Doodlebug experience. Meaning that they have a solid grip on not only training their employees to walk your pet, but also in customer service!
I was very impressed at our initial pet consult for our senior dog Shadow and Main Coon cat Emerson. They explained everything in detail and answered all my questions. I like their process for everything! «Process» meaning– handling your house keys, billing, pet report card notes and email confirmations of the exact time your pet pal arrives and exits your house. (They scan a card with their phone and it sends you an email or text). I also like that you are assigned one pet pal and if your pet pal changes, they will let you know way in advance. So, you never have lots of people coming in and out of your home & that also means that they really get to know your pet (s) on a personal level.
We have hired Doodlebug to come in on several occasions over the past two years & have never had one complaint. They are always on time, leave detailed notes and really go the extra mile! I know we are leaving our animals in the best care possible when we travel. Our current dog walker, Amy H is great! I had to leave her with instructions on how to apply our dogs ear medicine this past time and she or Doodlebug were in constant contact via email to let my husband & I know how Shadow was doing on her new ear medication. Doodlebug also does a great job at customizing your pet (s) visit (s) based on their individual needs. One thing that I also really like is that it is so easy to get in contact with them. The past few emails I have sent, I received a response within ten minutes.
The doodlebug team really all work together in an effort to make sure their clients (and animals) are taken care of. It is rare to find this type of great customer service & a huge piece of mind knowing our animals are well taken care of! You won’t find a better Pet Sitting Co in Northern Va. If I could give them 10 stars instead of 5… I would!

Through a scheduling error on Doodlebug’s end for a 7 day vacation, they left our sick cat (heart disease and diabetes) alone without food or heart medicine for nearly 24 hours. Unfortunately, we didn’t catch it during scheduling. It was a horrifying accident and they apologized and tried to resolve the situatiton. We really tried to use them again to give them a second chance, but they said they didn’t have any sitters in our area any more. The biggest issue that caused this mistake was not having direct access to our sitter. You’re stuck with a group email. Ultimately, it was a great start, but we’re lucky our cat didn’t die due to their scheduler’s negligence.

Doodlebug has been our two cat’s petsitter for 2 years and we adore them. Whether we make appts last second or months in advance, they are always quick to find us someone wonderful to cover our house.
They have an electronic barcode that you keep at the house (the kind that you take a photo of with your smartphone) and the petsitter uses it to check in and check out of your visit, and you get a time stamped email from them using it. This ensures that you know someone remembered to be there for the day and that you can check that they were there for the 30 minute visit. The company texts to book visits/​correspond (though you can also call or email), which is a feature I love — you can text anytime of night and it only takes two seconds for me to shoot a text out (whereas I have to find time to make a call with a baby at home).
The petsitters write long detailed accounts of what your pet was doing during the 30 minute visit, which is comforting to read when you get home, and you can tell that it’s the truth because the notes describe them sitting in their favorite spots or with our shy cat peeking down the hall and running away! :)
The owner is quick and proactive (I once had a billing question for her in the off hours and she responded asap), the petsitter girls are all very sweet and responsible and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them!
***Edit Sept 2015: Ellen has been out pet sitter for the last 20 visits or so… She is simply fantastic. Heartfelt notes when we return home, photo updates sometimes, a handwritten card on our last ever pet sit (we are moving out of state), and she even got some carpet cleaning product from her own home when our cat had an accident on our wool rug! Highly, highly recommend Ellen (though all the staff is great).

I am writing this review on behalf of my mother-​in-​law who used this company this passed weekend. She HIGHLY recommends doodlebug & has been raving about how wonderful they are.
«Stevie checked in each day & wrote a little note to let me know what she did & how the animals were. It was wonderful being away & knowing my babies were happy in their own home & not in a cage at the vet»
five stars, she will absolutely use them next time she leaves town.

We absolutely LOVE Doodlebug Dog Walker!
After working with a different dog-​walking service who did not communicate well and sent a different sitter (stranger) into our home (one that we hadn’t met yet) without asking if we minded, we consulted with our neighbors, who have numerous dogs, on who they recommended. They spoke highly of Doodlebug so we had to contact them.
The consultation process was EXTREMELY professional and put our minds at rest. We are very concerned with safety and were happy to know that they are too.
Our dog loves Stevie and she always communicates in her dog blog what’s going on with him during her visit. HIGHLY recommend them. :)

I am only giving 2 stars instead of one because our first few experience were positive — that being said…
As time went on they became more and more disorganized. EVERY SINGLE TIME I made an appointment for future dates they lost the dates. They would find the emails confirming they knew about the dates after the fact, but this didn’t help me, because I ended up with a different sitter for every visit over an 8 month period. So every time we had to have ANOTHER consultation and go over everything again. Then each time we had a new consultation they tried to charge us for it — so I had to go back and call them and dispute it every time.
This last visit ended up being the last straw. When a new sitter came for a consultation I found she was trying to rush through it and not really paying attention. The first night of our vacation in FL we were about to walk into a 6 diamond restaurant that would not hold our reservation and I ended up spending over an hour back and forth on the phone with them because the sitter couldn’t figure out how to open the door. They kept saying we gave them the wrong key even though we tested the lock again before we left. Then we gave them the code to the garage and she couldn’t get in there either. Our cats went without being fed that night until she decided to go back at night and try again. She was able to get in (surprise) and feed them but not before we got super stressed out and considered hopping on a plane and heading home.
When we returned home we found that she has completely jammed the front door lock and when it was fixed by a locksmith we did confirm that the keys were correct. And she just couldn’t operate the garage door properly and caused it to pause the system. 2 big strikes.
When we expressed or concern about this the response we received was defensive and stated «we went above and beyond to resolve your issue working overtime and not charging you for it» — of course you should not have charged us for your sitter not being able to operate a garage door and a front door! I could not even believe they were saying this.
Between the incredible stress we experienced the first night of our vacation while trying to have a romantic once in a lifetime dinner, the lack of ownership over their mistakes, and the inability to just speak directly to the sitter (they kept going back and forth as the middle man so I couldn’t even resolve the lock thing with her myself), we had no choice but to discontinue our relationship with them. Which is a shame, because we loved the previous sitters we had with them.

We have been using Doodlebug for a few years now. The dogs almost seem disappointed when they see that it’s us when we walk through the door and that makes me very happy. We used to board the dogs when we went on vacation but I believe they were abused so now we use Doodlebug so the pups get to stay home and I don’t have to worry about them.

This was the first dog walker we tried, and I am happy to say the first time was the charm!
The most important feature of their service for me was their special consideration for puppies. We have two little ones just added to our family, and Doodlebug offers twice daily walks. As an added bonus since we are a re-​occurring customer with twice daily visits we were eligible for a discount, and unlike so many other sitters we looked at they don’t charge a bogus fee for additional dogs. Finally something that takes care of their needs without breaking the bank!
Top things I love about this company:
— They are SUPER responsive. They have extra long office hours, respond to emails and even occasionally forward on photos your walker takes during visits.
–Everything can be done through email, send them an email to schedule an appointment or need to cancel because of a sick day, send the email before 9 am, no penalties.
— They make sure to cover all the important details, during a simple preliminary interview they make sure to take note of however things are set up in your home, preferences, everything right down to the commands you are using.
— Their walkers are fabulous, they have been thoroughly checked so you feel comfortable and they also send you a nice profile so you know who is in your home. I also really appreciate the effort they are taking to train my puppies during their visit.

I cannot believe I haven’t left a review for Doodlebug here yet! They are amazing and I don’t know what I would do without them!
After using another dog walking service for out of town pet sitting about two years ago and having it go horribly wrong, I was extremely selective about what company I was going to use to start a relationship with for my furbaby. I saw the amazing reviews and loved their website, so I called for a meet and greet to evaluate the services. Joyce came out and I couldn’t be more happy about the way she represented the company and their obvious focus on their clients.
My dogwalker Jen blows us away with her amazing dedication to my pup, the notes she leaves (with the personal touches) and the flexibility she has to help out at a moments notice with not just walks, but if we need overnights, etc. My dog is older and has health issues, and she goes above and beyond on a regular basis and I am assured my dog is well taken care of. My dog loves her and I do too.
I cannot say enough good things about this company and they have been a lifesaver more than once. So lucky to have such a great group to help me with caring for my pup. :)

I have been using this service for several months now and just wanted to say how wonderful this dog walking service is. They take the care of our dogs seriously and treated them just like they were their own dogs. I am never concerned about them entering my home while I am gone and always know that my dogs are well taken care of.
I would highly recommend this company for dog walking. My dogs love them and so do we!

Is 5 stars the most I can give Doodlebug?
We chose Doodlebug to care for our babies after interviewing several other services. Elizabeth came out to meet us, she explained their services, she spent time with us and our pups (on their level — getting to know them).
Every workday Wendy comes by to walk and play with our 4 pups — she has become attached to them and they adore her. We have always been more than happy with Doodlebug.
Recently we had an incident where one of our pups slipped his harness and was wondering out in the woods. I frantically called the Doodlebug line, left a message and sent an urgent email begging for help. Within minutes Elizabeth (and her husband) were ready — and on the scene — shortly after that Wendy (and her husband) were on the scene all searching for the wondering Boo (giving up a Saturday evening). Elizabeth gave us lots of hints, tips, help (and hope). Although they weren’t able to coax him into the house that evening — their tips and help did bring him home sometime the next morning (when he snuck in unnoticed).
Elizabeth treats her customers like family — and these «fur babies» (as she calls them) like her own. We would be lost without her and Doodlebug (and Wendy).
We cannot thank Doodlebug enough!
Jerry & Lin

Katie is no longer our sitter but we have Caitilin and she is just great! Thank you thank you again for such a wonderful service /​company. Ginger and Brutus are much happier staying at home while Mom and Dad are away instead of a kennel.

I contacted Doodlebug after trying out a couple of other pet sitters who just didn’t cut it. I have found it hard to find anyone who specializes in cat sitting… I always get the sense that cat sitting is thrown onto a company’s service list far behind the dog walking/​dog sitting duties.
But…not Doodlebug. The minute I met our cat sitter, Sandy, I knew that this was going to be a different experience. She was quiet and confident and our cats (we have four) warmed up to her immediately. I have never seen them warm up to anyone so quickly. She took extensive notes of all of the quirky things we do for the cats and I had no doubt that she would be fine with them. One of my cats needs medications as well as prescription food and I was going to board him because he looks very similar in coloring to another of our cats. Sandy assured me that she knew which cat was which… and she absolutely did. For the first time since we’ve been using pet sitters, I did not come home to a sick cat due to being fed food outside of his diet restrictions.
When we were out of town I requested an e-​mail update and received a very reassuring note almost immediately. When we got home I was tickled by the daily log she left. She cleaned up numerous hairball messes and left our house in incredible order. I cannot rave about Doodlebug enough. They are absolutely top notch and incredibly professional. I feel SO MUCH BETTER about leaving for a few days now that Sandy is looking in on our cats.
Do not hesitate to call Doodlebug — you will not be disappointed. They are amazing.

I’ve been using Doodlebug for about 3 months now and they are AMAZING. All the walkers/​sitters that I’ve had are extremely professional and great with my fur baby. I have complete trust in Elizabeth and her team coming to my home and taking care of my little one. They are extremely flexible with scheduling and willing to accommodate last minute requests. Hire them.

Doodlebug Saved My Marriage!!! AND they did an amazing job taking care of our three dogs while we were away! ;)
Picture this if you will — You are driving to a wedding in Cleveland, Ohio and you have been in the car for just over 5 hours with your 15 month old son, your husband turns to you and says, «I forgot to pack the dress and tux». Not just any dress and tux, but THE bridesmaid’s dress and THE ring bearer’s tux for your little sister’s wedding you are about to be in. I was panicked to say the least, the only family/​friend that had a key was already in Ohio. We thought of Doodlebug and thought it would be a long shot, but decided to call to see if there was anyway they could overnight the items. My husband spoke to Elizabeth, and without any hesitation she said yes. The dress and tux arrived the next morning! I cannot put into words how ecstatic and relieved we were. The alternative would have been one, or both of us missing much of the weekend festivities and driving for an extra 20 hours. This company is amazing!!!
Let’s not forget Erin, our dog walker for the weekend, she was amazing with Mia, Maeby, and Delia! Last time we had our lab mix, Maeby walked/​watched by a family member she developed separation anxiety and started exhibiting some pretty bad chewing behavior that continued even after we returned from our trip. Maeby didn’t exhibit any of that behavior this time around! The dogs were in great spirits when we arrived home. It was fun to read all of the notes left by Erin, you could tell she loved on them just as much as we would have. :)
It is great to know that if we need to go away for any reason we don’t have to stress about who is going to watch the dogs anymore. I highly recommend Doodlebug Dog Walker. They truly care about the pups and their customers, AMAZING!!!

Elizabeth and her team are great! I use them for overnight pet sitting at least 5 or 6 times a year, for the past couple of years. They are very flexible, reliable, and they leave you notes about what your pet did, so you know they are paying attention! Also, they have electronic payment, which makes everything easy. I would reccomend them to anyone who needs pet sitting!

Elizabeth came to my house on a Sunday afternoon to meet with me and my puppy. She was extremely friendly, helpful, and professional. Plus, my puppy just didn’t want to leave her side :)
All policies were explained to me right from the start. I schedule my weekly appointments every Friday since we have such a crazy fluctuating schedule at my house! Every day, our dog walker leaves a note telling me about what my puppy did. She has cleaned up countless pee/​poo messes in our bathroom and always leaves a fresh pee pad for the puppy. She is seriously fantastic!
The absolute best part has been their flexibility. Seriously, this week alone I had to cancel an appointment 1 day in advance and then schedule a new appointment w/​less than 24 hours notice. They were able to accomodate me and were extremely friendly and helpful.
I’ll be using Doodlebug as a dog walker for as long as I can! I absolutely love their service :)