Muddy Paws

I live in Wisconsin and have never used Muddy Paws, but I am a member of several FB groups that the wonderful owner, Jena is involved in. She could not be more professional, ethical or honest. She is helpful to her fellow pet sitters and always lends a helping hand.
If someone is trying to slam this business, they will have heck to pay as the services are tremendous and above and beyond. If someone reads the bad reviews, it could be from a disgruntled person who didn’t get hired to this wonderful organization.
Please do diligence when hiring a PROFESSIONAL company and call and speak to the owner.
There are many trolls on Unilocal, making it hard for solid business owners like Jena.

I was a muddy paws customer for over a year and they have the best walkers around. I think my dog walker loved my dog more than me. I found it amazing that this company could find such great employees in an economy w such low unemployment. The company is organized, on time and if there were any conflicts they always found a solution (like the owner showing up to do the walk). I was very impressed and I would use them again and highly recommend anyone who needs services such as theirs to call immediately, you won’t be disappointed.

I’m updating my review b/​c I’ve now been using Muddy Paws for 10 years! Jena & her team are great. I originally had a regular walking schedule a few days a week — but now I primarily use Jena for overnights b/​c we travel a lot. I can tell you, when I take my dog to Muddy Paws — she KNOWS she’s going to have a good time. Despite her separation anxiety, when we get there… the tail starts to wag & she rushes the gate to go play with her puppy friends. Jena provides updates on how she’s doing, gets back to me when I worry & is a total professional. She has NEVER turned me away & has ALWAYS found a way to accommodate my schedule. And this from a woman juggling a young family AND her business. There are only a handful of people I trust with my dog & Jena is one of them. I’ve had a professional relationship with Jena /​Muddy Paws for over a decade & we have never been disappointed.
Below is a picture I got from a recent overnight, she’s playing fetch… I mean, look how happy she is!

I wish I could give muddy paws zero stars what an awful experience. I am in the middle of working overtime and moving. I love my dog very much and wanted to make sure he was getting enough exercise while I am not around to walk him. It was very stressful trying to find a dog walker due to the fact that my dog Jake, while he loves people is not great with other dogs. I finally found muddy paws after much searching and thought it was a great fit seeing how they were able to pick up Jake from my work and drop him back off with me. I had emailed back and forth with Jena Howard who by the way is the CEO of the company who told me Eric would be walking Jake today Wednesday ⁴⁄₂₀ and the following two days. I set up a meet and greet with Eric that went OK seeing as he was 40 minutes late. He seemed to do well with Jake and I was comfortable with Eric walking him. To my surprise at 2pm today Jena herself showed up to walk Jake not Eric. I got no email, no calls nothing to tell me the essentially a complete stranger who has never met my dog before would be walking him. As if this was not bad enough when I go out to introduce myself to Jena her attitude was horrible, no apologies and no explanation as to why Eric did not show up I had to ask her myself, then she continues with her poor attitude not seeming to interested in Jake but was so kind as to voice her issues with his harness because according to her it encourages dogs to pull. When she came back with Jake I felt the need to voice my concerns and feelings of being uncomfortable with the fact that she showed up to walk my dog with no notice. Jena could not have cared less again I received no apology all she said to me was she was surprised Eric didn’t show up just like I was. This is a horrible way to run a business and having a CEO treat new clients like this sets a horrible tone for this company as a whole. I highly recommend looking elsewhere for your pets care.

I have been a customer of Muddy Paws for about a year. They are truly a cut above the rest when it comes to the care of our fur babies. Jena Howard and her team provide a serious form of integrity and professionalism when handling any issues you might have. My bulldog loves all of his walkers. When I’m out and about on my personal walks with him and we run into our walkers he instantly runs over to them lovingly. If that alone doesn’t show you the tremendous amount of care these employees put in, I don’t know what does. The pricing is fair for the service you receive. I highly recommend them to anyone with a new puppy in my complex.

I have been a client of Muddy Paws for almost a year now. I made the change from my last dog walker due to the glowing reviews of my neighbors. I am so glad we made the change… and so is Elma!
Jena and her team are fantastic. They have been very professional, compassionate, and flexible from the beginning. Everyone I have met has been awesome but our favorite person has to be Marlene. Marlene walks Elma every day and I know she is in great hands and comes home happy and ready for an afternoon nap. I really enjoy checking my email at work and reading Marlene’s funny and thoughtful notes to let me know how Elma’s day went, her energy level, and what buddies she played with. She’s even cleaned up some explosive accidents that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemies. I know Elma loves her and I couldn’t say enough nice things about her.
Elma has also had a couple of overnight stays with Jena at her home in Woburn and gets great socialization and wonderful family attention which is so important to me. Last Summer I went on a spur of the moment camping trip and after some frantic phone calls to some friends less than 24 hours later I dropped off our pup at Jena’s home. She had a great time playing with Jena’s dogs and the rest of the overnight pack.
Muddy Paws makes it super easy. The online system also makes it so easy to schedule walks, cancel them if needed, and make payments.
I would highly recommend Muddy Paws to anyone looking for a walker or sitter and want quality, flexibility, and fun for your dog!

Muddy Paws was a life saver. I lived in Somerville and needed a dog walker for my 16 year old pup, Sam. They response time was quick and when Jena and her team came to meet Sam, he took to them with a quickness. There were times I needed last minute overnight stays for him as well, and Muddy Paws was there to help once again. I would recommend this company to anyone who has a pup who needs a walk or a sitter !

We’ve been a Muddy Paws customer since our Boston Terrier, Penny, was a puppy (almost 2 years now I think) and we LOVE everything about it. We’re moving at the end of the month, and I really hope someone reads this review and replaces our business because I wish nothing but good things for Jena and her crew!
PROS:
— Because it’s a dog walker network, there is always someone to walk your dog — even if your usual dog walker is sick or goes on vacation.
— Ever since they updated to an online system, everything is sooo easy. You can go into the system and cancel specific days when you know you’ll home or request overnight boarding for days you know you’ll be out of town.
— Jena, the owner, is soo nice. She clearly cares deeply about the dogs, and she has dogs of her own. We boarded Penny at her house in Woburn a couple times and she has her own little dog park in her backyard!
— Jena’s philosophy about walking dogs is wonderful. If the dogs are social and can handle it, they are walked in a pack, which gives them more opportunities for socialization and exercise. Our super friendly pup loves her pack!
— Our current walker, Lilly, is AMAZING. Although we only pay for 1 hour per day, she often takes Penny out for several hours which is obvious since Penny is sleeping whenever we get home! She’s also a part-​time photographer and she keeps an active Instagram account, so we’re able to follow along with Penny’s daytime antics and Penny has a few great new headshots. :) Our last walker, Sarah, was also excellent but not a photographer!
CONS:
— The price… Any dog walker is probably more expensive than you hope they were, but you get what you pay for! And it’s worth it!
— Specific walkers can vary in quality… We’ve never had a bad experience, but our latest walkers have been so knock-​it-​out-​of-​the-​park great that our original walker who only walked her for the contractually obligated hour and was pretty disappointing by comparison. She also didn’t speak great English, which doesn’t bother me at all except that she felt nervous leaving any notes because of her writing skills, so we never really knew what Penny was up to during the day aside from confirming that she peed and pooped.

I couldn’t be happier with Muddy Paws! I’m a new customer with a new puppy and was very nervous to leave Sophie for the weekend. Bob, our caretaker, was phenomenal! He was friendly, funny, and kind. He set out minds at ease and updated us with reports and photos of our puppy all weekend.
Jena made the business aspect of it very easy to arrange, even on short notice.
It’s such a relief to know we have a safe and happy place for furry baby to stay if we aren’t going to be home.

I called several times to arrange services for my cat with this facility, then when I finally got a call back from the owner her price was much more then I was used to paying and told her I would call back to confirm. She never returned the two confirmation calls. Then next time I called her to walk my dog and feed for the three days I was going to be gone. I left several messages with my number and when I need service, again I never got a response. How can you run a business like this? Didn’t get my messages? You would think when you are in such a business you would make sure you get a darn good answering service!

I’ve been using Muddy Paws for over a year now and they’ve been nothing short of excellent from day 1. Marlene is our regular walker and she treats our pup like her own! She even gives our shameless attention-​seeking kitty some love every time she drops in. She is consistent, efficient, and very reliable. Muddy Paws even came to the rescue on my wedding day with their concierge service when we so desperately wanted our dog to be a part of the formal photos but were not able to keep her at the ceremony and reception. Marlene safely escorted our girl to and from Maine and kept her calm and attentive during photos — which kept us happy and worry free on our day! The prices are reasonable for the area and they recently upgraded to a new app/​site that makes it super easy to schedule visits and make payments. If you’re in the market for a pet care service, definitely check these guys out!

Now that we have been a Muddy Paws client for almost 3 years (time flies!) I thought that it would be a good time to update my review.
Jena and her team are awesome. We especially love Cathy and Meg who are our fairly regular walkers. They go out of their way to make sure my pups are having fun and to make sure we know how they are doing when we aren’t at the house. Cathy actually came over to bring them specially made ice toys on her day off during the summer… just because. How awesome is that? My pups love her.
One of the things that I love most about Muddy Paws is that they are also keeping up on technology. Their new scheduling tool is a breeze to use, and I can pay online with a credit card now, which is so much easier than writing a check! They also have a new feature that sends you a link to an online journal about your visit. So cool. We were at a wedding the other day and were able to get an udpate on our pups while we were out and about.
Thanks to Jena and her team for being so reliable. We are Muddy paws fans!

Not satisfied at all with the service. They take more dogs that they can handle and keep on the leash the ones that give them more leg work. I’m sure they will reply that it’s a safety issue.

I was reluctant to give anyone the key to my house and take care of our (very energetic) 8 year old lab Sadie. The initial meet and greet with Jena and Ashley went great and my concerns swiftly disappeared. Due to our work schedules, Sadie had been our basement most days. That quickly and happily changed after we signed up with Muddy Paws close to a year ago. Sadie gets daily visits (during the week) from Ashley who loves Sadie just as much as we do and Sadie LOVES Ashley. Ashley leaves daily progress reports about their time together and sometimes even texts me pictures if Sadie’s having too much fun (which I love)! Although Ashley is Sadie’s daily MP pal, we recently went away for 10 days in which she stayed at Jena’s house on her own bed and blanket so she would feel comfortable. I got emails from Jena throughout our trip letting me know that Sadie was happy and healthy and that we didn’t need to worry about her so, we didn’t. Muddy Paws has been fantastic and relieved a lot of guilt and worry off me and helped Sadie get out of the basement which has made her much happier, YAY :) I am so grateful and appreciative for all you do for us! Thank you thank you thank you

This thank you/​review is long overdue! My husband and I can’t thank Muddy paws enough for exceeding our expectations in dog walking for our beagle Betsie. Betsie has been with Muddy Paws for over a year and a half. It is the best decision we have made for Betsie. She is a rescue dog and can be anxious at times but not with Muddy Paws. They are family. Other than my parents, Muddy paws is the only one we have trusted to care for Betsie overnight. I must formally express my gratitude for the services Jena provides through Muddy Paws. Anyone that knows me knows that Betsie (our soon to be 3 year old beagle) is one of the most important components of our lives. My heart is rendered with complete happiness with knowledge that while under Muddy Paws care, Betsie socializes and receives the love and attention she needs. Muddy Paws is a blessing and the services extend beyond the expected call of duty to provide a euphoric experience where we know that our beagle is well cared for. I firmly believe that Betsie’s happy demeanor is catalyzed by her interaction with Muddy Paws dog walkers and the one on one attention she receives.
Jena is flexible, friendly and professional. Jena’s personality is so welcoming. After our first meeting when Betsie didn’t bark I knew what a joy Muddy Paws would be to work with. I feel like Muddy Paws is part of our family. I am sure by now it is clear how much I appreciate Muddy Paws.
In summary, I wish to thank Jena and the best dog walker (Ashley) for helping me to care for a healthy, happy beagle. I am forever grateful.
Kindest regards,
Amy

I used Muddy Paws for months as we just moved here and my dog never had a dog walker before. I was anxious, but shouldn’t have been as we had a wonderful experience! Steve was the handler that came to pick up my dog twice a week to go to the park down the street (rain or shine!), and while I was never home, my roommates told me how excited and bouncy he was (normally he was calm when I would take him out). My dog really loved Steve and was always extra excited on those days when I’d come home. It was wonderful to feel very safe and secure with Steve in my home and his reliability to always be there, even when my schedule would change at the last minute. I will dearly miss his detailed and heart warming notes about my dog’s day, like how they «met buddies at the park» or «he seemed extra playful with me today». The entire process was just phenomenal including the easy Google Wallet pay system. I will be saddened to not need their services, but so thankful they helped my dog transition to a new city.

I have been a client of Muddy Paws for about 4 years. I have 2 cats and in addition to vacations I also travel at times for work. Jena and team are very flexible and fit my 2 into the schedule even in the 11^th hour. I greatly appreciate the text and pic updates that keep me ‘in the know’ that all at home is OK. It gives me the peace of mind to focus on my work knowing they are taking care of them. I recommend them to all of my pet parent friends and will continue to do so.

I have two cats who we unfortunately have had to leave sometimes for several days at a time, and we have become very comfortable leaving them with Jena and her local team, Lauren and Elena — both of whom are also super wonderful.
I admit that I was hesitant initially about more than one person being involved, but it has worked out well when one is not available and the other person can help without needing to set up coverage with a different care-​taking service. They each came to make sure there were no questions before they took over coverage, and they have been wonderful with helping handle other minor needs like mail and plant watering if needed as we’ve been away.
One example of how they have gone ‘above and beyond’…Most recently we have been out of town due to a family illness for a much longer period than originally expected. After a couple of days I could not recall if I had left enough food in the auto feeder. I emailed Jena an urgent note asking to refill the auto-​feeder. Lauren, who helps manage the watertown area, coordinated with Jena to get the right food and milk so the little guys never ran out. It was so reassuring to know they could take care of unexpected things so quickly. They are a real life saver.
I would highly recommend this team– they do great work.

We have been looking for a pet sitting service for our small farm of animals — we have two older dogs, a cat, a rabbit and a bird. We enjoy weekend trips now and then and have happily used muddy paws a few times now. Jena and Ashley came over to meet the dogs before sitting the first time. Ashley has taken good care of the animals each time so that we do not worry too much while away. Our one dog is diabetic so it is difficult to find boarding that will administer insulin. Ashley was happy to learn and we definitely trust her to do a great job! It is also a very good price for taking care of the dogs and knowing someone is at least looking after the other animals as well in case they run out of water or food unexpectedly. We’re very happy to have found a reliable pet sitting service!

doesn’t show up at times. no notice/​no addressing the no show either.
when dog boarded for 2 weeks for our vacation, she was bitten by another dog, left scars. and we got no discount or an apology for it. not a great experience.
looking for a new dogwalker at the moment. sorry but we didnt find this company helpful.